Walking away from an investment Condo with out bankrupcy

If I were the lender, I would sue you. Taking into selling costs and attorney's fees, the lender can likely get a judgment against you for about $70000. To me, $70000 is enough to sue. If your primary residence is a typical house in the Seattle area, your free and clear house is worth more than the exemption amount in WA for a house ($125000). That is, you cannot run away from the mortgage debt. On the other hand, big banks do not make decisions as individuals would. Perhaps the persons or groups at your lender will not spend the time to carefully check your assets. Or, perhaps those persons will decide the lender is better off to not pursue you. You should check what your real cost is in keeping the condo. If you have other incomes, the rental loss can offset some of those incomes. You should also call the lender to see if the lender is willing to do something for you (such as reducing the interest rate).

Here are some Quick Facts about foreclosure in WA: - Judicial Foreclosure Available: Yes - Non-Judicial Foreclosure Available: Yes - Primary Security Instruments: Deed of Trust, Mortgage - Timeline: Typically 120 days - Right of Redemption: Yes, but may be precluded. - Deficiency Judgments Allowed: Yes In Washington, lenders may foreclose on deeds of trusts or mortgages in default using either a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure process. Judicial Foreclosure The judicial process of foreclosure, which involves filing a lawsuit to obtain a court order to foreclose, is used when no power of sale is present in the mortgage or deed of trust. Generally, after the court declares a foreclosure, the property will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Non-Judicial Foreclosure The non-judicial process of foreclosure is used when a power of sale clause exists in a mortgage or deed of trust. A "power of sale" clause is the clause in a deed of trust or mortgage, in which the borrower pre-authorizes the sale of property to pay off the balance on a loan in the event of the their default. In deeds of trust or mortgages where a power of sale exists, the power given to the lender to sell the property may be executed by the lender or their representative, typically referred to as the trustee. Regulations for this type of foreclosure process are outlined below in the "Power of Sale Foreclosure Guidelines". Power of Sale Foreclosure Guidelines If the deed of trust or mortgage contains a power of sale clause and specifies the time, place and terms of sale, then the specified procedure must be followed. Otherwise, the non-judicial power of sale foreclosure is carried out as follows: The notice of sale must be transmitted both by regular mail and by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the borrower at their last known address, and by regular mail to the attorney of record for the borrower, if any, not less than thirty (30) days prior to the day of sale. The sheriff must publish a notice of the sale once a week, consecutively, for four (4) weeks, in any daily or weekly legal newspaper of of general circulation published in the county in which the property is located. Additionally, the sheriff must also post the notice in two public places, one of which must be the courthouse door, in the county where the sale is to take place for a period of not less than four weeks prior to the day of sale. Said notice must contain the time and place of the foreclosure sale, the names of the parties to the deed, the date of the deed, recording information, a property description, the terms of the sale, and the borrowers rights (or lack of) redemption. The borrower has up to eleven (11) days before the sale stop the foreclosure process by paying the past due payments, plus expenses, including trustee and attorney fees. The sale must be made by auction between 9:00 am in the morning and 4:00 am in the afternoon at the courthouse door on Friday unless Friday is a legal holiday and then the sale must be held on the next following regular business day. The sale may not be conducted less than 190 days from the date of default and the highest bidder will receive a certificate of sale. The sheriff may postpone the sale (not exceeding one (1) week next after the day appointed) by giving notice and by posting written notices of the adjournment under the notices of sale originally posted. Unless redemption rights have been precluded, the borrower may, within eight (8) months after the date of the sale, redeem the property by paying the amount of the highest bid at the foreclosure, plus interest. If the non-judicial foreclosure process is used by the lender, then it cannot sue for a deficiency judgment. On judicial foreclosure sales, the borrower can be sued for a deficiency, unless the property is found to be abandoned for six (6) months before the decree of foreclosure.

It may be unlikely that the lender on the condo loan will ever attempt to collect any money from you after foreclosing its loan against the condo. In most instances a real estate loan in Washington is secured by a deed of trust. If this is the case with your condo loan, and if the lender on your investment condo causes the condo to be sold using the nonjudicial foreclosure process under the power of sale included in its deed of trust (they almost always do), the lender will not have the right to collect any deficiency against you. This is because pertinent Washington law provides as follows: "(1) Except to the extent permitted in this section for deeds of trust securing commercial loans, a deficiency judgment shall not be obtained on the obligations secured by a deed of trust against any borrower, grantor, or guarantor after a trustee's sale under that deed of trust." RCW 61.24.100. With only one loan against the condo and no deficiency judgment available if the lender uses the usual method of foreclosure, letting go of the condo may not be as painful as watching your financial conditon slowly erode. You should consult an attorney to discuss your options, one of which may be to stop making payments on the condo while continuing to collect the rent. Be sure to discuss the condo association fees with your attorney, Sometimes those condo association fees can become a bigger problem than the mortgage loan, as the association can continue to collect unpaid fees accrued until you sell the property and its debt will not be erased by a nonjudicial sale under the deed of trust.