" ... has been settled in full. Green Tree Servicing LLC will be issuing a satisfaction of mortgage. The property described as follows: ___. A satisfaction of mortgage has been processed and sent to the ___ county recorder's office on 5/21/10. This process usually takes four to six weeks. Please be advised the county may provide this information verbally upon request. If you have any questions, please contact our office at ___. "
Tax consequences: None.
Credit score damage: I still have to check on that.
How did I go from owing GT $60,000 to owing nothing?
Bought a house in California as my primary residence, lived in it for a few years, signed both the first and the second loans on the same day for the purpose of purchasing a home (purchase money debt), was honest about my income during the loan application and kept the proof of that, got sold a "Pay Option ARM" type loan along with a HELOC, never borrowed against the HELOC, the housing market collapsed, could not refinance, tried every workout option, the finally paid a real estate finance attorney $300 to review my loan documents to verify that I was not open to a deficiency judgment on either the 1st or 2nd (HELOC) loans. Consulted a CPA to be sure I would not owe extra taxes on debt forgiveness. Then stopped paying the bank. For a year. After a year the short sale was finally accepted a week before a looming foreclosure. This waiting a whole year was surprising. I expected to be kicked out after a few months of not paying the bank. I could have saved a year's rent if I'd known, but instead I paid rent on an apartment expecting to have to move at any time. During the short sale, my real estate agent got Green Tree to release the lien for 3%, but in their letter they stated that I would still be liable for the remaining debt. When it was all over and the sale closed Green Tree a few months later called and said they would keep trying to collect, even though the law was on my side. After the collection calls started up, I called them every morning for two weeks and patiently and politely explained the situation. Eventually I got a fax number and sent them a letter. They'd given me the wrong fax number, but I found the right one and faxed them. I called to verify, nope they didn't get it. My confirmation said they did. Got a different fax number and faxed again, emailed, kept at it. Gave it a month break, then started my campaign again. I always tried to stay calm, clear, firm and polite even when the person I was speaking to was a complete a-hole. The wheels turn slowly at Green Tree, but they do, eventually, turn. Now my life feels very clean. No more loose ends. It's even a little boring after all the stress I went through with my home... but I think I can get used to this calm feeling.
6 comments:
a similar situation happened to our clients, do you still have the contact information to send a letter to green tree?
http://www.gtservicing.com/
what did your letter say? and what made them release you...
Im in the same boat...
thank you Xeno for posting your experience, I'm in the very same situation on a house purchased originally for $600.000 in the state of NJ. Unfortunately, it was not even my house, I did all this en behalf of my parents, which stopped making the payments on the mortgage without telling me. After two loan modifications were denied, we decided to short sale the house. Finally, Indimac, who holds 80% of the total loan, agreed on a short sale and on releasing me of any responsibility, but green tree, who holds %20 of the original price, still makes very clear on their short sale agreement that they have the right to collect almost $110.000. The lawyer insists that I an reach a deal with green tree later, my question is, will I have to pay taxes on the debt once is forgiven? will green tree send me a 1099? will green tree even consider a settlement on $110.000? the lawyer says that if things come to worse, I an prove in court that I was honest with green tree at the time of the short sale negotiations and that I more likely win. But if I do have to go through all this, it sounds that the damage is almost as bad as a foreclosure. any advice is appreciated.
I only know my experience in CA and it was specifically the laws here that helped me out. Not sure about NJ but take a look at my posts on the topic and you may find some things that will help. Good luck!
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