We have owned our house for 2 years, we had to move out of state for a year so we rented our house out. The renters quit paying and we had to hire an atty to evict them and they left the house destroyed. Meanwhile we about the lost the house, we finally worked out an agreement with the loss mitigation department. Our mortgage payment is now $1,200 for a $93,000 house. Due to our renters we almost had to file bankruptcy and our credit is horrible now. We finally are caught up on everything but we cannot find a bank willing to help us lower our payment. Any suggestions would be great.

We even considered putting our house in my in laws for a year or two to get the payment back down. Would this be wise to do?

First, did you try suing the renters for damages? What about your homeowners insurance?

As for getting a mortgage, are your in laws willing to co-sign, that might get you a lower payment.

Did you try a mortgage broker? They have a number of lenders to pick from so they should be able to find a lender willing to refinance you.

As far as your in-laws -- they'd have to be willing to buy the house from you and have their own mortgage on it in their name - IF they qualify. If they already have a mortgage, they may not. But doing this does nothing to help you improve your credit.

Diane

There are banks out there that are willing to help. I work in the industry, so I know there are lenders that will help. Being non-owner occupied does put limits on who will be willing to lend, but there are programs out there that you should qualify for.

As for me, I would not put the home in my in-laws names for a number of reasons. Mainly because it wouldn't help me re-establish the credit problems in the past.

Why are you not selling the house ?

Are you willing to risk renting it again, not living near it ?

But once you get some dings on your credit, finding lower interest rates are going to be hard.

If you can't afford two house payments, it is very simple, sell one house

How much do you still need to clear?
Option 1) Sell the house. That makes sense, even if you own a little to the mortgage company you will be able to cear it off
Option 2) I want ask the same thing that DiTryin did... Homeowners insurance??
Option 3) Based on the amount cleared on the mortgage, you can apply for a 2nd mortgage for a small amount. Better the living conditions in the house & rent it out. Make sure you get enough money to pay your 2nd mortgage with the rent you get. Over a period you'll be out of the problems.

This is just basic advice without me being completely aware of your situation. Hope my suggestions helped!

Hello Shaye,

This is actually something that unfortunately has become more and more common these days...

A lot of people are trying to get into the real estate business to buy and then rent out properties thinking it will be easy money...

As you have found out (the hard way), renting isn't always as easy as it is cut out to be...

What you need to do is talk to a wholesale mortgage lender.. Specifically you need to talk with a compnay that works with people in your situation.. Every lender out there has different guidelines and different types of clients that they lend money to..

Some lenders strictly lend to people with good credit.. Others focus on people that are just out of bankruptcy or have bad credit.. You thave to find the right one...

To tell you a little about my experience, I have been originating mortgae laons for over 13 years... I actually work with a company that helps borrowers with low or no credit get the financing they need on their homes..

It just sounds like you are in a tough spot, and are in need of some help.. Take a look at my profile, maybe some of my information there can help you... I have helped lots of people in sinmilar, or even much worse situations then yours, and would be happy to do the same for you..

I wish you the best of luck!!

Talk to your insurance company. Most will have a policy to cover "malicious mischief". File a police report against the tenants for vandalizing your property, and use that as proof to your insurance company. Your attorney shouldn't have charged you more than 500 to handle the eviction. Next time you do something like this, make sure you get a reputable property manager. They take about 10% of the rent as their fee, but it's worth it. Don't shop around to find a cheaper one because they probably won't provide you with as good service. If you decide to sell your place, you can tlak to the bank and try to negotiate a "short sale". This is when you sell the home for less than you owe on it. If you're looking to keep the place, you can try deeding one of your parents onto the title of the home, then see if they can refinance it under their name while keeping you on the title. If you do this as a sale transaction, it will be more costly in fees, but also your taxes are re-assessed and you'll be paying a higher amount on property taxes