I am currently in a very high interest hard money mortgage that balloons in September 2025. Our house is assessed at 415000 and the mortgage is 269000 and not declining because everything goes to interest, taxes, and insurance, nothing to principal. I got laid off for about two months and everything fell behind (except our mortgage, we've never missed a payment always on time) but our credit scores are horrible. I only have one in the 500's and my husband has none currently. The problem is the longer we go paying this payment the farther behind we get on everything else and the lender isn't reporting the payments to the credit bureaus. I know there probably isn't anything we can do but we've actually considered bankruptcy. Can anyone offer some advice.
Sell the house. If you price the property correctly you should be able to move it. I do know the central Florida real estate market is not great at the moment. If the property is worth 415k and you only owe 269k why not sell it at 300-325k range and clean your hands of it if you are at the point of considering bankruptcy?
Sell the house. If you price the property correctly you should be able to move it. I do know the central Florida real estate market is not great at the moment. If the property is worth 415k and you only owe 269k why not sell it at 300-325k range and clean your hands of it if you are at the point of considering bankruptcy?
Because I would like to find a solution to keep it. The idea of going through the whole real estate process again is not something we truly want to do. We've even tried to get the lender to report our on time payments to the credit bureaus but they won't. That would help us significantly I would think.
This is our only home and we want to try to keep it. Selling is a last resort
I'm sorry you're in this situation. I'm not a bankruptcy attorney, but perhaps you should speak with one before declaring bankruptcy.
If the house is really worth $415k, I would price it for a quick sale (maybe not as low $325k) and get a fresh slate. Holding out for hope on something like this usually only makes the situation worse. If it's your primary residence, you'll be able to keep any gains tax free if you've lived there 2 of the last 5 years.
I am currently in a very high interest hard money mortgage that balloons in September 2025. Our house is assessed at 415000 and the mortgage is 269000 and not declining because everything goes to interest, taxes, and insurance, nothing to principal. I got laid off for about two months and everything fell behind (except our mortgage, we've never missed a payment always on time) but our credit scores are horrible. I only have one in the 500's and my husband has none currently. The problem is the longer we go paying this payment the farther behind we get on everything else and the lender isn't reporting the payments to the credit bureaus. I know there probably isn't anything we can do but we've actually considered bankruptcy. Can anyone offer some advice.
Lender · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 6k+ votes
2y
@Dawne Morris if your hard money doesn't balloon until 2025 then you have plenty of time here. Also, since it's illegal for 99% of Hard Money Loans to be used on a primary home then you could have legal recourse against your lender anyway. I'm assuming that what you describe as a "hard money loan" really is a "hard money loan". There are also mortgages that exist that do not care about your credit. They are harder to find of course but they do exist.
Thank you for the kinder reply. I wish I could say that I know whether they are legit or not but I do know that the mortgage broker who handled all of the paperwork told us it was a hard money loan. They also don't report our timely payments to the credit bureaus. I am trying to do some due diligence in searching out those mortgage companies that don't care about credit but keep running into brick walls. But, I don't want to lose my house, nor do I want to file bankruptcy so I shall keep searching. Thanks for taking the time to answer.
It happened because I got laid off and we were using credit cards to stay on top of just the household bills and making sure the mortgage was paid on time. Savings is now non-existent. I'm not proud of it but we did what we had to do to make those payments on time.
Thank you for the kinder reply. I wish I could say that I know whether they are legit or not but I do know that the mortgage broker who handled all of the paperwork told us it was a hard money loan. They also don't report our timely payments to the credit bureaus. I am trying to do some due diligence in searching out those mortgage companies that don't care about credit but keep running into brick walls. But, I don't want to lose my house, nor do I want to file bankruptcy so I shall keep searching. Thanks for taking the time to answer.
The qualification for "hard money" and a loan for a primary residence (meaning where you actually live) are very different. For a hard money loan, they do not always look at your income. This is because hard money loans are for investment properties, not for a primary residence.
For your primary residence, lenders have to abide by federally required ability to repay (ATR) rules. Long story short, to get a loan for a primary home the lender has to be able to prove that you have the ability to repay the loan that is given to you. So, if you do not have any income you will not be able to get a loan on your primary home. Again, it is illegal for a lender to give you a loan if you cannot reasonably pay it back on the home where you will live or plan on living.
Maybe I'm not communicating clearly, I am employed I was only temporarily laid off. At the time of purchase we were more than financially capable of paying the mortgage and we have been paying the mortgage. I was just trying to find out of there was any way to refinance the mortgage with a poor credit score.
Maybe I'm not communicating clearly, I am employed I was only temporarily laid off. At the time of purchase we were more than financially capable of paying the mortgage and we have been paying the mortgage. I was just trying to find out of there was any way to refinance the mortgage with a poor credit score.
I'm not a lender but I know several good ones that are here local. The issue is all Lenders are going to be looking at your credit score. So if you cannot get that up then you will have a hard time refinancing this loan. That being said, I do know a good credit repair specialist who may be able to help you recover your credit score and then you could go and get a traditional mortgage to replace the hard money loan.
Lender · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 916 posts · 647 votes
2y
@Dawne Morris Do you have any other assets aside from this house and is this your primary residence? You are in a tough spot but the advice on selling is an option. the other is to see if you can refinance at 60% LTV to pay off this loan into a longer term option but you would be paying the higher interest due to your credit.
Speak with a bankruptcy attorney before you make any large moves. @Andrew Postell is right, you have a bit of time before the note balloons on this house.