Ex-wife destroyed credit

[RW771]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My then-wife and I purchased a home in 2003.  We divorced in 2006.  I quit-claimed the house to her.  She filed for bankruptcy, and has not paid on the house in 6 months, so my credit is getting hit, because Chase still has me on the loan.  I haven't lived there, nor payed the mortgage, in 6 years.  My credit 1 year ago was 795.  Now it is 680 (Experian).  Tried contacting Chase about it, but of course, that went no where.  Any suggestions?  Thank you.

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I know exactly where you're coming from. My fiancee is in almost the exact same boat. His now ex-wife filed for divorce back in 2007 and she was court ordered to have the house refinanced in her name and of course, she never did. He also signed a quit-claim deed after she fooled him into believing that's all he needed to do in order to be removed from the loan. Anyway, she was late multiple times (up to 180+ days in many instances) AFTER the divorce was final and his credit has tanked.

This year we wanted to buy a house and when we went to the bank was told by our LO that there was no way we could include my fiancee on the loan since he still has this other house. Luckily I was still able to qualify on my own with my scores and income, but it sucked that something like that could have potentially kept us from buying a home had we needed to include his income or use his credit scores.

Now we're finding out the house is in short-sale status and is listed for roughly $30K below what is owed. Of course we know his credit will only get even worse due to this and he may even receive a 10-99 for the difference.

We've pretty much realized he's going to have to hire a real estate attorney in order to fix all of this mess. Of course I don't know what will happen after the house sells in the short-sale (should it not go into foreclosure) but it would be nice to know what options would be available for him.

Good luck to you...I totally feel for you and wish I had some advice to help you out. I'm hoping we can get some help with our situation and re-claim his credit for what all she's done.

[pizzadude]

----->  she was court ordered to have the house refinanced in her name and of course, she never did.

Your fiancee should take his ex-wife to court to ask for relief, if she violated the court order, and the house is foreclosed/short-sale, etc.. any damages that he incurrs should be paid by his ex-wife.

[RW771]

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@pizzadude wrote:

----->  she was court ordered to have the house refinanced in her name and of course, she never did.

Your fiancee should take his ex-wife to court to ask for relief, if she violated the court order, and the house is foreclosed/short-sale, etc.. any damages that he incurrs should be paid by his ex-wife.

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Yep that's the route he's planning on going. I guess he's just waiting to see what happens with the sale of the house before making any decisions, which surprises me that she was able to put the house up for sale in the first place, without his consent.

[pizzadude]

----->  Yep that's the route he's planning on going. I guess he's just waiting to see what happens with the sale of the house before making any decisions, which surprises me that she was able to put the house up for sale in the first place, without his consent.

RIght, and after he signed the deed over to his ex, she could pretty much do whatever she wants to the house, including selling it.   Since's he's not on the deed he is not a "legal" owner of the house, but according to the bank he is responsible for debt becuase he is still on the mortgage. 

Good luck, I hope that this situation works out !

[RW771]

Thanks pizzaguy. I'll update as things happen. Hopefully it will help others who may be going through the same or similiar situations!

[Anonymous]

Thanks, RW.  Good luck to you, and yes, I hope something positive can come out of our situations, as well as all the others who are in the same position.  Just got off the phone with an attorney who said that my situation will get worse before it gets better, and that the only way for me to clean it all up will be to file for bankruptcy, myself.  My credit score was 790 6 months ago, and now I am being told bankruptcy may be my only choice, once Chase comes after me, as my beloved ex has already filed for bankruptcy.  I have learned a really hard lesson the hard way.  If anyone has any other ideas, please keep them coming.

[Tryon2improve]

Do you have a recourse or non recourse loan? This would be spelled out in your mortgage papers. If it is not a recourse loan, then you will just lose the house and they can't come after you for the deficiency from the auction of the house.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Tryon.  It is non-recourse.