# Ask the guy thats about to get foreclosed on. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934 "2010-05-10T17:36:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/21 "2010-05-10T19:27:41Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I’m having a hard time understanding why you didn’t get a lawyer at some point. No family, friends, community support like church- nothing? Dude! Even if you had to represent yourself- ? I remember your original thread about it- we told you to get a lawyer! It would be great if I could find a lawyer that would work per bono while suing Deparment of Treasury in federal court, but it never happened. My employer wanted to provide me one but it didn’t work out. I don’t know if most people know of the economic situation of my family on this board or not, but my mother is dying of congestive heart failure and has maxed out her insurance policy, so most of my father’s spare income goes towards her health care costs, and my brother is a single parent raising two boys on his own. There isn’t any money to pay a lawyer even if I could find one that had the sack to take the case. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/22 "2010-05-10T19:30:45Z")
What about future employment? Are they just going to garnish any money that you make from now on? What does that mean for you? Does anybody even pay under the table anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/23 "2010-05-10T19:31:41Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Give it time. Some folks steadfastly refuse to believe that it’s possible to get utterly fucked over through no fault of your own. > > We walked away from our home a few months ago, simply because we were sick of fighting a losing battle. We had half of a side-by-side duplex, and were told about a while back that we were going to get an additional $600 per month put on to our payment to “correct a mistake” they had made – that our home was actually 5,200 square feet, not the 2,800 sq. ft. we claimed. Ummm, no – the _entire original home_ was 5,200 sq. ft., _our half_ was 2,800 sq. ft. > > The bank would hear none of it. Letters, certified copies of the survey, lawyers back and forth – it got to the point where we simply couldn’t afford to pay for their mistake any longer. We had recourse, but their war chest was a hell of a lot larger than ours and they eventually won their war of attrition. We had tried to sell, but no takers – by that time we had gotten so disgusted with everything that we emptied the place out and moved back to our hometown. > > We’re a hell of a lot happier here. We have the old place up for sale again (in a now-healthier market and for a cheaper price), and when we get a buyer we’re reasonably sure that the bank will accept a short sale for a small loss (it’ll be a hell of a lot cheaper for them than to try and fully foreclose and sell). > > So, some pencil-pusher somewhere found that taking a steaming shit on our credit was preferable than saying “Oh, duh – you’re right, it’s a _two_-family home”. Ah well…life goes on. > > Good luck, **TD** – hope we both come out of these situations with some justice served. I own the entire building, its a duplex with two 980 square foot apartments on each side. Maybe its a conspiracy by someone in order to get all the duplexes in America… HMM. I am really worried about the people living on the other side. They are elderly. I was assured that they would be allowed to live there as they are currently under lease. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/24 "2010-05-10T19:33:52Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > What about future employment? Are they just going to garnish any money that you make from now on? What does that mean for you? Does anybody even pay under the table anymore? Thats the concern. I work in higher education… its hard to get back into the real world once you are in higher ed. But realistically, each new place I work will be getting my wages garnished. I have been trying to haul scrap metal, work on cars, and I have done some roofing but the day labor market ain’t what it used to be. If you do day labor though and get hired for the day, generally that means you get lunch too which is cool. Some days thats the only way I have been eating. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/25 "2010-05-10T19:37:54Z")
How old are you? Is it just you, or is there a wife, kids? Can you live with family if the park doesn’t work out? Are you shitting your pants right now? I feel bad for you. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/26 "2010-05-10T19:45:24Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > How old are you? Is it just you, or is there a wife, kids? Can you live with family if the park doesn’t work out? Are you shitting your pants right now? I feel bad for you. I am 26 and unmarried. I really can’t live with family if it doesn’t work out as there isn’t much room. I am not really shitting my pants, you have to eat for that haha. In all seriousness, I am not really sure what I am going to do. I have learned ways to make some money but food is a lot more expensive than when it was the last time I was poor. I am a pescetarian which helps as meat is pretty high too. I don’t know what I am going to do when I can’t work. A lot of the retail management type jobs that might pay decently won’t hire me because of the credit score. I am also concerned about my car insurance because in Texas its legal for them to charge you more if your credit score is bad - apparently that makes you a riskier driver. I am hoping for a miracle but there isn’t much of anything I can think of to pull as a hail mary. The bank is really wanting my house back since I have fixed it up and its worth way more than I owe on it. They might actually make money on this deal. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/27 "2010-05-10T19:46:31Z")
Oh I was dating someone but we broke up because “I wasn’t financially stable or responsible enough to handle my life”, and “she needed more.” :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/28 "2010-05-10T19:48:08Z")
Can’t you apply for food stamps? Also, does your town or area have an alternative weekly paper? They often run human interest stories like this. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/29 "2010-05-10T20:00:22Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Can’t you apply for food stamps? Also, does your town or area have an alternative weekly paper? They often run human interest stories like this. I emailed my story to local television stations but I haven’t heard anything back. We do have [The Dallas Observer](http://www.dallasobserver.com/) and I will try that. Its a good idea, **Alice**. Everytime I hear the name Alice I always think of that song on Elton John’s The Yellow Brick Road… ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/30 "2010-05-10T20:01:37Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > I emailed my story to local television stations but I haven’t heard anything back. We do have [The Dallas Observer](http://www.dallasobserver.com/) and I will try that. Its a good idea, **Alice**. > > Everytime I hear the name Alice I always think of that song on Elton John’s The Yellow Brick Road… Oh food stamps? I tried that but it goes off of your prior tax return according to the office and I don’t qualify. I would if I had a kid though. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/31 "2010-05-10T20:10:26Z")
You should be able to get some help from a local food bank. Have you gone to any? And FYI, your story has me freaked the f&&& out. Scary stuff. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/32 "2010-05-10T20:11:36Z")
The previous thread you linked to is less than a month old so I’m trying to figure out how you go from there to being forclosed on that quickly. I’m sure there’s info I don’t have that helps it make sense. The whole situation sounds all kinds of messed up. I agree with the suggestion to try going to the local media. “Feds Screw Over Local Man” sounds like a headline they could get behind. > [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > I am hoping for a miracle but there isn’t much of anything I can think of to pull as a hail mary. The bank is really wanting my house back since I have fixed it up and its worth way more than I owe on it. They might actually make money on this deal. Hopefully I have good news for you though. As far as I understand it when the bank forcloses they are only entitled to the amount you owe from a sale. Any excess should come back to you. Just like if it sold for less than what you owed you would still owe the bank that amount. Not that it’s much of a reassurance since I’m sure somehow that would get garnished as well. Good luck man. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/33 "2010-05-10T20:19:03Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > The previous thread you linked to is less than a month old so I’m trying to figure out how you go from there to being forclosed on that quickly. Its crazy I know. I will be two payments behind in two days when I can’t pay the bill. I thought that being proactive and letting them know of the situation was the best thing to do, but apparently it wasn’t because they were ready to yank the house when they called me back. They said that its happening so quickly because I just got the house in November. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/34 "2010-05-10T20:20:08Z")
> [@HelloNinja](#): > > You should be able to get some help from a local food bank. Have you gone to any? > > And FYI, your story has me freaked the f&&& out. Scary stuff. I don’t know of any but I will be checking it out just as soon as I get off of work. They are just keeping me around today so I have some place to be, I really can’t do anything. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/35 "2010-05-10T20:25:47Z")
You should be taking notes, and then one day when this is all over, you can write a book. You could be on The Today Show. There could be a movie- I wonder who will play me? ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/36 "2010-05-10T20:29:27Z")
I was thinking that Matt Damon might have aged too far to play me. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/37 "2010-05-10T20:44:42Z")
You say that the lawyer you talked to demanded $5000. Aren’t you losing a lot more than $5000 by not getting a lawyer? And it’s not like there’s only one lawyer in the world–you can get out the phone book and go through every one. Obviously having a lawyer isn’t a panacea, but you’re probably going to have to get one anyway for your inevitable bankruptcy proceeding. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/38 "2010-05-10T20:48:36Z")
This really does sound like a bad dream cooked up by Franz Kafka. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/39 "2010-05-10T21:08:37Z")
I would get your Senator on the phone… since your House Representative isn’t helping much it seems. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934/40 "2010-05-10T21:20:10Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > I would get your Senator on the phone… since your House Representative isn’t helping much it seems. OTHER Reps might not hurt either. Technically they only represent their district, but in a pinch they might be inclined to help anyone from their state. Just make sure to make the request for help is as straightforward and concise without leaving anything out so they dont pass over it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-thats-about-to-get-foreclosed-on/538934.md?page=3)