mallison47 Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 I am hoping to get some good advice from this forum and am scared to death. To make a long story short, I went through a nasty divorce back in 1999 which basically ruined my credit. I have a lot of charge offs. I got remarried in 2001 and started rebuilding my credit. I was able to get a vehicle loan through Drivetime in December of 2001 and have two small unsecured credit cards in perfect standing. My car loan was in perfect standing until October of 2004 when my husband committed suicide by setting himself on fire inside of the car. With all of the devastation of losing the love of my life, my insurance company, of course, denied the claim and I received nothing from any insurance policy because his death was ruled a suicide. I am a single mom of two children and underwent brain surgery last year and another procedure this year when the tumor started growing again. To make a long story short…..My home was purchased before I knew my husband and the mortgage and deed are in his name and going through probate. I am inheriting the house. It is financed through Washington Mutual and since October, I have paid each and every payment on time and kept records. My car loan company has me now delinquent on the car loan (but they say if I need another vehicle, since I had perfect credit with them before the fire, they would finance me again…go figure). My FICO score continues to go down…it's down to 490 right now. I want to be able to refinance my mortgage once the deed is in my name. Is this going to even be possible? Washington Mutual has sent me paperwork that looks like they will automatically transfer the loan to me as his surviving spouse. I'm so lost and confused and scared to death. Can anyone give me advice on what I should do? Most of the derogatory items on my credit date back to 5 years or more. I've been on the same job since March of 2001 and make $36,000, collect social security benefits of $1,184 per child x 2 each month. My house is valued at over $200,000 and we owe $154,000 that I would like to refinance. Thank you for anything you can advise me on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 mallison: I don't even know quite what to say after reading your post. I am very sorry for your tragic loss and am holding out good thoughts that your health will improve.I will let one of the knowledgeable mortgage experts answer your refi question. However, I did want to ask if you've begun the credit repair process in order to raise your scores. If you want some help there, give us the specifics of what is being reported on your three reports, broken down as to OCs (original creditors), CA/JDBs (collection agencies/junk debt buyers), etc. Since the auto finance company is willing to finance another vehicle even after you had to default on the first one, perhaps they will agree to delete any negative information which may be on that tradeline.Don't be scared. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this board who are willing to help. Read all the "stickies" (permanent posts) at the top of the forums (especially "Credit Repair" and "Mortgage" forums, as they seem to apply most to your situation) and read everything under the links on the CIC homepage and at the top of this page. Come back and ask lots of questions and we'll do what we can to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghacorp Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 Depending on where you live, you should consult with an attorney and look into filing Chapter 13. Oftentimes, you can get better mortgage deals, buyouts, etc. as you go through the bk process. Bankruptcy can be a useful tool to force creditors to negotiate amicably. You would want to initiate the case prior to October 20, 2005 when the new stringent laws are in full effect. Judges are very sympathetic to medical conditions and single moms raising kids, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreditSuperstar Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 God Bless You.Bump for the experts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstsource Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 My suggestion is to accept the loan transfer that WAMU is offering. For several reasons: Mostly because it would be the most stressfree way to go. If you would like, let me know the deal that they are offering, and I will give you my 2C worth, as to what you are agreeing to. I am sure that they in no way would take advantage of you, but sometimes this loan stuff is confusing. Best Regards,Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mallison47 Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Thank you everyone for your replies and good wishes. I just pulled my credit report from Equifax and it's at home. I'll post everything later on tonight so you can see what I have. Drivetime has actually charged off the loan…I wondered why they weren't calling and harrassing me….they were very understanding as my husband's death made the newspapers and local news and the dealership had heard about it. The other type of things I have on my credit report are two old credit cards, an apartment eviction and old medical bills. The good stuff I have on my report right now are an old mortgage from Countrywide that was paid off from Countrywide, 2 credit cards that I always pay more than the minimum, one auto loan that was paid off and another auto loan that I have a perfect payment history with for the last year. With the circumstances surrounding my husband's death and medical bills I'm paying from my brain surgery, I don't have a whole lot to expend on filing Chapter 13, plus I'm hoping not to have to do a bankruptcy if I don't have to. Some of the negative things on my credit report are under $100, but they date back to 1999 when they were first reported, so I'm wondering if they're worth paying off now? I'm kind of leaning towards the Washington Mutual offer…which basically takes over the mortgage. The only hold up is they want the new deed, insurance in my name, etc. and I can't furnish them with that until the probate is completed which should be any day now. My way of thinking is that if I get the mortgage transferred into my name….make payments for about a year and then try to get refinanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreditSuperstar Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Allison,I would suggest informing ALL of the original creditors of your husband's unfortunate death. I have a feeling that if you write to the EXECUTIVE level of each creditor, they would more than likely be willing to help you out. I really hope this works for you. I also hope your health is improved.GBY,FCS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amortgageman Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Mallison,First things first.Charles is right. You should be working with WAMU and transfer the loan into your name. Keep in contact with them about the probate situation, stay current on your mortgage, and everything will work out fine.What is your interest in refinancing? Will it benefit you? Are you paying too high a interest rate now? Short term ARM (where you may be facing a steep increase in your mortgage payments later on)?Refinancing now (even after probate is settled), may not be in your best interest because of the condition of your current credit. A 493 credit score will make things very tough, and even a mortgage payment only qualification will probably not help you any. Only refinance that would allow you to benefit now would be an FHA Streamline Refinance, but with the loan amount you are quoting here, it seems that you probably do not have an FHA loan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mallison47 Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Thanks Amortgageman,The only reason I was thinking of refinancing is because of the future of my finances in a couple of years. The interest rate on my husband's original loan is 7%. I'm paying $1,394 a month and we've had the house since it was built in May of 2000. My husband had several job losses (I believe it attributed to his suicide) and we had a couple of late payments. However, since he passed away, with the social security I am collecting for the children, I am able to comfortably pay the mortgage right now. I even caught up all of the back payments and late fees and have paid the mortgage every month on time. I guess I'm worrying about down the line. After coming to this forum, it has eased some of my anxiety, and I think I'm leaning toward keeping the loan with Washington Mutual if need be. I just hope there's not some glitch when I try to do the transfer. From what I've read in all of the documents they've sent me that due to death, there will be no fee for transferring it and no need for a credit report. Not sure how true this is, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see. The probate should have ended on April 28, so I'm just waiting to hear back from my probate attorney and then I can get the ball running. After everything I have been through this year, the brain tumor, the death of my husband, I guess I'm soooo scared that on top of everything, I could also lose my home. Guess I'll just have to keep holding on to the faith that has gotten me through this long.Again, thank you all for your advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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