Should I continueto notpay my mortgage to press the bank to help me on my request for payment modification?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Should I continueto notpay my mortgage to press the bank to help me on my request for payment modification?
I am currently working with the bank to lower my monthly mortgage payments or, if possible, lower the principal. I feel the bank is trying to gain some time or is playing with me by asking over and over for the same documents submitted. They are saying that they are at the end of the process for a resolution but I keep hearing the same in the last 2 to 3 months. I stopped to pay the mortgage last month since an increase in the payments came because of the type of mortgage I obtained in my last modification. I heard and read and also I was advised by some friends to stop paying because the bank will not help me since they are getting their money. Last month I stopped paying my mortgage and this month will be my second miss. Should I continue this way to press the bank to help me and give me an answer soon or should I pay what I own and keep waiting for an answer? Could anyone give me an advise on an effective way to lower my monthly mortgage payments?
Asked on November 14, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
1) If you don't make your mortgage payments, you will be in default. The bank will be entitled to foreclose on you and then, potentially also seek a deficiency judgment (i.e. after your home is foreclosed on and sold at auction, if it brings in less than the remaining balance due on the loan, the bank can sue you for whatever amount remains unpaid).
2) Banks don't have to work with you if they don't want to, whether you pay or not; there is no way to force or pressure them to respond to you. Consider that while the mortgage is signficant to you, it is not even a blip on a bank's balance sheet--you have effectively no leverage.
3) If you NEED to lower your payments and can show they are, or will become, unsupportable, try showing that to the bank. If bankruptcy is a legitimate option for you unless you get relief, you can share that fact with the bank, too--while they'll ultimately still be able to foreclosure if they are not paid, it will complicate their collections and foreclosure efforts.
4) Just trying to lower your payments because you feel they should be lower, but while you are still able to pay them and cannot demonstrate an inability to pay, is likely to not be successful.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.