Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I am
only publishing my interpretation of my situation. You should seek your
own legal representation for your own particular
situation. Do not rely on my
opinions or statements for your own purposes as state
and local law varies as do individual circumstances.
CitiMortgage called me again today about my intentions
for the one bedroom condo on which Citi holds the financing. I
explained that nothing had changed. The condo is vacant; I have
been unable to sell it; I have been unable to rent it; and I
intend to let it go back to CitiMortgage in a foreclosure. The
CitiMortgage representative and I discussed reasons and options,
and we were just about to end the call when she mentioned that
Citi might adjust the principle in order to reduce the monthly
payments. The reduction in principle, however, would still need
to be repaid to Citi if the property ever sold. This caught my
attention though.
The representative did
not have all of the details for me, but she did know that I
could apply online on Citi's website. After our call, I
immediately went to check out the website. Under the Homeowner
Assistance link, there is a great deal of details about options
for avoiding foreclosure (I think there are more options now
than there were on the website last summer). Nothing in the list
of options specifically mentioned a reduction in the principle
to be repaid upon selling the property, but they may just not
have updated the website yet. Regardless, for any of these
options, CitiMortgage requires that the distressed homeowner
complete the online application in order to start the process. I
was tempted to start filling in the blanks, but I have decided
to wait. Why wait? Here's why wait:
I have a foreclosure on
my three bedroom condo set for the 24th (just next week). I
would rather save that condo than the one bedroom condo with
CitiMortgage. As there is currently no foreclosure sale date on
the CitiMortgage one bedroom condo (even though I have not made
a mortgage payment on this property since November of 2007), I
have more time to spare with CitiMortgage. Plus, depending on
what Obama announces on Wednesday about how his administration
plans to help stop foreclosures, I might have even better
options for either property (the one bedroom with CitiMortgage
and the three bedroom with Wells Fargo) come Thursday.
There is a lot in the
works this week. I really do hope that I can save both of the
condos (some how or other) as unlikely as it might be with the
current real estate and rental markets and economy in general.
As soon as I find out what is going to happen to the three
bedroom condo going into foreclosure on the 24th, I will decide
what I will do about the one bedroom condo... one condo at a
time.
These are the options
that CitiMortgage lists on their web site for distressed
homeowners: Forbearance, Repayment Plans, Mortgage
Modifications, Claim Advances, Short Sales, Loan Assumptions and
Deed-in-Lieu. The details for these according to CitiMortgage
are given on the CitiMortgage website (http://www.citimortgage.com/Mortgage/Home.do?page=hardshipassistance_options&td=id19127633|1).
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