Thanks again. The biggest constraint I have right now is that MBNA is offering 30%, which sounds quite good but they are pressuring me to do it right away. They threaten to withdraw the offer otherwise. I just don’t know if they will offer it again when I have time to negotiate with Citibank. I suspect they will but I was hoping someone here would have gone through the same process already. This is why I was concerned about the possibility of a lien on the house. If I didn’t have that issue, it would give me much more leverage to negotiate.
I appreciate your words regarding discipline. I actually have another credit card through an old business. I never charge more than I have in the bank, and only use the card as if it were cash. It is just a convenience. I got stupid years back using a cash advance for a dumb stock play, and much of the rest was for business capital expenditures. I’m a little wiser now.
Hi. I wonder if anyone can educate me a bit. I own 25% of a house with my brothers (the other 75%) and the house is in our name with those percentages listed. The three of us borrowed 25% of the house value, which I am making the payments on since the money was really for me. We all had to sign due to joint ownership. I have a credit card go into collections for about $20,000, and I don’t know whether they are going to try and get a judgment or not. I have no other assets and don’t receive a paycheck.
My question is if they get a judgment on the house, can the judgment be taken out of the other 75% of the house at the sale, or is the judgment restricted to my 25% ownership. In other words, can my brothers become responsible for the judgment if the house is sold, or can the sale of the house be held up due to the judgment?
Creditors do not get judgements against houses. They will get a judgement against you and create a lien that will attach to any property you have in your name.
In your case if your name is on title the lien will attach to the property. When the property is sold the amount of lien would need to be paid before the title would clear to be transfered. It would be up to you and your brothers to figure how the money works out.
Why wait to be sued? Make arrangements on the card for a reduced pay-off &/or terms. That would not only keep your credit cleaner, but prevent any family problems.
I bought a property where American Express had a judgment, and filed a lien.
At the closing, they took out the amount of the judgment, plus a little extra. The title company rep explained that it had nothing to do with the number of people on the title.
At least that’s the way it was handled in NY State.
Thanks for the responses. So it sounds like it doesn’t matter if the bank has the first lien. The judgment would have to be paid out of the proceeds or from me. If they put a lien on the house, and know the house won’t isn’t likely to be sold for many years, is it typical for them to settle at that point?
I posted another question regarding settlements. Maybe you could take a look at that, too.
You do NOT want to cloud the title of family property. If you wait for a sale, the creditor w/get all of the $$$ owed (which is probably much more than the original credit card debt). If you settle now, you’ll not only get it off your record sooner (you can making clearing your credit report part of the deal), but it w/be @ a good discount. Creditors settle all the time. If you don’t want to do it, you can have an atty negotiate. Caveat: be sure to get one who specializes in negotiation; most aren’t that good @ it. It sounds to me like you’d rather not deal w/this & just take your lumps years in the future. Not a good idea, as this is a guaranteed land mine waiting to blow up (e.g., your sibling has a medical emergency & needs to pull $$$–oops). Every day you wait is going to make it more difficult for you to do what is necessary. Go to the library this weekend & get a book on negotiation so you are prepared to follow through next week. Good luck!
Sailor - Thanks again. I do not want a judgment, esp with the house. I just didn’t know how these things worked. Let me ask you this: My other card, MBNA, said they would settle for 30%, and that my credit would say something like “settled for a lesser amount.” Does it have to say that or can I negotiate to have them take everything negative off my record, as in just saying “closed by customer” and leaving it at that? Of couse same would go for the Citibank negotiation.
You can negotiate almost anything. I always try to figure out two things in advance of any deal: (1) what I REALLY want, & (2) the amount on which I am willing to settle. Since you have more than one account to negotiate, I’d play them off of each other–i.e. “I’ve got other creditors, so are you gonna give me the best deal so you can get paid first/more?” I wasn’t kidding about reading a book (or more than one) on negotiation. In this, as much as anything, the old advice to plan your work & work your plan is as good as ever. One final piece of advice is to educate & discipline yourself so that you never–no, never–find yourself in this position again. Start tomorrow morning by vowing not to spend a single penny for the next year w/out writing it down in a little book you’ll carry everyplace (the 1st item to log is the 99¢ + tax for the book). That simple exercise w/probably save you thousands in the next few months, & set you on a financial path you can follow the rest of your life. Let us know how it goes–