What Are The Consequences Of Walking Away?
I asked a reader if I could use her email as a topic. An edited version. “RE: MY Housing Crisis - Can I walk away? Dear Ben, I’m just a disabled WF who got scammed by a person who showed up at my door after I pissed off his telemarketer by saying no and hanging up. She called back and baffled me with BS until a point I said ‘yes, but,’ and told me I would be contacted. I expected a phone call. He showed up at my door. I was trying to get out of an adj rate loan that I couldn’t afford, and after he told me I could make the minimum payment, and from the money I saved, throw $3-4000 at the loan at the end of the year, I’d be amortized.”
“Yes, I don’t know money. I worked for SBC/ATT for 25 years operator @$82.50 a week, then as an installer in late 60’s: then digital comm tech, what with the extra hours and premium for being senior, was making about (sorry, hard to remember) close to $48,000 a year in the early nineties. This was after crushing my spine, breaking my knee/ankle/arm in 72, somehow severed a rotator cuff tendon-probably trying to keep up with gardening-oh yeah, breast cancer in ‘93. This was all before being diagnosed, with an immune system disease. I also had a post radiation reaction.”
“Most people think disability retirees are just working the system. My credit score at this time was about 780, last may it was 802, but i’ve been looking for someplace to go, a mobile at least. I was sold a sub-prime loan-before I knew the term, because my income was too low, though I have a good record of paying my bills. I spent all my savings putting lipstick on a pig (sorry,house) due to advice from one realtor, and threats from another (next door neighbor). A third, who told me to stop paying my mtge and save for another place, an atty gave me the same advice-she is working with apx 150 clients from East Palo Alto. I make myself sick, kicking myself in the butt for my stupidity. But I grew up on AFDC, thought having a house was an investment, and listened to the wrong people. I was 10ft tall and bulletproof. Tore myself up trying to keep the house together, and now find myself underwater, not only because of the economy, but because I never had the house inspected. I could afford it! was all I was thinking, and it would give me a tax writeoff. But my foundation needs work, and they said termites and maybe mold.”
“So, I’m not a speculator, and when I bought the house I could afford it, but find that all of a sudden I’m OLD, and a target for every well educated greedy, (IT’S LEGAL!) making $$$ off others upright-walking scam artist within the state. When the Ameriquest person was trying to sell me this GREAT WORLD loan product, a non-profit, who, believe me, makes sure your income meets certain limits (and GUESS WHO WAS MY SPONSOR?)…I called my sponsor at world and was told it was a great product for someone like me, fixed income and all. I GET SO ANGRY AT ALL THE TALKING HEADS WHO SAY IT WAS PEOPLE BUYING HOUSES THEY COULD NEVER AFFORD.”
“And all the non-tractors who took the money and walked away, after starting the job, whom I, stupid person, thought If I helped them out of their problem, they would do the job they contracted
for. Us non-college educated people, who didn’t have parental role models to watch invest and save are TARGETS. The classes teaching people about loans and investing are a bit late, no?”
“Since this is your blog: I”M WONDERING WHAT ARE THE FEES AND CONSEQUENCES OF WALKING AWAY, PLEASE REALLY. Since I can’t believe atty’s and realtors that told me 4 months ago to not pay my mtge. Being disabled and having no family, I was going to try to get a rental in the 45 days I have before my grace period ends and my FICO hoses, but after watching C-SPAN and reading your blog, trying to find out, I don’t know. It’s gonna be hard for me to be on the street, humiliating to have my credit score hosed, though I plan from now on to save and then buy, like in olden times.”
“I’ll suck it up, and Father has kept a roof over my head a long time now. But when I see ladies older than me wandering around the Grocery Outlet, trying to find food that they can afford. And upper middle classes with new cars starting to shop at the same overstock canned goods store…the times they are a’ changin. Thanks for listening.”
