Can you walk away from a condo mortgage without having mortgage company and association org garnishing your wages for pmts?

Answer 1

Not all mortgage companies seek a judgment after they foreclose (often called a deficiency action). They are less likely to do so if they believe you have no assets to go after, since it costs money to file the action and takes a long time to collect. Often, though, mortgage companies sell off the ability to seek a judgment to collection firms that specialize in deficiency actions, and the collection firm and the mortgage company split whatever is collected from the borrower. Your best bet would be to enter into a "Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure" with the mortgage company, and ask them to specifically guaranty that they will not seek to come after you for any additional money. In a deed in lieu of foreclosure, you deed the property back to the bank, and vacate the premises voluntarily. You may not have this as an option in all states, or if you have any junior mortgages or other judgments that are affecting title to the condo. If you are delinquent in your condo fees, it may also make your mortgage company reluctant to enter into a Deed In Lieu, since they would have to pay any back condo dues (this is as opposed to when a bank acquires the condo through foreclosure, where they are not always obligated to pay all delinquent condo dues).