Are you facing the inevitable foreclosure?
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Negotiated with your lender but achieved no resolution.
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Filed for bankruptcy only to face foreclosure again.
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Attempted to sell or modify your loan with no success.
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Used your savings or retirement funds, only to start over.
Foreclosures
What are the Consequences of a Foreclosure?
A foreclosure occurs when the homeowner has failed to make payments and has defaulted or violated the terms of their mortgage loan. The process can be stressful, embarrassing, and it can have long-lasting consequences, such as:
- Eviction from your home—you’ll lose your home and any equity that you may have established
- Stress and uncertainty of not knowing exactly when you will have to leave your home
- Damage to your credit—impacting your ability to get new housing, credit, and maybe even potential employment, for many years
- May owe a deficiency balance after the foreclosure sale
- Lose any relocation assistance or leasing opportunities that may be available with other options
- Forfeit ability to get a Fannie Mae mortgage to purchase another home for at least 7 years (Fannie Mae guidelines)
A foreclosure can usually be avoided—even if you already received a foreclosure notice. If you need further assistance, contact a Fannie Mae Mortgage Help Center.
Foreclosure Tax Consequences
While it’s common to hear about the credit consequences of foreclosure, not everyone considers the tax consequences. A foreclosure brings about a property title transfer and subsequent tax assessment. Most property owners do not realize that by losing their home to foreclosure, there are likely going to be tax implications.
Any time debt is forgiven; it is considered a taxable event. The IRS states that any borrowed money that is not paid back is considered as income and is taxable. A mortgage involves the bank or lender granting funds to the owner in return for a promise to pay the funds back. When the owner begins repaying the money, this money is not claimed as income on their tax return. If, however, this debt amount is canceled or forgiven, it will have to be included as income for tax purposes. The loan amount is considered income because there is no longer an obligation to repay the lender for the same.
Once the property is sold by the lender, the tax consequences come in. The original loan was based on the value of the property, but these values keep changing. If the property is sold for less than it was originally worth, and the bank is unable to recover all the money it had lent, the balance is reported to the property owner and the IRS on a Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt. This amount is considered as income and must be reported on the homeowner’s income tax form leading to capital gains and income tax applicable.