QUESTION
What are your recommendations for a lawsuit filed against us for a mortgage deficiency after a short sale in Florida?
Asked on Mar 29th, 2013 on Residential Real Estate - Florida
More details to this question:
We closed on a short sale back in October 2011. We recently received a lawsuit from SunTrust to collect on the deficiency amount of $43,000 for a second mortgage that closed during this short sale. We realized after the closing we did sign to allow them to collect for balance. We are wondering if we should hire an attorney and what steps we should take to find a legitimate attorney that can represent us in this dispute. Please note, we are currently renting, we do not have much in assets outside of a few thousand dollars in savings and we own one vehicle. Between my spouse and I he is the only one employed at this time and we have two children. Just curious also what you feel our chances of settling this lawsuit are as well.
1 ANSWER
Asset Protection Attorney serving Vero Beach, FL
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Charles H. Sanford Law Offices P.L.
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Mr Stevens,
Based upon the facts given, I couldn't say what the chances are settling are. However, given your limited finances and assets, the I imagine the Bank would agree to a settlement.
Note: If the Bank gets a money Judgment, it can last for up to 20yrs and could seriously limit your ability to accumulate wealth. A judgment acts as a lien upon all of your non-exempt property, so it's usually worth the effort to contact the bank to work out a settlement. They usually will agree to some kind of cents on the dollar cash settlement or payoff over time of a discounted amount.
Bankruptcy might be an option as well, but you should contact an attorney to see if it's right for you and whether you'd qualify. Asset protection planning is quite involved and I recommend you seek legal help.
Charles Sanford
Answered on Mar 29th, 2013 at 3:57 PM