Buy and Bail: How to Avoid Any Negative Consequences!
So you own your home and your loan is upside down and the prices of homes are SO low that it’s hard not to consider moving into a bigger home for less than what you owe but you are concerned of what the repercussions may be.
Read through this email and response to see how things work and how you can apply it to your situation:
Hi Brent,
Read your article on your website and thought you might be the right person to answer some of my questions.
I have a property in M. CA, which I bought for $410k and now values $200k. I am thinking of the “buy and bail” option. I know it’s going to hit my credit which I am willing to take. What apart from the credit are other consequence should I look out for and can the bank come after my new house? Can they start taking income out of my paycheck? Can they put a lien on my new property? What are the tax consequences? Any help would be highly appreciated.
Thanks,
=Sabi=
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Here is my response!
Hi Sabi!
Thanks for the email and for reading my articles!
Just like most people in our area who bought in the past 24-36 months you are experiencing the impact of 50% decreases in the housing market!
Ok, so if I were in your shoes and wanted to avoid any and all consequences for “buying and bailing” I would first be sure I could buy before I even considered the “bail” side of things! In this market banks have eliminated what you might consider normal by not allowing someone to buy unless they meet certain criteria. Here are some points I wrote for another format but they apply here:
- To buy while owning and renting another property you simply need to qualify for both payments! This can be done by either having enough income or by adding a non-occupant co-borrower on an FHA loan to buy your new property.
- The other way is a bit more drastic and risky but you could sell your home and then qualify for the new one. This would take timing and negotiation skills but it can be done. Short-sale the current home and buy the new one before your credit reflects a settled account. (not perfect but possible)
- Both situations are not fraud, not illegal and pretty much moral!
Now on the consequence side of things, you really just need to be smart when “bailing” on your home. What I mean is you need to go about it in a way that will limit your exposure to banks by actively looking for “win-win” solutions for you and the bank. This would be in the form of a Short-sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. It’s very important to approach the “bail” aspect properly because if you do that you will have the highest level of success and all your concerns will go away!
Read my posts on Loss Mitigation Negotiations and I look forward to putting it all together with you moving forward!
Let me know your thoughts.
Brent Lane
The Lane Group
www.thelanegroup.blogspot.com
www.brentlane.wordpress.com
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I hope this information was useful. As always I am here to help so please let me know your situation and I will do my best to help you the best way I know how.
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This definitely is risky — I’m glad you’re giving people advice on doing this the safe way. It would really be unfortunate if people did this the wrong way and ended up with a huge hit to their credit. If they don’t plan to borrow anytime soon, it may be fine, but if they are going to need a car loan or student loan in the near future, it may be difficult.
Man I would hate to be in that guys situation where you live in a pit that is constantly sucking your money. That is good advice in having him make sure he can buy before he up and leaves.
Hi Emily!
It’s amazing how often I see this rule catching people by surprise. Many Loan Officers don’t even know this rule exists and that is surprising by itself.
I always tell people to work with professionals because that is how you avoid problems in the future.
Hi Kendall!
You know that this guy’s situation is so common now a days! I see it everyday and I expect to continue to see the fall out for many more years!
Brent
Brent Lane – Guest Bloggers last blog post..Mortgage Shoppers: My Experience with a Pro! Part 2
It’s interesting to see this much action in the market today, with Fannie and Freddie both back to square one, now seems to be a great time to buy into a lot of real estate. The old mantra “buy low, sell high” applies to real estate as well and a little risk goes a long way. My sympathies to those who bought in early.
May you live in interesting times…
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to
say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Betty