If you have turn your home over to the mortgage company, canitcontinue to report a delinquency on your credit report if it won’t foreclose?
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If you have turn your home over to the mortgage company, canitcontinue to report a delinquency on your credit report if it won’t foreclose?
It has changed the locks on the door; we have had no access for the last 2.5 years. I am in the military and it will not foreclose on the house and it continues to report to the credit agencies that we still own the home. We tried a short sale but it wouldn’t sell. What can we do?
Asked on December 26, 2011 under Real Estate Law, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
There are several different issues here:
1) You can't force a bank to foreclose on a home, or even to accept one voluntarily; they have the right to simply keep seeking the money from you and to not take title or ownership of the home. (You can't make anyone, even a bank, take over property which they don't want.)
2) Even if they did take over the home or foreclose, unless they agreed that in doing so, they would deem your debt satisfied, you would still be delinquent.
3) However, if you are still the owners of the home, you can't be locked out or denied access--it's your home.
4) If you're still the owners, you would still potentially be liable for taxes, utilities, repairs, insurance, maintenance, if anyone is injured on the property, etc.
This is a complicated situation; you should speak with an attorney about it, because it seems as if you need help to resolve it.
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