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.
I have lost another condo unit to foreclosure. This is
my second property to go back in foreclosure. This was the condo
unit that I had bought in 2004 as a primary residence, got hit
and demolished by Hurricane Ivan a few months later, took me two
years to get fixed and moved back into it in 2006 after which I
bought another house. There is the snag in which I was supposed
to sell the condo unit, but the market turned upside down; and I
was never able to sell it. I stopped making mortgage payments on
it at the end of 2007. Wells Fargo finally completed the
foreclosure sale date on June 30th 2009.
What happens after
foreclosure? I wait. Wells Fargo has to change the name on the
property from my name to their name (that should take only about
ten days here in Florida after the foreclosure sale date). After
that, Wells Fargo should put the property back on the market and
sell it at foreclosure pricing. After Wells Fargo sells the
unit, they will probably either sue me for the difference (a
lot) or report the difference to the IRS and give me a 1099 of
which I will have to report the difference to the IRS on my
personal income tax return as income and pay tax on that amount.
When I lost my primary residence last year, I did not have to
pay income tax on the 1099's that I received from that property
as it was a primary residence. I am not sure about this property
although I had originally bought this property as a primary
residence and lived in it until it was hit by the hurricane and
lived in it again after I moved back in 2006 and lived in it
again after I lost my other house to foreclosure last year.
I am quite happy that I
will no longer have to pay the monthly condo fees. I had been
taken by the condo association to small claims court last year
over not paying these. The condo association won, of course, so
I quickly paid them up and have kept them current all this time.
This is a big lesson for all of you property owners out there
waiting for foreclosure: You are still liable for the property
maintenance and upkeep until the property is out of your name.
If you do not keep your landscaping maintained, local agencies
might impose fines against you directly. If you do not pay your
insurance, the mortgage companies will buy insurance for you and
add that to your total debt with interest at what will surely be
unfavorable insurance and interest rates. Pay what you can or
you may find yourself in court over all these other small
things.
If you are interested in
buying a foreclosure property for cheap, let me know. This unit
was a great place to live, and it will surely be offered at an
amazingly affordable price as a post-foreclosure property. It
could be your own little piece of paradise, and you will have
not bought at the high end like me.
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