Connecticut Adopts Optional Method of Foreclosure Known as Foreclosure by Market Sale

         Effective October 1, 2014 Connecticut General Statutes Section 49-24 was amended to allow mortgage lenders holding first mortgages on residential properties by agreement with mortgagors aka borrower occupants to enter into a foreclosure by private market sale. Presumably the main impetus for this optional method of foreclosure is the recognition that foreclosure auctions do not attract the highest and best sales prices for foreclosed properties. I applaud the Connecticut legislature's attempt to solve this problem, but in reading how the process will work under the statute I find it convoluted and unattractive to mortgagors, prospective purchasers and their real estate agents. Foreclosures by sale via auction are usually ordered in cases where there is equity in the property for the mortgagor and/or subsequent lienholders on the property. It appears to me that this foreclosure by market sale is supposed to be attractive to mortgagors in this position, but not underwater mortgagors since unlike a short sale it does not provide for any debt forgiveness. If this amendment was pushed through by lenders as an alternative to short sales it clearly is not and hopefully mortgagors who could benefit from a short sale will not choose this option instead.

     My first comment in looking at the process established by this amendment is that a distressed mortgagor with equity in his property seeking to sell his property would be better served selling it himself with the help of a real estate agent. If a foreclosure is started and additional time to sell is needed the mortgagor should first file for foreclosure mediation. If more time is needed beyond mediation than he can file an answer and special defenses to the foreclosure with the assistance of an experienced foreclosure defense attorney. The process starts out with a preforeclosure notice to mortgagors of the availability of a private market sale foreclosure. The process requires the mortgagor to contact a real estate agent to assess the feasibility of listing the property for sale, but the listing cannot take place until lender does an interior appraisal and agrees to listing of property for private mortgage sale. The mortgagor will be required to sign as part of the private market sale agreement that they forgo their right to participate in foreclosure mediation which to me is a red flag that this is a lender friendly drafted amendment to the statute with the ulterior motive of keeping files out of mediation which the legislators who approved it were probably not even aware of. The foreclosure action will be commenced after receipt of a mutually acceptable contract and the statute attempts to fast track the foreclosure judgment which includes the approval of the contract as well as the fees and expenses of the sale including buyers anticipated expenses. Based on my experience with short sales the required participation of lenders in this process will delay the closing considerably beyond what the drafters of this amendment planned. The court requirements for buyers will require them to incur more attorney fees than a normal sale. I see the reality of this process adding more time than the average buyer will want to wait for the closing to take place with additional fees that they will not want to incur. I also forsee major problems with any buyer trying to finance their purchase under this process. Which of course means the pool of buyers will be reduced to mostly cash buyers looking for bargains which defeats the purpose of a private sale over an auction in the first place. In fact I do not see this new option bringing any new pool of buyers offering higher prices for foreclosed properties. The amendment also gives subordinate lienholders with right of refusal law days in inverse right of priority. This adds an additional uncertainty to process for buyers that they may lose property to subsequent lienholder so all their time and effort will be wasted despite mechanism for eventually getting back their approved anticipated costs, but possibly not actual costs. The problems outlined above will also make this option not attractive for agents who will likely advise both sellers and buyers against it. This is magnified by the fact that once sale is approved by court a "person" presumably not the borrower is appointed to make the sale and transfer title. Consequently, the seller the client of the agent is out of the picture and the agent will be dealing with possibly a court appointed attorney similar to a Committee for a foreclosure auction. Something most real estate agents would prefer to avoid and adds additional complexity for a purchaser's lender in the unlikely event there is one if they have to process and review for underwriting. I have only highlighted some of the drawbacks of this new foreclosure option and my overall opinion is that it is not a good option for a distressed mortgagor trying to sell their home due to many practical problems with process established in the statute and lack of true benefits to the mortgagor. As stated in bold above there is a much better and simpler way for  a mortgagor to buy the time necessary to sell their property them self which will attract a larger pool of interested buyers and consequently a higher purchase price.

Tax Exemption for Mortgage Debt Relief is Extended for 2017

   2017 Update-

"On February 9, 2018 the President signed into law a one-year extension of the exclusion. The retroactive extension was buried in the 652 page Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Public Law No. 115-123 § 40201....The Act revives the exclusion from taxable income for qualifying principal residence indebtedness discharged before January 1, 2018 and to written discharge agreements executed before January 1, 2018. This will enable individual taxpayers to claim the exclusion for returns they file for their 2017 calendar year income. Given that Congress has rejected prior attempts to make the exclusion permanent, the likelihood of future extensions is doubtful." see full article @ https://library.nclc.org/last-minute-relief-foreclosed-and-struggling-homeowners-now-filing-their-taxes 

  Update for 2014-As of January 1, 2014 the tax relief act was not extended. There is a bill sponsored by two CT congressman to extend pending, but with our gridlocked Congress no guarantee that any extension is forthcoming. There is still a way for many sellers with pending short sales or in need of short sales to avoid negative tax consequences in 2014. If the seller is insolvent at time of sale the forgiven debt will not be considered as income if their liabilities exceed their assets in an amount equal to or in excess of the forgiven amount. IRS Publication 4681 provides examples of the application of this exception and a worksheet to calculate personal assets and liabilities to use for individuals tax returns. Although unusual some bankrupt homeowners seek to short sell after receiving a bankruptcy discharge. In these situations the mortgage debt  discharged by the bankruptcy does not constitute taxable income and there is no debt cancelled by the bank's acceptance of a short sale just the release of the mortgage securing the home.

      In 2007 to avoid hitting distressed homeowners with the double whammy of foreclosure and tax debt from uncollected foreclosure deficiencies The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act was enacted. This Act is set to expire on December 31, 2012 and based on the current political climate in Congress things do not look good for the extension of this Act. This Act applies not only to foreclosure deficiencies forgiven, but to short sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure and mortgage modifications with principal forgiveness.  It has allowed underwater financially strapped homeowners to take advantage of government and lender mortgage relief efforts without the consequence of receiving a 1099 with phantom income and related high tax liability. Short sales have become an attractive option for many homeowners and lenders since the homeowner is relieved of the underwater property and mortgage debt and the lender receives an acceptable payment from the sale without having to incur the costs and delays involved with the foreclosure, maintenance and sale of the property. Short sales have also been fueled by the National Mortgage Settlement stemming from the litigation brought by the State Attorney Generals against mortgage lenders. This Settlement has also spawned mortgage modifications with actual principal forgiveness which I have personally seen increase this year. Before this settlement act my clients that received debt forgiveness were in contested foreclosure cases that I had filed special defenses and counterclaims. The impact of the loss of the tax forgiveness in 2012 will take the teeth out of this settlement leaving distressed homeowners without the relief it was intended to provide them. They will not benefit from a short sale or mortgage modification with forgiven debt if they are faced with a large tax liability.  Unfortunately these tax liabilities will be large since many of these mortgages have been in default for years combined with properties that are significantly underwater so phantom income in excess of $100,000.00 or more will not be an unusual consequence. Also since the IRS is provided with such extraordinary collection powers and income tax debt is treated as a priority debt in bankruptcy there is no debt more frightening to any U.S. citizen than delinquent income tax debt.

What the loss of this tax relief will mean is that more distressed homeowners who cannot afford their underwater homes will simply walk away from them. Homeowners who would have originally viewed a mortgage modification with principal forgiveness as a godsend will not accept these offers due to the accompanying tax burden. These facts will in turn lead to more foreclosures and more borrowers may have to file bankruptcy to discharge foreclosure deficiencies that could have been avoided with the Act in place with a short sale or mortgage modification. Another sad consequence is that for distressed homeowners who really want to hold onto there homes they may be forced to accept a mortgage modification with no debt forgiveness despite being eligible for it just to avoid the negative tax consequences. This would negate the intended benefit of the attorney general’s settlement act and provide an unintended benefit to lenders. There is little more than a month for Congress to act and there are even larger issues being debated in Washington that overshadow the need to extend this mortgage debt relief act. One can only hope that as the year closes the vital need for the extension of this act is recognized for the sake of not only distressed homeowners, but for the entire housing market since the negative effects of increased foreclosures will continue to drag the U.S. economy down into 2013 and beyond.
UPDATE: THIS TAX EXEMPTION WAS EXTENDED TILL JANUARY 1, 2015 WHICH IS PROJECTED TO BE THE LAST EXTENSION DUE TO POLITICAL REASONS.

Why Go Out of State When The Mortgage Modification Expertise You Need Is Here In Connecticut?

    It disappoints me to still hear from prospective foreclosure and mortgage modification clients who have paid out of state mortgage modification companies or so called "national law firms" that have failed to obtain mortgage modifications for them. These companies are usually not properly licensed with the Connecticut Department of Banking and these law firms are not authorized to practice law in this state and woefully uninformed as to foreclosure law in Connecticut. Most are also unaware of the existence and benefit of the court's foreclosure mediation program. I have to admit I was initially skeptical about the foreclosure mediation program; however I now see it as a very effective tool to negotiate with lenders and their foreclosure counsel for acceptable resolutions of my clients' foreclosure cases including mortgage modifications, short sales and deeds in lieu of foreclosure. These companies and law firms blanket the internet with their advertisements and promises of great results for homeowners desperately seeking to save their homes. They take advantage of these homeowners' desperation with promises of unrealistic modifications to obtain payment of their fees before even seeing all of their clients' financials. In these situations the phrase " If it sounds too good to be true than it is not true" comes to mind when it comes to these advertisements and promises. These modification companies and national law firms are ripping people off and using their ill gotten profits to lure in more victims with their misleading and false advertising tactics. If you need help in Connecticut with a foreclosure or a mortgage modification contact an experienced Connecticut attorney to help you. A Connecticut attorney can represent you throughout the whole process including filing an appearance for you in a foreclosure action or file bankruptcy as needed which these out of state companies and law firms cannot do. Don't waste your money with any of these out of state charlatans and compound your problems by having to contact our Attorney General and Department of Banking in an attempt to get back the fees you wasted by hiring them.

Connecticut Short Sales and Deeds In Lieu of Foreclosures in a Nutshell

     In situations where homeowners with relatively small amount of unsecured debt are faced with foreclosure and who do not want to keep their homes Chapter 7 bankruptcy may not be the best first option. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy may not also be an option due to the income/asset situation of the homeowner. Other options to consider are a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. A short sale is where the mortgage lender(s) approves a sale for less than the debt due it and depending on the homeowner's income and asset status the homeowner is released from their mortgage obligation without any or with some contribution and/or unsecured promissory note to the lender. Deed in lieu of foreclosure is where property is deeded back to lender with same analysis whether or not homeowner's release from the debt includes some contribution from them. In both situations the mortgage lenders require financial documents similar to mortgage modification applications. Lenders prefer short sales so they generally require the property be listed for a short sale first for a minimum of 3 to 6 months before considering a deed in lieu. Both of these options are available under the HAFA program for loans that are eligible for HAMP loan modification process which covers all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned or guaranteed loans and loans serviced by HAMP participating loan servicers issued prior to Janaury 1, 2009. The advantage to pursuing a HAFA short sale or deed in lieu is that if you are approved for either the mortgage lender is required to waive any potential deficiency.
     The approval process of either of these options can take some time and for short sales you need to have a buyer that is willing to wait for the lender to come to a decision. The same holds true for a deed in lieu especially since you have to usually start the short sale process first before converting to a deed in lieu application. In many cases a foreclosure will be commenced before the lender has made a decision.   The good news is that both of these options are considered as suitable matters for the court's foreclosure mediation program. You can apply for this program and with the recommended assistance of a qualified attorney use the mediator to help negotiate either the short sale or deed in lieu. While in your in mediation the mortgage lender cannot proceed with its foreclosure so there is added incentive for them to accelerate their approval process. There are important tax considerations with the forgiveness of debt from a short sale or deed in lieu. Through December 31, 2012 any imputed debt from this forgiveness is exempted from Federal income taxation. Clearly if Congress does not act to extend this tax exemption the attractiveness of a short sale or deed in lieu will be greatly diminished.  Consequently, anyone considering a short sale now would be encouraged to make that decision quickly since as indicated above the process will take time and the clock on the federal tax exemption is ticking away.
UPDATE: GOOD NEWS FOR POTENTIAL SHORT SELLERS IN 2016 THIS FEDERAL TAX EXEMPTION WAS EXTENDED THROUGH JANUARY 1, 2016.