subject: The Aftermath Of A Deficiency Judgment On A Foreclosure Or Short Sale [print this page] When your home is in pre-foreclosure, you need to know about deficiency judgments. Of course, the deficiency is the leftover debt after the home is sold, and the judgment part means that the court will formally order you to pay it back. Your state may not allow this, but several states support the lender's right to collect the rest of the debt.
What happens when the court awards a deficiency judgment against you? Can it be avoided?
The only way to avoid a deficiency judgment before it happens is to negotiate with the bank about the terms of a short sale. In these cases, the bank has a choice whether to maintain the property at their expense or allow the home to be sold at less than its value. When they know that the homeowner doesn't have the resources to pay the debt anyway, occasionally the bank will cut their losses, approve the short sale, and forego the collections process.
When the lender won't agree to waive their right to collect that leftover debt, they ask the court to grant them a deficiency judgment against the homeowner. Afterward, only paying off the debt or having it discharged in bankruptcy will make it disappear.
Let's say that the foreclosure went through. In most states, a judge will look at both the highest bid at the foreclosure auction and the appraised value of the house. The greater dollar amount of the two is subtracted from the balance due on the mortgage, and that is the amount of the deficiency judgment against the borrower. In the case of a short sale, the judge subtracts the sale proceeds from the balance due.
So, the former homeowner now has a court order which says he has to pay the rest of that mortgage debt to the bank. If there were two or more mortgages or liens, that homeowner may even have two or more deficiency judgments against him.
Immediately after the judge signs the order, the deficiency judgment begins earning interest. If the lender adds its REO expenses to the balance, the interest just keeps climbing higher. There is an interest rate of 11 percent per year on deficiency judgments in Florida. What's the rate in your state?
The debt is usually sold afterward for 5 to 10 cents on the dollar. Banks don't see much point in trying to collect those debts themselves, especially since most homeowners with that kind of debt are broke. They would rather take the 10 percent now than hope for a larger payment later while keeping the debt on the books.
And, in addition to that deficiency judgment, you will also take a hit on your credit report and, by extension, your FICO score. A deficiency judgment after a foreclosure stays on your credit report for seven to ten years. Future lenders, employers, or landlords may take one look at that and have second thoughts about working with you.
The foreclosure scenario is changing. There are more property foreclosures than ever right now, and that means deficiency judgments could be increasing as well. The government is taking the lead in re-evaluating how foreclosures are handled. We may see some changes in the way deficiency judgments are handled in the near future, and we may not.
In the meantime, if you are about to lose your home, your best bet is to try talking with the lender. You or your agent may be able to help their loss mitigation department see how cost-effective it is for them to tell the credit bureaus that your mortgage is "paid in full as agreed." If you don't take the time to negotiate now, you could be paying for it later.
