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I live in Illinois. I have a credit card company ( unsecured) who sued me in court two months ago.. have filed a lien on my home... and will execute a foreclosure if I do not pay.
I cannot pay since I have been laid off and still without a job. They declined for a settlement...only saying they will foreclose if not paid in 30 days.
My question is...how concerned should I be? I own the home outright...but cannot get a line of credit against it due to poor credit since job loss and no earned income coming in.
Should I start packing and expect the worse that they will take my home? How long will it take from executing the lien and a court date that pretty much boots us out.
I live in Illinois. I have a credit card company ( unsecured) who sued me in court two months ago.. have filed a lien on my home... and will execute a foreclosure if I do not pay.
I cannot pay since I have been laid off and still without a job. They declined for a settlement...only saying they will foreclose if not paid in 30 days.
My question is...how concerned should I be? I own the home outright...but cannot get a line of credit against it due to poor credit since job loss and no earned income coming in.
Should I start packing and expect the worse that they will take my home? How long will it take from executing the lien and a court date that pretty much boots us out.
My balance owed on the cc is 1,800...
Hope this made sense.... just very stressed out.
Thank You
Anthony
Only way a credit card can place a lien on your house is IF they take you to court and win a judgment against you.
Did they win a judgment from you?
If they do have a judgment against you than that may affect your ability to refinance and sell your home. Since your home is paid for, you may want to seek legal advice. Because in some instances they may force a sell of your home and take whatever you owe them and give you the rest of the proceeds from the sale of your home.
Take your home over $1800? Doesn't seem they could do this. If it appears that they could do this, contact your congressman asap. Acquiring a lawyer would be the thing to do however if you are broke your representative is there for you in cases just like this.
Take your home over $1800? Doesn't seem they could do this. If it appears that they could do this, contact your congressman asap. Acquiring a lawyer would be the thing to do however if you are broke your representative is there for you in cases just like this.
Honestly I think it's just the collection company blowing smoke by threatening the OP.
But yes if they go to court and get a judgment. They can force a sell of the home over $1800. They will take whatever proceeds from the sale ($1800 plus legal fees). So if the home sells for $100K. The creditor will take $1800 plus legal fees and the OP will be left with whatever is left.
Will this happen? Highly unlikely cause the collection company is probably blowing smoke by making the OP nervous. It will cost them too much money in legal proceedings to try to recoup $1800.
They would have to file for a judicial foreclosure in most states since you don't have a trust deed with them which allows for non-judicial foreclosures. This is typically a $40-$60k process for banks that actually have attorneys that do that sort of thing for a living. The judge would have to order the sale of your home. So, yes they can force the sale of your home but it is cost prohibitive. I'm guessing you just have a ruthless collection agent reading their required script.
Are you in a Homestead state? When you claim your primary residence as your Homestead, in Texas, only a bank can take your house. A credit card company cannot foreclosure on your Homestead.
I do not think I am in a homestead state. I live in Illinois. If the worst case scenerio I will lose my home...How long does the process take from when they file to have the lien foreclosed and when we are tossed out of our home? I know it depends but just wondering a ballpark figure.
Thank you all for your help. Very much appreciated.
Silverfall is correct about the general sequence of what steps would be needed for foreclosure. The reason the collection agency filed the lien is that the OP owns the home free and clear and there is an assumption that with the large amount of equity the collection company would easily recoup any costs. What is most likely is that should the OP attempt to sell (or do a reverse mortgage or other cash refi) the lien would need to be cleared and the collection agency would profit.
I assume the OP is paying their property taxes and other obligations; it would be foolish to let this debt lead to often problems. No need to loose any sleep over the lien BUT be sure to keep track of the status of your overall debt, judges have been known to entertain seizure for debtors that habitually abuse lenders...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silverfall
They would have to file for a judicial foreclosure in most states since you don't have a trust deed with them which allows for non-judicial foreclosures. This is typically a $40-$60k process for banks that actually have attorneys that do that sort of thing for a living. The judge would have to order the sale of your home. So, yes they can force the sale of your home but it is cost prohibitive. I'm guessing you just have a ruthless collection agent reading their required script.
Thank you all again for the replies. I wouldn't mind a lien and then pay back if I sell or refi. I cannot imagine being tossed out with a family of 5 and nowhere to go. As for property taxes, I have been paying them, just been about 6 months behind ( delinquent) but always pay them with part of my refund I get every year from taxes ( EIC).
You would think with the equity guaranteed for them, that they will sit on the lien and collect the 9 percent interest for a bit, giving a person, like myself, time to get back on our feet and pay the debt down in the future.
Many thanks to all. I will try to relax a little bit... not helping me nor my family currently.
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Closest to accurate...
