Can't pay mortgage on REI properties....... please advise

General Real Estate Investing
1

I have made the mistake of buying 2 investment properties in the past few years. I live in a home with a big mortgage also. I want to get rid of the investment properties now, but realtors tell me this is no time to sell, as is obvious.
However, I cannot continue paying the mortgages on my two investment properties much longer. My spouse lost his job this month and we are in serious debt.
What is the best course of action ?

If we put the properties on the market, and they don’t sell for 3-4 months, which is very likely, there is no way we can pay the mortgage in the meantime.

We do have tenants now, but the rent we get is way less than the mortgage payment each month and we are going deeper and deeper into debt.

Please advise. I have a constant headache and in terrible tension.

What will happen if we stop paying the mortgage on one of the properties ? What can the lender come after ?

Thanks.
AP

2

After couple of missed payments they will want to talk to you to see if there is a way to work it out. If not, they will start foreclosure process.

I would not worry about them coming after me, my concern would be my credit and foreclosure on my record.

Sounds like you must sell, so put it on the market, under market if you can, and hope for the best.

3

Give us the run down. How much are these properties worth and how much do you still owe on the loans?

Have you thought about talking to the lenders and trying to readjust the loan to better terms?

4

I would put them on the market immediately. If you have late payments on your credit report they will only hurt you for a year or two depending on your other credit, but a foreclosure will not allow you to get another conventional loan for five years and an FHA loan for three years.

Call the lender and see if they can lower the payments for a few months and roll the interest back on the note. Another option would be to refinance them. You could lower your PITI as well as skip two months of payments. During that time you could be actively be marketing the properties. Lastly if the lenders will not negotiate with you at all I would start combining the rent money and make as many payments as you can on as many of the house as you can. This will help buy you a couple of months. Good luck. Hope this helps.

5

Christopher,

I hear what you are saying, but this has never really worked out for me. Let’s say I settle my refinance loan on January 25th . I have already made my January mortgage payment. The lender tells me that my first payment on my new loan is due on March 1. It seems that I can “skip” the February payment only.

If my refinance settles on the 2nd of January, I sometimes have two options to choose from

  • the lender credits me with two days interim interest and the first payment on my new loan is due on Feb 1. I am allowed to skip the January payment because that one will be included in the payoff on my former loan, or,
  • the first payment on my new loan is due on March 1, but my closing costs include interim interest from Jan 2 to Jan 31, which happens to be almost a full mortgage payment. The only payment I really get to skip is the Feb payment

How do I refinance and skip two payments?