The Story of Foreclosure and the Hahns

This is the story of Jeff Hahn who let out a sigh when he heard that his house had been sold off at an auction. This summer Jeff and wife Vanessa walked out from the house that had been their home because they could not cope with a monthly payment of $5,000. They shifted to Los Angeles after putting the house on the market.

The listing price was $575,000 but it steadily dropped over the months without a single buyer showing interest. A realtor told them to sell it off for $350,000. It was not unlikely because half a dozen similar houses were waiting to be sold in the same neighbourhood.

Jeff had bought this colonial structure in 2004 for $495,000. He then took a home equity loan for his business. Suddenly the monthly payments surged from $2,200 to $3,700 last September. The couple tided over the first few months with credit cards while trying to refinance. Finally they were sanctioned $570,000 with the interest rate being 10.5%. They never made any payment. All they wanted was to rescue their credit rating and hoped to sell the house quickly.

Life goes on from day-to-day in Southern California with reminders of the loss of their house. Credit ratings are getting lower as they survive from one pay cheque to another. Jeff works for an auto parts importer. Vanessa was once a ballet dancer and now teaches competitive gymnastics. Their son Jonah is just 2 years old. In LA they live in rented quarters but the rent is a bit high for them. They are trimming costs by surrendering one car. Unfortunately the landlords want the apartment back. So the Hahns will have to start packing again.

During the struggling months their credit card loan ran up to $16,000. When they stopped making payment their credit score fell from 710 to 490. This will make it harder to find new rented accommodation.

Jeff and Vanessa appeared for some shows highlighting foreclosures but he soon became a target of hate by some readers. They had no intention to take advantage of the system. It was the just vice versa.

Chase who is the servicer for the loan the Hahns had taken said that the amount collected by selling the house was far less than what the couple owed to the mortgage company including fees. It was short of $474,750 – by no means a negligible amount.

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