land contract or bankruptcy

13 years ago

Ok I need some advice. My husband and I have a singlewide on 3 acres of land, weve been paying on it for 5 years and its now 3000.00 mmore than the total loan that we even got on it. So were getting nowhere on the singlewide, we want to build a house but we wouldnt be able to do it on our land because our single wide and land are together in a loan. We were going to file bankruptcy on it because were filing anyway because of us cosigning for someone and they didnt pay it so now were getting sued. Now someone has asked us to do a land contract on the singlewide, it does seem like it would be better on our credit other than doing the bankruptcy but its still risky. Oh and i should also tell that we found 5 acres that we want to build on and get everything put in my mother n laws name til bankruptcy is over. So with all that said, i need some advice on what you guys think i should do? HELP!?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

OttawaGardener
13 years ago
Yikes, what a situation. I think you need professional advice, not sure you can get away with the land-in-mother-in-law's-name stuff with a bankruptcy (surely, it is illegal).
terezosa / terriks
13 years ago
Your mortgage probably has a "due on sale" clause. That means that the entire amount of the mortgage comes due when you sell on the land contract.
Related Discussions
JP Bankruptcy rose avalibility question
Q
Comments (13)
David Austin actually had an exclusive contract for next year to sell DA roses through Target, and then Target decided to close all of its garden centers nationwide in Sept 2010, so that deal is off too. And the "no DA roses from other sources" applies only to the ones to which DA was entitled to assert intellectual property rights -- it does not apply to the oldest varieties for which DA in general never even applied for intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks on the name usage, etc); and it doesn't apply to any where the patents have expired already. So, Chamblees, Pickering, etc, can continue to carry those roses, at least. And the new roses by DA are not necessarily better than the old ones. DA has been accused by more than one knowledgeable rosarian of "replacing" an older variety with a newer one where the only advantage the newer one had over the old one was a current patent or trademark.
...See More
Need advice on cancelling contract w/ builder....
Q
Comments (8)
"...you probably need a lawyer. There may be implied warranties and other state laws that protect you as a consumer." I agree 100%. Some states have very specific requirements on what must be contained in a construction contract. That is the case in my state, and the burden is on the builder. I would be prepared to pay for the work that was done and any out of pocket in anticipation of work bring done. But there may be some charges he is going overboard on, hard to say. For example, how can there be Energy Star charges when there is no house? Or was that to evaluate the plans? What are the "closing costs", I thought you owned the land? Why would the builder have closing costs? That said, YOU are choosing to back out. And this is where I say (for about the 100th time) that building a house is probably the most expensive thing most people will ever do, you should use a lawyer to review the contract BEFORE it is signed.
...See More
How to stop a friend from trying to make me file for bankruptcy
Q
Comments (18)
Definitely see a credit counsellor, but first check with your local consumer protection agency (here it's through the Attorney Generals Office) to make sure they're legit. Nothing could be worse than signing up with a shady credit counsellor and finding yourself worse off than before. Don't fall for payday loans or other quick-relief schemes. And tell your friend you're handling it. My in-laws listened to a 'friend' and filed bankruptcy even though their credit was sterling. The only deal was that they couldn't make their car payment and credit card payments and still have enough to get by every month comfortably. Meaning there was no cushion. They didn't even have their cards charged up to the max, and were not behind on payments, EVER. Their total debt less than $10,000...most of that being the car loan. Some shyster got them to file bankruptcy using scare tactics and the same baloney logic you seem to be getting from your friend. Later, after it was discharged, they financed another car, but because of the bankruptcy they had a very high interest rate. Then those payments got too high for their comfort, so they traded in that car and got the balance added to the new loan (negative equity) so now they drive a car worth no more than $3000 that they owe $17,000 on and their payments were lowered only $20/mo, but spread out for 7 years. All because some one told them to file bankruptcy. How far out on your car loan are you? Can you sell it and get out from under it with any equity? Any way to unload the other party? Or at least make them start contributing? Best of luck, I feel for you!
...See More
Land contract scam?
Q
Comments (25)
Azmom, Im not trying to convince you of anything. It definitely is not an urban legend as it has happened here. Actually, this type of thing is happening on craigslist all the time. I know of another woman that accepted a money order for something she was selling on craigslist. She deposited it, a few days later the person said they couldnt pick up the item and needed to be refunded. Since she had already deposited their bank check, she had another bank check written out to them, (a real one). They got "real money" for the fake money they gave her. Once her bank figured out their bank check was fake, she was out the money.
...See More
marie_ndcal
13 years ago
I would suggest very strong you get legal advice to protect all.
LoveInTheHouse
13 years ago
What exactly is a land contract? This person just wants to buy the land? And obviously you would get less money than if you sold the whole thing? Can you sell the trailer to someone else? Would you come out with enough money to pay it all off if you sold both? And if I'm understanding this land contract thing correctly, wouldn't the bank have a lien on the whole thing? Explain some more.
badgergrrl
13 years ago
A land contract is basically seller-financing.

They are more common in some states than in others.

Here is a link that might be useful: land contracts
weedyacres
13 years ago
How much is the loan you cosigned for? Unless it's truly something you have no hope of ever paying off (in which case you shouldn't have cosigned in the first place...but I'm assuming you already figured that out), bankruptcy could be an overreaction that will end up causing you many more problems than it solves.

Can you afford the payment on your land+trailer? If so, again, the fact that you're making only slow progress is not a reason to dump it. Selling it to someone else and buying a different piece of land doesn't solve the problem. And filing bankruptcy won't exactly help you get a loan to build on lot #2.

If it were me, I'd work on negotiating a settlement with whoever's about to sue you, tighten up your budget and pay extra on your existing mortgage so you can get some equity. Down the road, you'll have money (or sufficient credit/savings) to build on the lot you've got.
brickeyee
13 years ago
"My husband and I have a singlewide on 3 acres of land, weve been paying on it for 5 years and its now 3000.00 mmore than the total loan that we even got on it."

What kind of loan amortization is being used?

Unless you have negative amortization or something besides a simple loan the balance only goes up if you fail to pay and expenses are tacked on to the amount due.
LoveInTheHouse
13 years ago
Thanks for the link Badgergrrl. I understand now. I've always heard it called "holding the mortgage."
brickeyee
13 years ago
"I've always heard it called "holding the mortgage.""

Not exactly the same.

In many cases no mortgage is recorded, and sometimes not even the land contract itself.

The seller remains the titled owner of the property.

When the agreed upon payments are made the seller THEN executes a deed to transfer the property.

One of the risks as a land contract buyer is that the seller may not be able to convey clear title.

There are numerous ways the title could become encumbered, from court judgments, liens, to the IRS.

These encumbrances would have to be removed by the seller to convey clear title, if they have the money to clear them.

As a buyer you could fulfill your side of the bargain, but end up not getting clear title.

I have actually held mortgages for buyers a couple times.
The deed of trust (Virginia is a trust deed state) along with the note are recorded.

The only thing I have to do as trustee is re-convey the property when the note is satisfied.

If there are any other encumbrances at that point, they are the owners, not mine since all I had was a trust deed.

I could no longer encumber the property except as the trustee under the terms of the trust.

land contract or bankruptcy

Comments (9)

OttawaGardener

terezosa / terriks

Related Discussions

marie_ndcal

LoveInTheHouse

badgergrrl

weedyacres

brickeyee

LoveInTheHouse

brickeyee

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US