Should We Stop Paying Our Mortgage?

That’s really not a question that I can answer for you.  But, what I can tell you is that there are investors who hold notes on homes who will absolutely refuse to consider you for a short sale unless you’re past due by at least 30 days.

My initial response to this is complete rejection.  Logically, there’s not going to be much of a difference between a seller who has decided not to pay who presents a short sale offer, and a seller who has actually stopped paying who presents the same offer.  The only difference is 30 days.

Most creditors are NOT going to negotiate with someone who is actively paying their bill.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a home mortgage, a credit card, or a personal debt.  Short Sales, however, often have been an exception to this rule, as many investors see the value of cashing out as soon as they can before the values continue to fall, if in fact they fall.  But recently, they’ve started to tighten the reigns.

If I loan you $100.00, and you agree to pay me $10.00/month for 10 months, and you continue to pay, I’m probably not going to be likely to agree to accept a settlement until it’s proven to me that you aren’t going to pay me anymore.  If you pay me $50.00, and then stop paying me, then you approach me a few months later offering an additional $20.00 to settle the entire debt, I may be likely to simply take it and write off the remainder because I’ll want to get what I can when I can, rather than gamble losing it all in the end.

So, I cannot advise you to stop paying your mortgage, because I’m acting on behalf of your best interests, and your best interests include anything and everything that is non-destructive.  When you stop paying, it will affect your credit negatively.  What I can tell you that if you do stop paying, it will show your lender that you’re serious. Of course, if THEY tell you to stop, that’s a different story, and in my opinion, loony on their part.

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