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Suzanne Said:

Will mortgage companies come after the lender in the event of a foreclosure?

We Answered:

Your question is confusing.

Let's get the players straight.

The mortgage company is the lender. If you borrow $100,000 to buy a house, you're borrowing from the lender. That's the mortgage company. For example: Washington Mutual or Countrywide. They lend/lent money.

The person who receives the money is the borrower. If the borrower fails to repay the mortgage, then the mortgage company forecloses on the borrower.

And, yes, in the event of a foreclosure, the lender/mortgage company comes after the borrower.

The only way you could foreclose on properties is if you'd lent other people money. Maybe you owned properties, and you sold them, taking back the financing. If the people you sold the properties to didn't repay, then you'd foreclose on them. You'd be going after the borrowers.

If you're having difficulty making payments, you can ask the lender to restructure your loan. Or you can ask for forebearance. If those don't work, you can attempt to sell the properties. If you're "upside down," owing more than the properties are worth, you can attempt a short sale. You can ask the lender if they'll accept the deed in lieu of foreclosure. (Some will. Most won't.) If that doesn't work, you might be able to postpone the inevitable by filing for bankruptcy. The final step is foreclosure.

Check with a good lawyer for more details.