GMAC loan workout

[djrobsd]

For the record “Cashing out a 401k” is not an option the IRS affords us here in America. There are severe penalties for doing so, and you see pennies on the dollar when it’s all said and done. Also for the record, I haven’t put any money into my 401k since I bought the house, I shifted all my investment dollars into the house which was obviously a bad investment, and an important lesson has been learned here. Even if I did cash out my 401k, that would only delay the pain another 3-6 months, and wouldn’t make that much difference at the end of the day.

A home is a HOME not an INVESTMENT. The mistake I made was I got caught into the buy now mentality that millions of other Americans got caught into back in 2004 when the real estate market was sky rocketing, and even though I was perfectly content in my $1500 a month luxury apartment with a pool, jacuzzi, work out room, and all the amenities, I couldn’t resist the evil temptation of “Sweet equity”. Had I thought of it apples to apples between the apartment and the house I bought, I would have taken the apartment any day of the week both for lack of having to do any maintenance and for all the on-site amenities that a gated new apartment community affords. And my loan officer and my realtor were coaching me all the way along making statements like “I know this payment will adjust in 3 years, but the market is so hot you’ll be able to sell or refinance before then”… Yep, we’ve heard all this before.

I made the mistake, and so now I have to live with it. Can you blame me for at least trying to work with my lender and trying to keep the house instead of just walking away from it and making it someone else’s problem? I’m trying to do other people who are also struggling a favor and sharing my experience with them so they know what they’re up against if they decide to try to do the same thing. I didn’t have to spend my time posting on here but I did so as a service to others. Sometimes I wonder if all you folks on here that say throw in the keys are the same ones that go buy these properties at real estate auctions!

[djrobsd]

For the record “Cashing out a 401k” is not an option the IRS affords us here in America. There are severe penalties for doing so, and you see pennies on the dollar when it’s all said and done. Also for the record, I haven’t put any money into my 401k since I bought the house, I shifted all my investment dollars into the house which was obviously a bad investment, and an important lesson has been learned here. Even if I did cash out my 401k, that would only delay the pain another 3-6 months, and wouldn’t make that much difference at the end of the day.

A home is a HOME not an INVESTMENT. The mistake I made was I got caught into the buy now mentality that millions of other Americans got caught into back in 2004 when the real estate market was sky rocketing, and even though I was perfectly content in my $1500 a month luxury apartment with a pool, jacuzzi, work out room, and all the amenities, I couldn’t resist the evil temptation of “Sweet equity”. Had I thought of it apples to apples between the apartment and the house I bought, I would have taken the apartment any day of the week both for lack of having to do any maintenance and for all the on-site amenities that a gated new apartment community affords. And my loan officer and my realtor were coaching me all the way along making statements like “I know this payment will adjust in 3 years, but the market is so hot you’ll be able to sell or refinance before then”… Yep, we’ve heard all this before.

I made the mistake, and so now I have to live with it. Can you blame me for at least trying to work with my lender and trying to keep the house instead of just walking away from it and making it someone else’s problem? I’m trying to do other people who are also struggling a favor and sharing my experience with them so they know what they’re up against if they decide to try to do the same thing. I didn’t have to spend my time posting on here but I did so as a service to others. Sometimes I wonder if all you folks on here that say throw in the keys are the same ones that go buy these properties at real estate auctions!

[djrobsd]

For the record “Cashing out a 401k” is not an option the IRS affords us here in America. There are severe penalties for doing so, and you see pennies on the dollar when it’s all said and done. Also for the record, I haven’t put any money into my 401k since I bought the house, I shifted all my investment dollars into the house which was obviously a bad investment, and an important lesson has been learned here. Even if I did cash out my 401k, that would only delay the pain another 3-6 months, and wouldn’t make that much difference at the end of the day.

A home is a HOME not an INVESTMENT. The mistake I made was I got caught into the buy now mentality that millions of other Americans got caught into back in 2004 when the real estate market was sky rocketing, and even though I was perfectly content in my $1500 a month luxury apartment with a pool, jacuzzi, work out room, and all the amenities, I couldn’t resist the evil temptation of “Sweet equity”. Had I thought of it apples to apples between the apartment and the house I bought, I would have taken the apartment any day of the week both for lack of having to do any maintenance and for all the on-site amenities that a gated new apartment community affords. And my loan officer and my realtor were coaching me all the way along making statements like “I know this payment will adjust in 3 years, but the market is so hot you’ll be able to sell or refinance before then”… Yep, we’ve heard all this before.

I made the mistake, and so now I have to live with it. Can you blame me for at least trying to work with my lender and trying to keep the house instead of just walking away from it and making it someone else’s problem? I’m trying to do other people who are also struggling a favor and sharing my experience with them so they know what they’re up against if they decide to try to do the same thing. I didn’t have to spend my time posting on here but I did so as a service to others. Sometimes I wonder if all you folks on here that say throw in the keys are the same ones that go buy these properties at real estate auctions!

[bsrsharma]

trying to keep the house instead of just walking away from it and making it someone else's problem?

djrobsd – one thing I strongly suggest is please don't cast this in a morality play mold. This is a financial crisis and you should try to do what makes best sense for you financially. If the best financial decision for you is to walk away, you should do it rather than suffer involuntary servitude for the next 30 years.

[bsrsharma]

trying to keep the house instead of just walking away from it and making it someone else's problem?

djrobsd – one thing I strongly suggest is please don't cast this in a morality play mold. This is a financial crisis and you should try to do what makes best sense for you financially. If the best financial decision for you is to walk away, you should do it rather than suffer involuntary servitude for the next 30 years.

[bsrsharma]

trying to keep the house instead of just walking away from it and making it someone else's problem?

djrobsd – one thing I strongly suggest is please don't cast this in a morality play mold. This is a financial crisis and you should try to do what makes best sense for you financially. If the best financial decision for you is to walk away, you should do it rather than suffer involuntary servitude for the next 30 years.

[bsrsharma]

trying to keep the house instead of just walking away from it and making it someone else's problem?

djrobsd – one thing I strongly suggest is please don't cast this in a morality play mold. This is a financial crisis and you should try to do what makes best sense for you financially. If the best financial decision for you is to walk away, you should do it rather than suffer involuntary servitude for the next 30 years.

[NotCranky]

djrobsd,

You are putting a very personal isue out on a “free for all” blog. You would never walk into a coffee shop or other location where a bunch of strangers are gathered and do that. You are going get what you get. If we want to play here,especially putting our personal issues or strong opinions out there, we can’t hardly complain about what we get. I do hope you get some good breaks going forward. I am not going to say bail or stay. It is great that you are trying ot tackle the issue from all angles. I agree with bsrharma on the moral issue. Don’t let it become a pack of demons in your head forever what ever you do. You will have bigger problems than losing a house if you do.

Best wishes

[NotCranky]

djrobsd,

You are putting a very personal isue out on a “free for all” blog. You would never walk into a coffee shop or other location where a bunch of strangers are gathered and do that. You are going get what you get. If we want to play here,especially putting our personal issues or strong opinions out there, we can’t hardly complain about what we get. I do hope you get some good breaks going forward. I am not going to say bail or stay. It is great that you are trying ot tackle the issue from all angles. I agree with bsrharma on the moral issue. Don’t let it become a pack of demons in your head forever what ever you do. You will have bigger problems than losing a house if you do.

Best wishes

[NotCranky]

djrobsd,

You are putting a very personal isue out on a “free for all” blog. You would never walk into a coffee shop or other location where a bunch of strangers are gathered and do that. You are going get what you get. If we want to play here,especially putting our personal issues or strong opinions out there, we can’t hardly complain about what we get. I do hope you get some good breaks going forward. I am not going to say bail or stay. It is great that you are trying ot tackle the issue from all angles. I agree with bsrharma on the moral issue. Don’t let it become a pack of demons in your head forever what ever you do. You will have bigger problems than losing a house if you do.

Best wishes

[NotCranky]

djrobsd,

You are putting a very personal isue out on a “free for all” blog. You would never walk into a coffee shop or other location where a bunch of strangers are gathered and do that. You are going get what you get. If we want to play here,especially putting our personal issues or strong opinions out there, we can’t hardly complain about what we get. I do hope you get some good breaks going forward. I am not going to say bail or stay. It is great that you are trying ot tackle the issue from all angles. I agree with bsrharma on the moral issue. Don’t let it become a pack of demons in your head forever what ever you do. You will have bigger problems than losing a house if you do.

Best wishes

[patientlywaiting]

djrobsd, thanks for sharing your experience. I think that the hardship package that you have to submit clearly indicates that lenders don’t roll-over and will not agree to loan modifications until owners are at their last penny.

The only reason I gave you a hard time is that although you arguably are a victim of real estate, you continue to evangelize on the “benefits” of owning.

Didn’t you learn anything from your experience? Buying is bad for people who can’t afford it. They may wish to own but they should not until they build a financial cushion and the financial discipline to buy a house.

I know a woman who just lost $100k on an investment house. She still thinks that prices will go up next year and pay her back on her current residence. She has another hard lesson to learn. I expect to eventually see her in foreclosure.

[patientlywaiting]

djrobsd, thanks for sharing your experience. I think that the hardship package that you have to submit clearly indicates that lenders don’t roll-over and will not agree to loan modifications until owners are at their last penny.

The only reason I gave you a hard time is that although you arguably are a victim of real estate, you continue to evangelize on the “benefits” of owning.

Didn’t you learn anything from your experience? Buying is bad for people who can’t afford it. They may wish to own but they should not until they build a financial cushion and the financial discipline to buy a house.

I know a woman who just lost $100k on an investment house. She still thinks that prices will go up next year and pay her back on her current residence. She has another hard lesson to learn. I expect to eventually see her in foreclosure.

[patientlywaiting]

djrobsd, thanks for sharing your experience. I think that the hardship package that you have to submit clearly indicates that lenders don’t roll-over and will not agree to loan modifications until owners are at their last penny.

The only reason I gave you a hard time is that although you arguably are a victim of real estate, you continue to evangelize on the “benefits” of owning.

Didn’t you learn anything from your experience? Buying is bad for people who can’t afford it. They may wish to own but they should not until they build a financial cushion and the financial discipline to buy a house.

I know a woman who just lost $100k on an investment house. She still thinks that prices will go up next year and pay her back on her current residence. She has another hard lesson to learn. I expect to eventually see her in foreclosure.

[patientlywaiting]

djrobsd, thanks for sharing your experience. I think that the hardship package that you have to submit clearly indicates that lenders don’t roll-over and will not agree to loan modifications until owners are at their last penny.

The only reason I gave you a hard time is that although you arguably are a victim of real estate, you continue to evangelize on the “benefits” of owning.

Didn’t you learn anything from your experience? Buying is bad for people who can’t afford it. They may wish to own but they should not until they build a financial cushion and the financial discipline to buy a house.

I know a woman who just lost $100k on an investment house. She still thinks that prices will go up next year and pay her back on her current residence. She has another hard lesson to learn. I expect to eventually see her in foreclosure.

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