Is there any way to postpone foreclosure move out?

Barbara Scott of Fort Worth, Texas, called me today asking for some options for her niece in La Verne, who has been battling ovarian cancer since 2005 and is losing her house, which was refinanced to pay mounting medical bills.

After she laid out the story, I told Barbara it did sound like at this point her niece would need to walk away from the house and rent, but to try the lender's workout department in the hopes of perhaps postponing her Jan. 21 eviction. Even several months could be a help to someone who is battling a life-threatening illness. I gave her the numbers of some nonprofits that might help, including the Homeownership Preservation Foundation's California hotline at (888) 995-HOPE, and told her I'd poll L.A. Land readers for other ideas.

As usual, general comments can be posted to the blog. Specific phone numbers and e-mail addresses should be sent directly to me at lauren.beale@latimes.com, and I'll forward them to Barbara. This sounds way beyond the loan mod stage, but perhaps others who have been in a similar situation have some insights on how to buy some more time in the house.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: A view of homes set against the foothills in La Verne. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[E]

It's unfortunate that we live in a country where people actually have to make the choice between home or health.

Barbara, your niece is in our prayers.

[Tim K.]

While I agree with E that it is always sad to have to make a choice between home and health, you have to admit, it's nice to even HAVE a choice. In many countries, ovarian cancer is not covered. The reason health care is so expensive is because we've *invented* really innovative ways of saving people from diseases that we were powerless to counteract before. And yes, they are expensive. So what's worse - having the option, though expensive, of prolonging your life, or being resigned to having no option and coming to terms with your death?

We have to keep our health care blame in perspective. Health care is NOT getting more expensive. We are simply getting more really expensive options that didn't exist before.

Back to housing - I think Lauren's advice is spot on -forget about the house. It's not worth it. Move into a rental; when you're dealing with cancer, the last thing you want to deal with is the troubles associated with homeownership.

[David R]

I agree with Tim K that the woman is incredibly lucky to live in such a wonderful country like America where there's amazing advances in medical care to treat her ovarian cancer.

Thanks, Tim K, for pointing out how fortunate she is!

Serious, I agree. Having gone through a foreclosure myself, at a certain point you just are better off renting and dealing with other issues besides trying to "save" the house.

Save your life and your health first. Find a secure place to live first. It's sad, I know. Believe me, on the day we "lost" the house, I sat in the backyard that I had spent so much time making look nice, had a couple good long cries. Devastating.

But there are -- as this niece needs to know -- worse things in life than losing a house to foreclosure.

[sfvrealestate]

Lauren, your advice was great. She might also want to phone the city of LaVerne and see if their eviction codes are more liberal or if there are any city programs that can assist her.

[Brian]

Barabra, your niece will be in my families prayers.

[Shauna]

NO!!!

What is WRONG with us when we say we're LUCKY (!?) to have certain health care benefits but could still lose our homes.

THAT'S Soooo beyond wrong and so patronizing from TIM to a woman battling this.

I would say I hope if you ever get cancer the same thing happens to you, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Medical bills should NEVER affect ones access to their home and we are the ONLY first world country that has such a punitive approach to health care.

For that, we are morally corrupt. Not lucky. We need to change that.

[Nancy]

That's funny. I'm paying more for health care than I did 8 years ago. As much as I'd like to blame it on my current employer, I'm also noticed my co-pays have doubled.

In regards to the other advice given, certainly a home is not nearly as important as someone's life. But the niece might want to try talking to the bank. Also, maybe she can rent out her place, and downsize temporarily until she is in remission and back on her feet.

[Pablo Oliva]

The following list presents short-term solutions.

1. Pursue a Forbearance: A forbearance will allow you to postpone payments and catch up on back payments by paying down what’s owed over several months. This could give you time to attempt to sell your home or explore other options.
2. File a Demand to Delay the Sheriff’s Sale: In some states a homeowner can file a demand to delay the sheriff’s sale if the court rules in your favor. It is suggested that you consult a qualified attorney to discuss this option.
3. Challenge the Lender in Court: State regulations governing foreclosures are very specific. If a bank or lender fails to follow these rules and associated timelines, you should bring it to the court’s attention which would compel the court to give you more time. Specifically, you should make sure that the lender provided the appropriate amount of notification (usually at least several weeks), and informed you of any right to redeem your property. It is recommended that you review your state’s foreclosure laws to reveal any abuse by your lender.
4. Bankruptcy: Filing for bankruptcy will grant you a stay, which essentially freezes all bills due including your mortgage. This requires that you hire an attorney and can be costly, and is not always a long-term solution as advertised by many less-than-ethical attorneys. If bankruptcy does seem to be the right solution for you, and you are married with your spouse being co-owner of the property, consider filing bankruptcy individually with you first and your spouse later, stretching out the period of time that a stay is effective.

More options, though these are probably the most relevant for Barbara's niece, are available at http://preventingforeclosure.org

Best of luck to them.

[Laker]

I know of a lady that stopped paying the mortgage back in September 2007. They got foreclosed in late may 2008. Now it is December 2008. she has two children one age 7, the other is a 1 year old baby, so maybe that helps. In any case she lives rent free for more than a year, and i don't see any signs of her moving out....

[Tim K.]

Nancy wrote: "That's funny. I'm paying more for health care than I did 8 years ago. As much as I'd like to blame it on my current employer, I'm also noticed my co-pays have doubled."

Did you notice that the number of disease and drugs offered to treat your diseases has dramatically improved to? No? What, you think progress in medicine is free?

Shauna:
"THAT'S Soooo beyond wrong and so patronizing from TIM to a woman battling this."

Just so the other "Tim" on this board doesn't get the wrong idea, this is Tim K. What do you propose to do instead? Magically make health care advances "free"? Homes and medical care cost money because people have to WORK FOR YOU to make these things happen. And yes, if you start demanding a lot more complicated care, and cancer is a very complicated and expensive disease to treat, it's going to cost money.

Look, I know it's sad to have to deal with a potentially terminal disease - which this woman's case is probably not (80% of all cancer cases are CURED). But what I can't stand is that many, many people are busting their asses every day to work on many new treatments for this disease and all you whiners can do is complain about is that they want to get paid. These people sacrificed most of their lives before the age of 30 going to school full time, laboring in lives most of their adult lives to come up with these treatments. They are going to be expensive!

Cancer is not ONE disease. Each one is different and requires a radically different approach to its treatment and potential cure.

What I'm pointing out is that you should be thankfully people are making ANY PROGRESS AT ALL instead of whining about the fact that you now have a CHOICE. Yes, it's expensive. But I'd rather have a CHOICE than none at all.

[Owl Creek]

----I think Lauren's advice is spot on -forget about the house. It's not worth it. Move into a rental; when you're dealing with cancer, the last thing you want to deal with is the troubles associated with homeownership.-------

This may not be an option for her. The blog entry does not say if she has become so sick that she is unable to work; if she is not working, nobody will rent to her.

Hopefully she has family she can move in with, even if that means relocating to Texas to live with her aunt.

My heart goes out to this woman. While hordes of morons refi'ed their houses so they could buy big-screen TV's, luxury cars and exotic vacations, this woman pulled money out in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Being as self-preservation is our strongest instinct, I cannot condemn her for that.

I'd like to know where this poor woman's "bailout" is.