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I've got a long background on this. Even though recent events prompted this post, it's the whole history that gives the recent events flavor.
We've had this mortgage loan customer - let's call him Darren - for at least ten years. He originally worked for one of the mines, but got laid off from that and never went back. He got his nursing degree and worked for a series of hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. I don't think he held down a job for longer than a year in the past five.
I've probably mentioned him in other threads. My first introduction to him, back before I was even a loan assistant, was seeing him go to the lender's desk to give her an update on his work situation. He was a large man, both tall and wide, and he spent the whole time at the lender's desk spitting into a Coke can. I kept glancing over and seeing the disgusted look on her face. He was either used to such looks, or he was oblivious. Darren had issues paying his loan, in part because he was frequently out of work, but also in part because of his partying ways. He would be unemployed but out at the beer garden at one of the local festivals. I heard rumors that he was abusive towards his wife - let's call her Sandy - but I don't know how much of that was true. He was verbally abusive to employees when they called him about his past due payments.
Earlier this year, Darren's home loan became so far past due, that we were ready to sic the lawyer on him to start the foreclosure process. But Darren found a way to stop us - he died. In fact, he died five days before his Absolute Last Day to Pay listed in the pre-foreclosure letter.
Naturally, that put everything on hold. We would have given Sandy a couple weeks to grieve, but she called us a week after Darren died. I expressed my condolences, of course, but I needed to know what her plans were. At first, she said that she was planning to sell the house, so I told her we would continue to work with her as long as she kept in contact with us. And then we didn't hear from her for a month. There was no answer and no answering machine at the house.
We decided that we had to send another pre-foreclosure letter to the last known address. Sandy got the letter and called, finally. She said her son was interested in buying the house. So I made arrangements to talk with her and her son. The son said he wanted to buy the house but was hesitant about having us pull his credit. (His excuse was something to do with a lease in process for his business.) Sandy said if her son decided not to buy the house, she might put it on the market. I told her that was fine, but she would still need to make monthly payments on the loan, which was past due four months at that time. She asked about refinancing into her name, except she didn't have any income to support a loan. In fact, she was staying with her daughter about half an hour away. I (gently) told them that we at least needed a plan before the pre-foreclosure letter expired.
That was Monday. I called Sandy, and she said her son had decided not to buy the house. She still wanted to put it up for sale, but she wasn't sure she could get enough to pay off the loan. She said there were "a lot of problems" with the house. (We knew the house was in rough shape, so this was no surprise.) She said there was poor water pressure in the house, and blamed the city for it. But she also said it had been like that for years.
I offered to do a deed in lieu of foreclosure, where she would basically sign the house over to the bank. She asked how long she would have to get her belongings out of the house. I said a month if she does a deed in lieu. She said she didn't think that would be long enough. 
Then she said she would talk to a realtor friend of hers about whether it would be likely that she'd be able to sell the house in a reasonable amount of time for enough to pay off the loan. When she called back today, she said her friend might have a lead on a buyer. And then she reiterated that she didn't think she could get all of her stuff out of the house in 30 days, even though she's not working.
Before Darren died, I didn't have much contact with Sandy. The loan was in his name, and she only had to sign the mortgage, so we only talked to him (not her) about the loan when it was past due. She seems a lot nicer than he was, but that impression is slowly slipping away. Each time I talk with her, she seems more not-all-there.
We've had this mortgage loan customer - let's call him Darren - for at least ten years. He originally worked for one of the mines, but got laid off from that and never went back. He got his nursing degree and worked for a series of hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. I don't think he held down a job for longer than a year in the past five.
I've probably mentioned him in other threads. My first introduction to him, back before I was even a loan assistant, was seeing him go to the lender's desk to give her an update on his work situation. He was a large man, both tall and wide, and he spent the whole time at the lender's desk spitting into a Coke can. I kept glancing over and seeing the disgusted look on her face. He was either used to such looks, or he was oblivious. Darren had issues paying his loan, in part because he was frequently out of work, but also in part because of his partying ways. He would be unemployed but out at the beer garden at one of the local festivals. I heard rumors that he was abusive towards his wife - let's call her Sandy - but I don't know how much of that was true. He was verbally abusive to employees when they called him about his past due payments.
Earlier this year, Darren's home loan became so far past due, that we were ready to sic the lawyer on him to start the foreclosure process. But Darren found a way to stop us - he died. In fact, he died five days before his Absolute Last Day to Pay listed in the pre-foreclosure letter.
Naturally, that put everything on hold. We would have given Sandy a couple weeks to grieve, but she called us a week after Darren died. I expressed my condolences, of course, but I needed to know what her plans were. At first, she said that she was planning to sell the house, so I told her we would continue to work with her as long as she kept in contact with us. And then we didn't hear from her for a month. There was no answer and no answering machine at the house.
We decided that we had to send another pre-foreclosure letter to the last known address. Sandy got the letter and called, finally. She said her son was interested in buying the house. So I made arrangements to talk with her and her son. The son said he wanted to buy the house but was hesitant about having us pull his credit. (His excuse was something to do with a lease in process for his business.) Sandy said if her son decided not to buy the house, she might put it on the market. I told her that was fine, but she would still need to make monthly payments on the loan, which was past due four months at that time. She asked about refinancing into her name, except she didn't have any income to support a loan. In fact, she was staying with her daughter about half an hour away. I (gently) told them that we at least needed a plan before the pre-foreclosure letter expired.
That was Monday. I called Sandy, and she said her son had decided not to buy the house. She still wanted to put it up for sale, but she wasn't sure she could get enough to pay off the loan. She said there were "a lot of problems" with the house. (We knew the house was in rough shape, so this was no surprise.) She said there was poor water pressure in the house, and blamed the city for it. But she also said it had been like that for years.
I offered to do a deed in lieu of foreclosure, where she would basically sign the house over to the bank. She asked how long she would have to get her belongings out of the house. I said a month if she does a deed in lieu. She said she didn't think that would be long enough. Then she said she would talk to a realtor friend of hers about whether it would be likely that she'd be able to sell the house in a reasonable amount of time for enough to pay off the loan. When she called back today, she said her friend might have a lead on a buyer. And then she reiterated that she didn't think she could get all of her stuff out of the house in 30 days, even though she's not working.
Before Darren died, I didn't have much contact with Sandy. The loan was in his name, and she only had to sign the mortgage, so we only talked to him (not her) about the loan when it was past due. She seems a lot nicer than he was, but that impression is slowly slipping away. Each time I talk with her, she seems more not-all-there.
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