If I refinance my home to cash out equity and end up foreclosing in the future, what can happen to me?
I like many others am in financial trouble and am having problems paying my mortgage.
I'm thinking about refinancing my home (for no more than it's current market value) and taking my equity so I can pay off my car and a credit card.
If I do that, and still end up facing foreclosure in the future - what can happen to me besides having my credit ruined?
I live in Arizona - the law here states that - "A lender may not bring a deficiency suit against a person who lost a property that is 2.5 acres or less at a foreclosure provided the property is a single one-family or a single two-family dwelling."
I fall into that catagory. Basicly, I'm wondering about future pit-falls if the worst case scenerio happens and I do end up foreclosing after I do a cash-out refi.
That is not the law here in Texas but it sounds like you will be OK there except....if you do this and somehow they can tell you planned it all along...I bet that falls into the category of defrauding a bank (bank fraud).
If you innocently have hard times though, your credit is ruined, but it doesn't sound like you can have a deficiency filed against you.
The federal government is discussing passing a law that might protect you against the "phantom income" problem. "Phantom income" is when a mortgage company turns any shortfall into the IRS and you owe taxes on that amount of the mortgage you didn't pay back.
