Expert: David Garcia - 9/5/2005

Question
My wife and I have a house that we are trying to sell (house #1). We live in another house on my family farm (house #2). We had rented out #1 to the renters from hell. I got sick and my wife was in charge of the money for about 1 1/2 years. We are now way behind in tax payments and the loan. The renters just up and left about 5 days ago. They didn't notify us or anything. I haven't had a chance to check out the condition of the house. My wife called the bank to see what we could workout with them. The bank has no record of the home loan. Even using my ssn. Loan account no. Name and street address? The house is headed for foreclosure if the taxes are not paid soon. We have other renters willing to go into the house right away.
Should we rent it and use the rent payment to pay the back taxes and forget about the bank for now?
What if the bank can't find the loan account? What then?
The house has been a big pain in the a$$. I would like to just be done with it.

Thanks for your time,
Mike
mirvingm@yahoo.com

Answer
Hi,

I recommend you pay the taxes ASAP. You can go ahead & rent the home & use the money to pay the taxes.

To find out about the loan on the home, go to the courthouse register of deeds section & tell the county clerk that you need to verify the mortgage on your home.

Best wishes.
David Garcia