can they take my houses if I do not pay my credit card bills?
I own my home free and clear. I have two other homes, with mortgages, that are in a family trust. My sons live in one and my sister lives in the other. I make NO money on either of them. The rent is a wash or less. I am in the real estate business in Nevada in the worst hit area in the country in foreclosures. I am making no money. I am just turning 62, but the money I would collect in SS would not cover my credit card bills as I have had to live on them for the last 2 years. IF I stop paying my CC bills can the Credit card companies MAKE me sell my houses? That is all I have left, and my family lives in them… I have always tried to do the right thing and paid my bills. My FI-CO has been ABIT 780 and NOW what??? HELP I am at my wits end….I just don’t know what to do…
4 Responses
Baby Colton is h
11 Feb 2010
Peter
11 Feb 2010
In general, the answer is yes, but the answer depends on several facts that you do not mention. The way it works is this. If you owe money to a credit card company, the creditor can sue you and obtain a judgment for the money you owe, plus interest and costs of suit. That judgment can be recorded in the land records as a judgment lien against all real properties in your name. Now your creditor has a money judgment against you and a lien on your real estate, substantially the same as a mortgage. The creditor can then obtain a court order foreclosing on the judgment lien, i.e., ordering a sale of the property to satisfy the debt. You then lose your property in the foreclosure sale. There are a couple of factors that may affect this result. First, you say that two properties are "in a family trust." There are different kinds of trust, some are liable for the debts of the settlors and some are not. You need to consult a lawyer to determine whether those trusts are liable for your debts. If they are not, then the creditor cannot get the property owned by the trusts. Second, you may be eligible for a homestead exemption, which protects a debtor’s principal residence (or some portion of the value) from creditors. Nevada probably has a homestead exemption, but I don’t know what it is. You need to consult a Nevada lawyer on this.
Mr V
11 Feb 2010
I believe they can. Checkout http://www.daveramsey.com/ he is a radio host who is way more knowledgeable about this then anyone I know. I would ask him what to do.
Personally, because you have two houses that are being used by family members I would talk to them about your situation and have them either pay for their houses, or if they are paid off, have them pay you for their living experiences.Work out a payment plain so they pay what you need month by month, to pay off debt and for necessity’s. Don’t try and do it alone.
?
11 Feb 2010
The answer regarding Dave Ramsey is a start in the right direction. He compares creditors to animals that are on the prowl and looking to eat you. His program encourages taking the biggest card debt you have and paying that one off as soon as possible. Another option which I think is better is to get a free E-book from another website called debtendnow.com and after reading that, you can decide if that is the way to go. Check out a yahoo group called FreedomFrom UnsecuredDebt. It has some cool links to help you regain control over your debt.
God bless,
Rob
how much you owe? i suppose if it went to collections and the collections took you to court and won a judgement you might be forced to sell your home…. i would try callin the credit card companies, tell them your situation, and see if you can work something out