Lots of MONEY Questions

Okay I have a lot of questions of money.

I am way under water on my mortgage, which costs 1300 month. Health is another 500. So that's 1800 right there.

I got four months severance which brings me to October 15th, but minus 2000 because of the unexpected health care costs.

When I knew I was losing my job, I settled on an old personal injury claim for 20K. I took 8K of that for a lawyer and don't know if I will get anything from that. It looks like I "might" get 12, which only nets me 4K ....

Knowing all these bills are ahead of me I am thinking of foreclosing on my condo. I would have to disclose the 20K -- the 12K (after lawyer fees) was profit that I used for some expenses ... just how deep will they get into where that money went? Is it bad if I put some aside for this crisis I am in? Has anyone gone through foreclosure?

My other alternative is to pay the mortgage and health care until December but that's going to stretch me. I anticipate only getting about 1500 clear on unemployment versus my 1800 mortgage/health costs ... I'm already starting at -300 before utilities and food.

I hope this makes sense .. I am so afraid that at 53, finding another job is going to be rough, and I won't be able to hold on to this condo.

welcome to the forum......

I am also 50 + years surviving on small contracts here and there, mostly there.....

The first thing you need to do is eliminate ALL things you don't have to pay out period.....

After several years of struggling you have no idea yet as to how much that 50 or 100$ can mean there are those among us that can live two weeks on that much money.....

WELCOME! Elvis is right. I am 56 yrs. old - I lost my job when I was 52. Back then I thought it would be easy to find another job. Four years later, I am counting the days until I turn 62 for early retirement and ..65 for health care coverage again, if it is still around by then.

Many of our members have lost their house, condos, cars and other possessions,they will be better able to help with the foreclosure question. In my opinion, I would let it gonow, along with the insurance and property taxes. You will be glad you did. When the money runs out, every penny you save now makes a big difference.

Good luck to you. We will get through this one way or another..

I wish we got out before they foreclosed our home, screwed over. We lost 150k in equity. We owned the home for 15 yrs, never took out a second mortgage and were very cautious and it still did not help. Only after we sunk every spare dime we had into it to save it did we realize we should have let it go a long time before the foreclosure. We walked away with nothing.

Talk to your mortgage company and ask them for alternatives to foreclosure so you won't have that cloud over head in the future should you look to buy a home again. Some of them will work with you for example they do a short sale or a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Here is a link that describes those options.
http://www.creditinfocenter.com/mortgage/foreclosure-alternatives.shtml

Also, I don't think the money you have on hand matters to them if you choose to foreclose. What matters to them is how you will continue to pay in the future. I know from experience, you could be 8k in arrears and come up with the money to become current only to have it happen again a few months later due to still being unemployed. I would think that the only way cash on hand would matter would be if you were trying to remodify or going to claim bankruptcy. You will waste a lot of money on lawyer fees. If leave while you still have cash on hand you will be in a much better position. I'm not telling you what to do either way, just telling you my opinion based on my experience with it.

I wish I had an easy answer for you. It's a horrible thing to have to go through. My prayers are with you!

P.s. one of the biggest mistakes you could make would be to have no contact with them. Always try to talk to them no matter how scary it is. If you make any requests, put it in writing and pay to send it 2-3 day mail option at the post office and keep a copy for yourself. You can make a deal with someone over the phone until you're blue in the face but if it's not in writing forget it! I learned that the hard way. If they make you any offers also request that they put it in writing too. They can be very sneaky.

just let me add one more thing......in case you have not followed the fed extended benefits much.....

as of July of this year ALL states will revert back to only six months of benefits...unless congress reauthorizes something....

perhaps they will re-up for a 20 weeks extension....maybe....

yes,i understand you,everybody is not easy in this world,life expense is a very important thing,hope you can be better and better!