http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Other-60558-67568/The latest answers submitted by Ruthless to questions asked on Trulia Voicesen-ushttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Foreclosure/If_someone_is_considering_letting_the_bank_foreclo-13121Answer by Ruthless: It's been two years since I asked this question. How much has changed? In USA Today on Nov 2, 2009 they quoted Experian and management consultants Oliver Wyman's statistic that 588,000 borrowers walked away from their homes last year (2008). Did the phrase "STRATEGIC DEFAULT" even exist two years ago? I haven't been reading (or answering) questions on Trulia in the past year. But when I wrote this it was because people were talking about walking away BY CHOICE. And to some extent it could be construed as fraud. One person was in the process of buying a new house before their stopped payments on their old house appeared on their credit reports. PLEASE EDUCATE YOURSELF AND ASK FOR HELP. Ruth http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/06/walking-away-from-your-home-personal-finance-walk.html http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-11-02-voluntary-foreclosure_N.htm http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/realestate/25mort.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703399204574505833421551164.html?mod=googlenews_wsj The good news is the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 is WAIVING having to pay taxes on what you owed that you didn't payoff for your PRIMARY HOME until 2012. The bad news is that THIS DOES NOT COUNT FOR 2ND HOMES AND INVESTMENT PROPERTIES. I am NOT an accountant, attorney or any other professional licensed to give advice. Please consult professionals regarding this situation. More bad news is that according to Forbes, Nov 6, 2009, "What is key is that some states allow mortgage firms to pursue other assets. For anyone who is considering walking away from a mortgage, it is important to check state laws--they could be walking away from much more than a house." The New York Times on Oct 25, 2009 mentions: "Job seekers can also run into trouble, because many employers check credit reports." Finally, in this crisis the way to go is SHORT SALES. According to June Fletcher of the Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2009, some lender don't report short sales and applications ask about Foreclosures, not short sales.Fri, 6 Nov 2009 19:22:03 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/What_does_BPO_mean_-157467Answer by Ruthless: My special thanks to Jennifer for answering. I was searching cheap listings at Realtor.com and one of YOUR listings caught my eye (Bird St). So I have been searching YOUR website. So let me ask you another question. This house is for a friend. He is for the most part unemployed for the past 2 yrs. He would be buying it with his girlfriend who works full time. With 5% down and NO credit rating, first time home buyers, is there any hope for them? He's been paying about $300/mo for storage units including his constant late fees. She wants to marry him because he has a college degree and "potential". What if they were to go with something like 226 Villa and had another roommate sign a lease for $300/mo? Thanks, RuthSun, 23 Aug 2009 10:16:26 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Foreclosure/what_website_is_their_for_foreclosures_that_is_tot-38890Answer by Ruthless: I'm in the same boat, I just wanted to look up one totally free and searched all the sites. I did one of the free trial ones and they didn't have the one I was looking for listed, so I canceled the free trial. Brian is completely correct, ilfls.com is NOT free but offers great information. I used them for over a year and compared them to other sites as well. The other site's information was always out of date and ilfls.com was not. There are also some free sites with up to date information about auctions but you need to have done far more research long before that date. One site is: http://chicago.il-foreclosure.com/ RuthSat, 22 Nov 2008 13:48:14 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/What_should_a_person_do_if_they_suspect_the_home_t-68715Answer by Ruthless: whoops, wrong link. Take a look at this one instead: http://www.brickbungalows.com/tree/tree.htmlWed, 19 Nov 2008 07:06:26 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/What_should_a_person_do_if_they_suspect_the_home_t-68715Answer by Ruthless: Thanks everyone. I have a bionic nose and can smell mold stronger than any human I know - I do have two beagles, too. The problem that I wanted to bring to people's attention is that a home inspector only looks (and personally smells) for obvious, visual mold. Many mold problems are NOT visible and if your inspection is on a dry day, it is likely that there is not going to be any smell. It is the same with pets that pee on the carpet - on a humid day a house will reek of dogs but most days smell perfectly fine. My problem was actually my existing house and it turned out in part to be a dying Maple tree outside. Several times, I would open the back door to let the dogs out and get the same smell as entering a moldy flooded basement. It was not for another couple of months when our tree started growing huge mushrooms that I had proof that I was not imagining it. It cost $750 to have the tree taken down. Several neighbors have also had large trees taken down due to illness and our neighborhood does not look (or smell) the same. In addition, it probably lost some property value without the 50-year-old trees. Therefore, a word to the wise - an inspection might not always help. As Dana said, a dusty house can create allergic havoc as well as a moldy house. The real problem is that it takes a long time for the allergens to build up in your body's system and a one time inspection does not measure the long-term health effects. I would recommend in addition to the usual inspections and clauses asking the homeowners about health problems including colds, asthma, allergies and other seemingly personal questions just as if you might ask what they have been paying for heating costs. Alway visit a potential home at least once while it is raining. You can learn a lot more much faster that way. RuthWed, 19 Nov 2008 06:43:45 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Using_Trulia/Do_I_need_to_go_to_anger_management_or_am_I_just_p-9416Answer by Ruthless: This question reminds me of Jim Cramer's break down about ARMAGEDDON. I put together a YouTube video combining the two events. I couldn't download the Colbert Report video so I added other pictures. You can watch the entire segment on Comedy Central.Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:32:32 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Market_Conditions/With_so_many_houses_on_the_market_and_great_bargai-57511Answer by Ruthless: Congrats Svetlana Casey on Best Answer. Second place was Bill's lottery. In my case, lowering the price could not make up for the excessively high taxes. Homes worth twice as much as ours have lower taxes. One of the reasons I put "luck" as a criteria is more the right place at the right time. Everyone loved our house and said the price was great. The only concern was that taxes. So they would want to wait and see what happened with the appeal. We were at the right "place" in regards to condition and price but we were at the wrong time because of an interested buyer wanting to wait. IF that same buyer went and saw another house that they didn't care for as much and while they were discussing it, there was a price reduction, they were in the right place AND TIME. If they looked at it after the reduction, they might not have considered it the same way. Just like the smell comment. If someone burnt microwave popcorn the night before and had a last minute morning showing, that stupid little glitch could cost the sale. I remember the very first home I had, the wife who was wearing perfume had attracted a bee inside the house when she arrived. As these serious buyers were going over the offer at the dining room table of the house, the wife was stung by the bee. They never completed the offer.Fri, 7 Nov 2008 09:53:33 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Market_Conditions/With_so_many_houses_on_the_market_and_great_bargai-57511Answer by Ruthless: I agree that Andy hit the nail on the head - "homes are selling "quickly or not at all". I disagree in this market with price, price, price. If you miss on the price going out of the gate, it doesn't matter how low you go, it still might not sell. Same thing with all three Price, Product and Promotion - they have to be perfect day one on the market. So, are all the homes that aren't selling missing one or all of these qualities the day that they go on the market? Or is it just luck that the right buyer comes along and prefers your house over the other new listings? When ten new listings come on the market with all three Ps but only one buyer, the other 9 can get stale before the next buyer comes along. What do you think? RuthTue, 16 Sep 2008 21:32:36 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/Sold_house_with_option_to_buy_buyer_walked_at_end-66322Answer by Ruthless: PLEASE, REAL ESTATE AGENTS correct me if I'm wrong. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO EVERYONE!!! Jenna: I recently experienced the same sort of issue. Because of the poor housing market, all the pressure on "companies" "helping" the homeowner, and the difficulty in getting financing, YOUR situation is the * * * * * UP AND COMING NEW SCAM!!! * * * * * * We were in the process of negotiating a contract for a LEASE PURCHASE which is different from a LEASE OPTION or RENT TO OWN. I was familiar with Lease Options but had never heard of a lease purchase. Because we were still negotiating, we were relying on our real estate agent's advice and hadn't yet talked to our attorney. The Illinois contract has a 5 day attorney clause but with this sort of situation, you need to have more than one contract. Also, our attorney clause doesn't allow you to alter the "price". I believe that if I didn't have the sort of INVESTIGATION SKILLS that I do, we would be in a similar boat as you right now. Except for the fact that Patti Pereyra (our Realtor and contributer here on Trulia) also gave us some exceptional advice. Patti's most important advice was that this Lease Purchase is just like a traditional purchase in terms of the "out clauses" and if any contingencies were not met, the buyer could get the Earnest Money back. In our case and possibly yours too, the buyer had a financing contingency that didn't expire until after loan approval two years in the future. We were in the process of negotiating an iron clad contract that if for any reason the buyer couldn't close, we would not only keep the Earnest Money but also any rent and ALLOWANCE TOWARD THE DOWN PAYMENT. The reason I think this might be your situation too is because of the "ESCROW Money." With an OPTION, the buyer gives you a non-refundable amount of money for the "Option to Buy" OR NOT TO BUY your home in the future. The "EARNEST Money" is sort of the "down payment" which if all contingencies are met and the buyer then defaults, the seller is able to keep the EARNEST Money. If however all contingencies are NOT met, the buyer gets his EARNEST Money back or "refunded". Now, the ESCROW Money is the portion of the MONTHLY PAYMENT that is NOT considered RENT but is instead applied toward the "down payment" at the time of closing. OK, is that all clear? So, here is the SCAM PART . . . They live in the house for two years and then they use the "out clause"/contingency (such as not getting loan approval or the appraised value came out below the contract price) or they decide not to go ahead with the Option to Buy. Since they never have any intention of actually buying the house in the first place, the contract is probably for full asking price or better yet higher ("Oh, in 2 years the house will be worth 10% more so we are offering you 10% over asking price.") which got the seller and the agents all excited. Then they say that since they are giving you full or higher than asking price, that the seller should give them a full or higher credit toward the escrow/down payment. Let's say your house is really worth $270,000 but you are asking $300,000. Your mortgage payments are $2000/month (principal, interest, taxes and insurance). The going rent for your home or similar is $1500/month. During the two years of the buyer "renting", the seller is paying down the principal (hopefully). Since the buyer doesn't actually own the home, so why should he pay your taxes? Basically, why should someone pay more rent than the going rate? If the seller is "losing money", that's his problem. This is all part of the negotiating set up. The buyer has 10% for the down payment and wants to accumulate 10% over the next 24 months in order to qualify for a conventional mortgage. They offer you $300,000 for the purchase price and monthly payments of $2000/month. This means the Earnest Money would be $30,000 and the Mortgage Escrow needs to be $1250/month ($30,000/24). So, you are able to pay the $2000/month but they are only paying $750/mo in RENT. Two years go by and they try to get financing. The house only appraises for $250,000. The financing or appraisal was an out clause. They say, no we don't want it if it's only worth $250,000, give us our $30,000 Earnest money back PLUS the $30,000 in monthly escrow. Not only did you not sell your home but now you have to give them $30,000 out of your pocket essentially.Wed, 5 Nov 2008 17:38:44 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/Can_a_lender_put_a_lien_on_properties_When_my_ho-65712Answer by Ruthless: I'm not an attorney and you should look at your mortgage documents. I believe they cannot put a lien on a different property. However, if you do not pay off your mortgage in full because the mortgage is more than the house is now worth, they have the right to sue you for the difference. If they win the lawsuit then the judge can put a lien on your other properties.Wed, 5 Nov 2008 16:20:36 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/This_house_is_not_square_feet_it_is_square_feet_-66169Answer by Ruthless: Sometimes information is received from tax records. It sounds like an addition was put on and the tax records were never changed.Wed, 5 Nov 2008 16:13:11 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/General_Area/My_landlord_died_Who_do_I_pay_rent_to_if_she_has-57582Answer by Ruthless: Whoops, I forgot to give my disclaimer. I am not an attorney and am not giving legal advice. I am merely relaying my similar personal experiences including being a landlord. RuthlessWed, 17 Sep 2008 00:54:07 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/General_Area/My_landlord_died_Who_do_I_pay_rent_to_if_she_has-57582Answer by Ruthless: Rae: Pat yourself on the back for coming up with your own correct answer. I completely disagree with Diane's statement, "you could pay it to whomever you feel is the most responsible party". The rest of Diane's advice is good. My father-in-law just passed and so I'm learning a little bit about estates and such. Yes, absolutely make the check out to "the estate of..." But if you can, take it one step further. Find out who the executor or trustee of the estate is. It might be a family member, a bank or an attorney. Or you could look at your own canceled rent checks and see what bank and account number your rent was deposited into. Then take your rent check to that bank and ask that it be directly deposited into that account. Again, it was just the one portion of Diane's statement that I disagreed with. The rest of her advice is extremely good. You are now involved in a whole legal and financial ordeal. If you are looking to get a security deposit back, it might take far longer (if ever) to get it back if the landlord didn't have a will. That is why finding out who the executor is would be beneficial. I believe they have the right to tell you, no don't pay this last months rent and we will use your security deposit for that instead. This is NOT something you would normally be able to do but as Diane said, you no longer have a valid lease. Good luck, RuthTue, 16 Sep 2008 21:51:19 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Our_lender_is_asking_for_a_letter_explaining_our_r-57162Answer by Ruthless: I don't know California law (nor am I an attorney and able to give legal advice in any state) but there is a saying that I have heard before in real estate: ***It only takes one spouse to buy a house but it takes two to sell.*** This is because of marital laws in some states that say that anything one spouse owns, the other owns too. If you are not married you have a CHOICE in the type of ownership. In layman terms you can either both own 50% interest in the house or you both share 100% interest in the house. If you split up with 50/50 ownership, one person can sell their half of the house to someone else. If you both share 100%, one person can leave and the other is still 100% responsible. Or if you are honorable, one person has the pay the other when they leave or you sell the house and split the money. I hope this is why the lender is asking instead of guessing on the likelihood of you staying together to determine if they want to lend you the money. Good luck and congratulations. RuthTue, 16 Sep 2008 23:27:01 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Can_a_lender_require_repairs_on_a_conventional_mor-57427Answer by Ruthless: Well, I think everyone answered you question. I'd also like to add that the insurance company can also require that money be spent in order for them to insure the home. The big example I've been seeing is requiring railings on outdoor entry stairs. They see the picture of the house in the listing sheet that has the pin number and legal description and say, hey someone could get hurt falling off those 3 cement stairs. They won't insure the home until it has railings and if they won't insure it the lender won't lend you the money. I also laugh and cry because when I was a real estate agent in rural NC, I couldn't sell a house for $20,000 to a heating contractor. He needed a loan to buy the house and the bank wouldn't loan him the money because the house had no heat. Another house I couldn't sell because two family members owned two homes and only one well for water with plumbing to both homes. The family was feuding so the owner whose home was on the same property as the well wouldn't sign an easement (or whatever the proper term is) for the well. So the other home was considered as having no water which disqualified it for any loans. The only way water wouldn't be supplied to one home was if neither home had water. All that said, if you are putting a full 20% down, chances are it doesn't matter. "As-Is" sales happen all the time with the intention that the new owner will be fixing it up. Good luck, RuthTue, 16 Sep 2008 23:08:53 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Financing/removed-57533Answer by Ruthless: Dave: I feel your pain. I'm fighting over 500 sq ft myself. I have 3 appraisals all stating the house is less than 3000 sq ft but the village is making us pay taxes on 3500 sq ft. As others have said, don't take this on yourself, use the attorney. As Scott said, the attorney will go after everyone. However, I really don't think anyone directly answered one of your questions, "who will pay me for my damages?" You were mostly right with the insurance company. Whoever is found to be at fault would either settle or their insurance company would pay you through Errors and Omissions coverage. In Illinois it might be the insurance that was purchased at closing through a title company. But as others here have said, what are your financial damages? It wasn't like they stole the 500 sq feet after you bought the house. You saw the house and hopefully several other homes and felt that this home was worth the price you were paying. And as Ryan said, your real case is criminal not civil - therefore you wouldn't get any money for damages. I'd turn it all over to an attorney who only gets paid if you get paid (i.e. 33%) and then forget about it - move on. If a year or two down the road the attorney wins you some money, it will be a windfall - just don't ever expect it to really happen. Sincerely, RuthTue, 16 Sep 2008 22:42:57 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Crime_and_Safety/Mortgage_Fraud-57351Answer by Ruthless: I agree with the below responses. Possibly not a scam because of management companies was my first optimistic thought. However, with all the forclosures and fraudulent stuff going on, I agree with you having reason to be skeptical, Chelley. We have seen on this forum that tenants are being evicted because they paid their rent but the owner didn't pay the mortgage. When people are in financial ruin, they get desperate and do things they might not otherwise do. What good is a rental agreement with a theft? I'd check with your court house to see if the builder or current owner have any bankruptcies, lawsuits or foreclosures on their records. I would also ask the builder what the situation is. If he is acting as a management company, you could always ask to see his management agreement to give you piece of mind. Good luck and let us know what happens. RuthTue, 16 Sep 2008 22:14:21 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Should_I_spend_money_on_a_home_I_don_t_own_-57189Answer by Ruthless: I should have looked at your profile before I asked and answered your last post from several months ago. The short answer is NO YOU should not spend money on a home you don't own. However, Larry was correct that in the long run it might be your money anyway - just don't shell it out yourself. You say that both Realtors are relatively new and it is apparent that they haven't even told you some of the basics. Just because you are buying it "As Is" and it is under contract doesn't mean that you loose your earnest money if the contract falls through because of these repairs. You have several realistic options: 1) seller makes and pays for the repairs 2) seller makes and you split the cost for repairs - at closing 3) seller makes repairs and you pay for it at closing 4) seller doesn't make repairs, he doesn't get his house sold and you get your earnest money back I have a great inexpensive real estate attorney I can refer you to. You should also ask to meet with your agents broker to get advice. Brandon: Holy crap you're kidding! Glad I read your post. I guess I won't be giving out the repair credit advice anymore. Any idea if it can go into escrow and paid directly to the repair contractors? Of course your not an attorney and can't give legal advice, but as a everyday person from personal experience, do you think it is possible? Good luck and email me via my profile if you would like the attorney's name. RuthTue, 16 Sep 2008 21:14:28 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/House_for_sale_in_Oak_Park-42563Answer by Ruthless: Irene: Did you have any luck? What has happened? I saw a house on HUMPHREY that closed for 44% of it's asking price for a 5 bedroom 2 bath home close in September for only $160,000. I can only guess that this house probably was purchased for so low because the buyers convinced the sellers that it was in such bad shape it should be torn down. Oak Park is a wonderful community with so much to offer but you are right, they need so much work to even make them liveable in your price range. If you haven't bought yet, give yourself plenty of room financially to make necessary repairs. Only put down 5% if you can and put the rest in an emergency fund. In negotiating a price, ask the sellers for credits for necessary repairs and assistance with closing costs. Do NOT be afraid to offer much lower than the asking price. Good luck, RuthTue, 16 Sep 2008 20:50:33 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/Has_anyone_offered_a_rental_agreement_with_an_out_-57509Answer by Ruthless: Would you offer the renter any inconvenience compensation? Would you advice a shorter or longer lease? If we rent it now and take it off the market until "Spring", should we have a 6 month lease then month to month or a year to 18 month lease with compensation if we kick them out sooner? Thanks for you help and answering.Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:13:42 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/Can_anyone_help_me_understand_the_real_estate_indu-37366Answer by Ruthless: One of the problems is sites that grab listings from other sites and the the agents don't have control over that. This then causes problems where listings don't get deleted, prices don't get changed and control is lost.Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:01:14 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Financing/removed-46722Answer by Ruthless: I just had a contract fall through that was lease to own. We were doing the back and forth negotiating and waiting for the authorization to run a credit check and see tax returns. One of the big stumbling blocks was the usual contingencies. What if after a year of building equity the contract is considered null and void because they couldn't get financing? You have a lot of risk out there so it's really not win-win. It's more like the lesser of two evils. Well, we were on the ball and eliminating any loopholes and waiting for a response to our counter offer - one of the items was tax returns and credit check. We knew he didn't have good credit because of a recent divorce but he is still a tenant if the deal goes through. The tax returns are because we need to qualify him to eventually be able to purchase. While waiting, I decided to do a little research on my own. Thank goodness I did. This person had 10 foreclosures in his past and state and federal tax liens. I'm sure they expect the seller to be relieved to finally get an offer and the hope of some money coming in. However the way he had structured it, after a year he would get his earnest money/downpayment back, PLUS we would have had to write HIM a check for the credit applied toward the purchase because there is no way any bank would lend him the money. Before doing this, be sure to watch the movie Pacific Heights. Good luck, RuthSun, 24 Aug 2008 00:23:16 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/what_is_the_usual_commission_percentage_these_days-37221Answer by Ruthless: I think if you are being "told" 8% is "usual", then you are probably dealing with LAND and not a HOME? Cheboygan is NOT Alaska and I even think the Alaskan agent I've seen on here might even take offense. Contact Gary. He's trustworthy (from my experience with him on here) and ethical. I think Gary was "selling" because he was HINTING that you might be getting taken advantage of. Or maybe 8% is "usual" for a mobile home but not your typical residential home. Some areas stay pretty firm at 6%, other areas 5% for full service agents. Some superior agents charge a premium and there are also discount agents. So you could expect commission to range from as little as a couple hundred bucks flat fee to even 10% for something requiring excessive time, money for marketing or such a low price just to make it worth the agents time. According to Steven Cook, a Vice President of the National Association of Realtors in a letter in May 2007, he said, "All real estate commissions are negotiable and the average is 5.1 percent, according to the most recent available data." I hope that helps. RuthWed, 21 May 2008 20:10:23 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/What_is_the_worst_that_can_happen_if_we_lower_our_-16387Answer by Ruthless: Kelli: Your response seems to be blatant promotion of your profession. You are not even in the seller's area. You didn't even answer the question. And this was an old question. Was there a purpose for you posting to this question? RuthlessWed, 21 May 2008 10:36:51 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Market_Conditions/Have_INVESTORS_changed_with_the_changing_market_co-36206Answer by Ruthless: Thanks, good clarifications as well. But since things are slowing for the rehabbers and the market is slow for them being hired to do home improvement jobs, are they getting jobs at McDonalds (especially with the greater loss exposure) or changing their philosophy and buying and holding? Personally, I grew up with a high risk land developer father. I married a conservative pension sort of guy. Unfortunately, when pensions died he found "religion" in real estate. I've changed my philosophy too because "their not making anymore land" isn't true anymore (Dubai) and there are too many amateurs getting into real estate. I've always been an entrepreneur but the real money is in getting ahead of the curve. I have that ability outside of real estate but it "takes money to make money". Any thoughts? RuthThu, 15 May 2008 11:23:54 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Foreclosure/If_you_purchase_a_second_home_and_then_walk_away_f-36089Answer by Ruthless: Please be aware that I wasn't saying that your mortgage interest rates would go up, I was making an analogy between mortgage fine print and credit card fine print. I was also attempting to make any future foreclosed person aware that all their other future credit rates would/could go up (credit card, auto, etc.). Steve makes an extremely good point that you don't even read the mortgage contract until way into the process. Here in IL, I don't think I have actually read the real and complete mortgage contract until the closing. Prior to that you sign disclosures and good faith estimates and ask important questions such as "Is there a penalty for early payoff?" or "Is this fixed, adjustable or a balloon?" or "Is it assumable?" The day before the closing you get the HUD statement and look at the numbers. But how many people even read the entire mortgage document? In IL the title company or the attorney explains the finer points but don't go over every single detail. Here are some comments I remember hearing in my closings: "Signing this means that you didn't lie or are not committing fraud." "Signing this says you will pay this amount by this date and if you pay late your penalty will be x" "Signing this means that everyone makes mistakes and if we made one you will let us correct it." "Signing this means that if you sell your home, refinance or close your account in less than 3 years, you will pay a penalty." "Signing this means that when you add in all the fees, you are actually paying interest on the fees as well which makes it look like you are paying an interest rate of 6.125% instead of 6%." But do they explain what the ramifications are if you did lie on your application or don't make your monthly mortgage payments? No, I think not! And you are not about to ask because that would be embarrassing or incriminating. That is why this forum is so great!!! You can anonymously ask those questions (of course every responsible person will tell you to contact an attorney). My main point is to find out (from an attorney) under what conditions can the mortgage company "CALL IN THE LOAN"? I know almost all of them say that they will call in the loan if you 1) sell the house 2) don't make your monthly payments 3) at the end of a set balloon period 4) if you don't insure the house and/or 5) if you don't pay your real estate taxes. Since there is a foreclosure crisis, isn't it possible that some mortgage company might slip into the fine print of their new mortgage documents a clause stating that if a foreclosure appears on your credit report that they have the right to call in the loan? Steve also adds a question that I have not asked before, "Is this loan secured solely by the property or is it secured by my *good name* as well?" I also think Ute's point of possible fraud is something that the hurting mortgage companies will be pursuing in greater numbers in the future. I believe previously they reserved this avenue for "criminals" and "con artists" but will now be attacking the everyday, "I didn't know?" consumer. RuthThu, 15 May 2008 11:01:36 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Foreclosure/If_you_purchase_a_second_home_and_then_walk_away_f-36089Answer by Ruthless: Ute: Very nicely said. Jane & others: I haven't read all my mortgage documents in a while but I wonder if they have any sort of similar clause that credit card companies have? I know mortgage companies have a "due on sale" clause. What other clauses and causes do they have to call in the loan? With a credit card, if they see that you defaulted on different credit card or mortgage, suddenly your 1.9% interest rate jumps to 22%. Can a mortgage company do the same thing? RuthWed, 14 May 2008 19:48:27 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/I_buy_rental_houses_Anybody_know_how_to_stop_mail-36127Answer by Ruthless: YES!!! Excellent question!!! You could also be talking about vacant homes not yet rented and mail going to resident or names you've never heard of. I had the mail being forwarded to me that was addressed to me. However, someone knew the house was vacant and may have requested a credit card in their name but the vacant home's address. I was concerned that somehow the same address could come back to me. My short term suggestion would be a vacation hold if you don't want to do the forwarding or P.O. Box. Then once a week or so, just go pick up your mail. Good luck, RuthWed, 14 May 2008 20:20:26 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Agent2Agent/Has_anyone_used_a_product_called_Talking_House_-24461Answer by Ruthless: I'm answering as a consumer. I've seen the "Talking House" signs several times and never called one of them. I'd rather grab a listing sheet from a box or ask specific questions of a live person. When I'm looking at homes, it is much easier to deal with one phone number or web site for the top producing agent than writing down a different phone number or extension or website for each home. It always seems that there are two agents that have multiple listings and then a few other single listing agents. Those top two might only last for a couple months and then it will be two completely different agents that have all of them in the neighborhood. That sort of goes along with working with FSBOs. It seems as soon as someone puts a FSBO sign up, someone else in the neighborhood hires an agent to get a head start compared to the FSBO. Has anyone ever tried targeting a FSBO's neighbors? Once the FSBO fails, they end up listing with the same agent that the neighbor used. Ruth P.S. I have been called a marketing genius before and I was a Realtor/Broker for one year a decade ago. I never thought of targeting FSBO neighbors until just now.Wed, 14 May 2008 20:11:40 PDT