Take the Keys, I'm Out

***Please note, anything posted here is not to be taken as legal advice. Should you need legal assistance, please contact me at the Law Office of Seymour Wasserstrum, (856)696-8300, for a free consultation***

TAKE THE KEYS, I'M OUT

Back in olden days, it used to be that if you could not pay for something, you give it back. The bank would then try to sell the car/house/whatever to someone else and you would be on your way. Those days have long since come and gone.

Now, especially in the financial strife that many face, the ability to pay for the car and mortgage is simply too much for many to bear. One would think that if you simply gave the car back to the dealer, or the home to the mortgage company; they would simply take the keys and leave you out. Unfortunately, the tough times have been affecting the banks as well. Unfortunately, after they sell the car, that person finds a bill for the rest of the loan that was owed.

Even worse, if the house was lost to a foreclosure on a first mortgage; some people have found the second mortgage or home equity loan coming back to haunt them on the "note". Not only do they have to face losing their home, now the issue arises that the loans for that home have not gone away.

These times call for people to make very careful decisions and become fully aware before they decided to surrender or turn in anything. There may be options; from reworking the loan to having it reworked through a bankruptcy, that may be available which the lenders surely do not want you to know about and take advantage of.

Before you decide to surrender a car or home, please do make sure you know the full consequences of doing so before "turning in the keys". There are other bills to consider, association fees and municipal expenses for example, that should be considered. In either event, one should make sure they have been fully informed of every repercussion before making the difficult decision to turn something in and walk away.