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Sorry- wasn't sure where to post this, if its in the wrong section you may move it.
Anyway,
I have a situation Im worried about (dont I always) and was hoping to get others thoughts/opinions on the matter. When I got the mortgage for my house I needed a co-signer since my credit was not established enough. My grandmother co- signed but she has recently passed away and I guess she owed the nursing home $40k which they are now putting a lien on my home since she was the co-signer.
My lawyer who is getting paid off the top from my grandmothers money she had saved/ before the state gets it - wants me to produce proof that she never made any payments on this mortgage or property.
I just needed her to co-sign, I paid the down payment and all monthly loan payments- she never paid a dime.
What makes things confusing is the original mortgage is from 2008, in 2011 I refinanced to get a lower interest rate but they said the co-signer was still needed. Then a couple years ago Bank of America sold my mortgage to some bank I never heard of in New Jersey called M&T Bank.
Ive always paid all my loan payments through the banks websites. I used to always save the confirmation receipts but lost them when a Hard drive went bad so just stopped saving them since I figured the bank had record of all these payments anyway if I needed them.
So last week- I request a complete payment history to prove all loan payments were made by myself, when I get them in the mail.... it shows all payments made,but not where or who made them. I contacted them and they tell me they can not give me a payment history showing who or where the payments came from, and that I would have to go to my bank where the payments came from.
Im going to my bank Monday where Ive made all the payments from my checking account but im worried they wont be able to bring up statements from back to 2008.
Besides from this- he wants a copy of the down payment check which I do not have. I remember it only being $2000 but hopefully that info will be in my mortgage documents I just ordered yesterday from this M&T Bank.
Things are not looking good for me, I should of been ontop of saving these documents.
If I cant produce the documents they need are they likely to try and take my house or will they just try and put a lien on it? The house was only $50k and my grandmother owes $40k.
If a lien for $40k is placed on the house would my loan payments stay the same but just take much longer to pay off due to the lien or would they want a lien payment each month ontop of the mortgage payment?
You should have gone to your bank first to get bank statements. The mortgage company statements would almost never show where the money came from. Your bank should also be able to produce the activity from the down payment. The lien wouldnt change your mortgage payment you just wouldn't be able to sell your house until you pay the lien off
You should have gone to your bank first to get bank statements. The mortgage company statements would almost never show where the money came from. Your bank should also be able to produce the activity from the down payment. The lien wouldnt change your mortgage payment you just wouldn't be able to sell your house until you pay the lien off
A lien can also force a sale to recoup owed money. A lien is basically a you owe me money so I'm placing my name on your asset to make sure I get my money. You could settle the demand by negotiating a optics, but if she didn't make a 1/2 the payment it's not hers. You may need to go to court to get her name off the deed of the property
Go to the bank and ask for the statements as far back as needed. Hope your Grans isn't on your checking account. Btw you should keep statements, receipts, tax records, house payments for a minimum of 7 years.
Interesting situation. By co-signing, she agreed to pay-off the mortgage if you defaulted on the loan. But, these things usually work-out the other way and the co-signer is left holding the bag.
It now sounds like your house is being considered part of your grandmother's estate assets and is thus, subject to lien action by the nursing home. If (?) that is the case, then half of your home equity might be at risk. You will likely need to check with the mortgage company and note to determine her 'equity position', which is what the nursing home will also be attempting to determine.
Thanks for the replies! She is not on my checking account, I will go to my bank monday and get the needed statements.
Im wondering if there is any way they can just print up a list with dates of all the mortgage payments, or if I physically have to hand 7 years worth of my statements to my lawyer? (I dont think its anyone's business - all my transactions from 7 years)
In my mortgage it lists her as the co-borrower / co-owner , I thought she was just co-signing or is all three terms one and the same?
Thanks for the replies! She is not on my checking account, I will go to my bank monday and get the needed statements.
Im wondering if there is any way they can just print up a list with dates of all the mortgage payments, or if I physically have to hand 7 years worth of my statements to my lawyer? (I dont think its anyone's business - all my transactions from 7 years)
In my mortgage it lists her as the co-borrower / co-owner , I thought she was just co-signing or is all three terms one and the same?
Since she signed the loan papers her name went on the deed. You could/should of refinanced with the loan on your name only.
As for the statements just make copies and redact any information/transaction you don't want shown. That's what I do when I have to show a statement.
Yeah, when i refinanced it, the main reason was to get her off the mortgage but then at the last minute they said I still needed her on it but I went ahead and refinanced to get the lower interest rate.
Take the hard drive to a computer professional and have the data recovered. Don't know if it will address the root problem.
For anyone else reading and not to admonish the OP... This is another example of why cosigning is a bad idea, any why cosigning without an insurance policy is a terrible idea.
Interesting situation. By co-signing, she agreed to pay-off the mortgage if you defaulted on the loan. But, these things usually work-out the other way and the co-signer is left holding the bag.
It now sounds like your house is being considered part of your grandmother's estate assets and is thus, subject to lien action by the nursing home. If (?) that is the case, then half of your home equity might be at risk. You will likely need to check with the mortgage company and note to determine her 'equity position', which is what the nursing home will also be attempting to determine.
Not necessarily half the equity. At most $40k of equity is gone, that's the size of the claim.
This is pretty backwards, the usual problem is the co-signer being liable for the primary borrower's default (which is after all the whole point of co-signing). Going after the primary borrower for unrelated default of the co-signer is a new one on me.
Anyway, you shouldn't worry about giving your own lawyer your financial statements. Just have a discussion about what they should show the court and/or the other party's attorney, and let them do any needed redaction.
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