My husband and I owned property in Missouri, and we sold the property with a 20% owner -finance, so we held the second deed of trust. The borrower also signed a promissory note that was notarized. The borrower defaulted on payments, and the house was foreclosed by the bank to get their money back. So, we are stuck with 14,400 (plus interest) promissory note that we have only received one payment on! What do I need to do to get our money? *We now live in Alaska, and the borrower( at last contact) still lives in Missouri.*

You can go after the borrower unless he files bankruptcy. If that happens, your note isn't worth any more than the paper it is written on. If your loan was filed as a lien at the courthouse, you might be able to collect before the bank can resell the property? I am sorry I don't know the specifics of the laws with that. I think you're going to need an attorney to help deal with the bank, and find out if you have any hope of collecting your money. You might be able to file a loss on your taxes depending on how you file and the specifics of your case... for which you'll need a tax accountant.

Something very similar happened to my uncle. He decided he was better off forgetting about the debt because of the amount involved and the cost of getting the property back... his note would have been profits, and did not cause him to lose on his original investment. Hope that helps in some way.

Call the person and be as kind as possible. An extremely very wealthy man in Atlanta owes me $2.3 million and counting. Be humble and meek in your approach since the Bible says that we should let them have it. If you do this, the person will become bitter and repulsive which will prove a guilty conscience. This allows God to work since He made us all anyway. Have faith and expect to be paid when they can pay it. Until then, they have to sleep with this in their spirit every night and you are eventually going to become richer for letting the matter go.