Good thread SDR. Most of my recent posts and almost the entirety of my discussions with my 2 best lending industry contacts have related to section f. of your original post. I will be merciful and won’t rehash those posts here but simply state that the handling of the piggybacks is going to be an issue of ever-increasing visibility moving forward. The threshold question for those attempting short sales because they can’t service the debt is whether wiping out the 2nd will allow them to stay in the home.
Cavalier – no, the 2nd is not automatically recourse. If it was taken out to purchase the property or to refi a purchase money loan (with no cash out) it is non-recourse. Even if it is recourse, it has not been the custom for lenders to pursue the borrower directly. I suspect this may change moving forward due to the volume and level of losses, but you are talking about a lawsuit that will cost the lenders money and may lead to minimal if any ultimate recovery for a variety of reasons. A pennies-on-the-dollar settlement is far more likely.
