Housing crisis: Lenders expected to sue homeowners for repayment of mortgage debt
Before Larry Thomas unloaded his Pompano Beach home last fall for a fraction of what he paid, he cut a deal that will keep him from worrying about a huge debt hanging over his head.
Thomas insisted that his lender, American Home Mortgage Servicing, agree not to come after him for the estimated $174,000 he still owed on his two mortgages. “I feel incredible relief,” the 32-year-old restaurant manager said last week.
Others may not be as fortunate.
Lenders will file a tidal wave of lawsuits against homeowners in the next few years as a way to recoup losses when home sales or foreclosure auctions don’t result in enough money to pay the mortgages in full, real estate and legal analysts say.