I live in Riverbend off Potomac, if you want you can email me re help with getting renters and check on house-I am assuming its here in Lennar Phase I. There are about 14 foreclosures in River Bend right now, most in Lennar Phase I and there are a few others on the mkt.

If Florida40 wants to buy great, if not feel free to email me at AIMFL@aol.com and I can connect with some folks and see what we can do. Also Prudential Tropical has been pretty good around here for rental management.

http://www.gosection8.com/tenantrequests.aspx?state=FL#dd

Above lists tenants with Section 8 vouchers (you are assured rent payment) for Hillsborough County who need housing.

Good luck! You're certainly not alone in feeling this pain.

keep the house
not a good time to sell a house
oops, yes i see "My goal was to turn around and sell it instantly"
2006 is late in the game for flipping
learning is painful
since you don't live in the house
you don't qualify for any of the federal programs
yes, the govt hates flippers too

anyways

good luck

Florida40 please contact me at tekeste2@hotmail.com if you are still interested in discussing about buying the home. Thank you to all of you for you tips and words of encouragement. I have checked out the links provided and contacted churches in the area. I had to lower the rental rate considerably but i am finally generating some interest. I am currently up to date on my payments with the lender therefore the lender isn't willing to negotiate until i fall behind on payments. As far as my credit, the loan is in only my name so while my credit gets trashed for the next few years, i was hoping to ride it out using my wife's superb credit. (has any one done this? )

Ab,
no-one here has mentioned the fact that there is a little provision in the mortgage, that you signed, that states that the lender can come after you (deficentcy judgement balance) for anything amount they are upside down, including attorney's fee and expenses they always tack on.

We work with many buyers that buy 'short sales', we are seeing more and more lender ask the owners to sign promisory notes for the difference vs just saying, "ok , sure we'll discount it $100,000" just to get it done.

I hope this has helped you Ab, I am very sorry for your misfortune.

Another option would be to try corporate rentals, or another company to lease it.

Wishing you all my best,
Katrina Madewell

I have been out bid on every foreclosure. I have been trying to buy in Ruskin and I have my financing secured. What are the specs of the home and address? Selling is always better then walking away if you can. Let me know. Good luck.

Ab,

>>> "My goal was to turn around and sell it instantly, however I found someone interested in renting...." >>>

Another point here .. in Florida, the law falls into the renters side .. it can take months to get a renter out - that's if you're lucky... .. I guess that's a moot point now.

You can walk away if you like .... but can your credit stand it..?

Like the last poster recommended, you might want to get towards a short sale with the lender .. but no matter what, get with the lender and see what can be worked out, if it take hours on the phone and 2 days of driving - get with the lender.

There seems to be a lot of misinformation going around the internet on how it "won't" effect your credit - thats just not true ....

Don't take anyones word, *Look* at someones credit report 6 months after a foreclosure and see what it looks like then ... those 780 FICO scores quickly drop to 480 - and it will slowly take years to get your good credit back -- even the cost of homeowners and renters insurance is based on your score today ... your choice.

Sincerely, good luck.!

Also I forgot to mention.... because this is an investment property (not your primary residence) you may end up with an income tax liability if the lender reports to the IRS. I'm not an attorney or CPA so you may want to get the best advice before walking away.

I believe in Florida if you "walk away" and let the lender forecloses and takes a loss, the lender can come after you for their loss. I believe in some states the lender has no recourse (i.e. California) and cannot come after the borrower for the loss on a foreclosure. You may want to be sure before you just relinquish the house as you may be better off trying to negotiate a short sale where the lender will take the loss. Here's a good site, by Jonathan Alper, atty, about Florida Asset protection: http://www.alperlaw.com/mortgage_fcdef.html

If you decide to do a short sale, I can give you a referral to a well experienced short-sale Realtor in Ruskin.

Good luck!
Alma Kee, P.A.
Alma@SoldOnTampa.com http://www.SoldOnTampa.com
813.244.9898

Unfortunately you are in the same situation as a lot of investors we know in the area. Have you looked up the asking price on homes in Riverbend that are similar to yours? What is the anticipated loss if you sell the home now? We are experienced agents in the Hillsborough County area, we don't want to see anyone just walk away from a home. One option may be to speak with us, we can, in some cases, negotiate with your current lender to allow you time to sell your home while making reduced payments to them. Lenders don't want to foreclose right now. Their inventory is rising while their profits are decreasing. Another option you may try is selling your home under a lease option. We are experienced with lease option sales and can work with you to make sure you are protected if the home is damaged in any way.

Your particular situation seems extremely complicated, however, we don't feel that communicating through a blog we can appropriately answer your question or give you real advice.

If you would like to contact us, please do so at (813)781-9487 or (813)505-6639.

All good info. Trying calling a couple of churches, they probably know people who need rental houses.
Good luck.

Hi The Ab,

Have you considered Googling corporate housing, extended stay or short stay apartments? They are everywhere! People are leveraging their vacation homes into cash. Here are a few links of examples:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_stay_apartment

http://www.extendedstayhomes.com/

http://www.shorttermrentalsorlando.com/

http://www.furnishedhousing.com/state-fl.html

http://www.nyfurnishedapartments.com/

http://www.manhattanlodgings.com/about.htm

http://gonyc.about.com/od/hotels/a/apartment_rent.htm

http://www.shortstayapartment.com/apartments/

You may be able to sell into a program or long term lease into a program. You do not have to lose your home. I hope you explore this and other avenues of generating revenue. If there is a college nearby, put it on the school's rental listing as available for students. X amount of students multiplied by $$$ per bed may be the ticket to putting some cash back into your pocket.

Regards, C.