jadedangel1953
My thoughts are with you. Before I give you some suggestions, please be bear in mind, that some of my responses may have already been considered by you. If that is the case, then just let me know and I will revise my suggestion. I will try to give basic and common sense suggestions. Since I do not know your personal situation, and if for some reason they are not relevant please let me know why and I will try to revise my suggestion
Husband not paying alimony- Since you have children( I assume they are living with you) then tell your ex, that if he doesn’t pay then your children will not a roof over their head and you will have to move which will affect his ability to see the children. If your children do not live with you, or this strategy does not work, then we have to move from softball to hardball, and look for an aggressive and experienced lawyer who will work on a contingency basis, that is he gets a percentage of the alimony. I know this is painful, but its the only way to get an attorney to work for you, if you are tight with cash. Also, your divorce decree may provide for payment of legal fees .
Sale of House - Have you considered” staging” the house. Generally speaking, staging means making your home as appealing as possible, as quickly as possible, to the broadest clientele you can. Staging is all about paring away personal decoration. Why? Because the main idea behind staging is to let people imagine themselves living in your home, leading the good life. It's NOT about you and your stuff and your taste. One of my neighbors “staged” their house and finally sold it. I think its worthwhile investment.
Also, have you contacted your lender and asked them to consider a short sale arrangement (assuming you can locate a buyer at a reduced selling price from the current sales price) . A short sale arrangement is described as follows: it means the lender is accepting less than the total amount due. Not all lenders will accept short sales or discounted payoffs, especially if it would make more financial sense to foreclose, also,not all sellers nor all properties qualify for short sales. . For your protection, I suggest that you (a) Obtain legal advice from a competent real estate lawyer and (b)Call an accountant to discuss short sale tax ramifications. You may need to make a dozen phone calls before you find the person responsible for handling short sales. You do not want to talk to the "real estate short sale" or "work out" department, you want the supervisor's name, the name of the individual capable of making a decision. You must be persistent. The sadder, the better. This statement of facts describes how you got into this financial bind and makes a plea to the lender to accept less than full payment. Lenders are not inhumane and may understand how your EX is the source of your financial distress.
SLEHHS
Hi, and thank you for the advice. I don't have children with my ex...he's paying alimony because he beat me and left me for dead. Thank God, I could get to the phone and called my daughter who took all the right steps to save me...I have done some "staging" in the home, and am now going to try the "short sale" approach. I work ful time, but, debts are high, and pay is just not enough to cover my living expenses. Boy, in my world...when it rains...it storms.
Jaded
2 additional thoughts:
1. On July 30, 2008 , Pres Bush signed a bill to provide mortgage relief to 400,000 struggling homeowners you may be able to benefit. Please check out the website to see if you can qualify at
view link2.Does your life allow you to work really hard for one or two years by getting another job and (making more sacrifices) in the evenings or weekends. I know this is painful, but if you can make a 225 aweek with a second job and really watch/cut your expenses by 50 a week for a year or two, would have over $10K saved per year . If this happened would you be able to recover and work out a deal with the lender.
3. Also, what about getting a nasty attorney(there are plenty of nasty attorneys) who will work for a percentage of the award or your alimony
Goodluck and keep me posted
Hello,
I've decided the "short sale" is the option (as long as it doesn't hurt my credit). And, I've found a rental in Western Maryland in the country...will be moving by the 15th. I've explained it to my daughter...she's really upset.
Istill am worried sick because I will have to find a job. Being 54, that's not easy. Noone wants to hire you...
And, my realtor doesn't like the short sale cause he says he will come out with very little, and I'll get nothing but a "ended" mortgage...
Jaded
