MovieChat Forums > Hell or High Water (2016) Discussion > Why couldn't they just refinance instead...

Why couldn't they just refinance instead of robbing banks?

posted 8 years ago by jselbie
37 replies | jump to latest

It's revealed over the course of the film that Toby and Tanner are robbing banks to pay off a $40,000 mortgage on a farm that forecloses at the end of the week. Then later revealed that oil was discovered on the land. In the end, the farm is producing $50,000 worth of oil a month.

So if you're a farmer in Texas with $40K in debt, but are sitting on top of an multi acre plot of land that that has an oil reserve worth millions, is there still no possibility of avoiding foreclosure? Another bank can't refinance that loan? An oil company or investor is not available? And that you're only recourse to save your property from foreclosure is a bank robbing spree?

What am I missing?

[–] TheIgnoredWriter 8 years ago

I think the Chris Pine's explanation in the final scene explains why they robbed the bank to pay it off instead of being in the banks pocket.

"Generations of my family have always been poor" and so on as he explains to Jeff Bridges. They just aren't saints, I don't think the movie tried to paint them as 100% good guys either.

Great characters come from a grey zone of what's right and wrong based on their beliefs (Walter White, Omar Little, Jay Gatsby, even Jack Sparrow .... Hell, George Costanza while we're at it)

They have a word for it in the Story Telling world: Anti-Hero.

"all in the game..."
--Traditional
West Baltimore

[–] RightersBloc 8 years ago

1) Because of the document prep time, which would have taken too long
2) Because anyone they asked for a loan could have (and probably would have) allowed it to foreclose or would have attempted to buy the ranch short.
3) Because they wanted to get back at the bank that had them buried in the mortgage in the first place.

[–] movieZombie 8 years ago

the attorney explained it all.
they gave the mother just enough $ to put her into debt but not enough to work the place.
the bank knew about the oil and foreclosure would net them a lot of $.

it really is that simple.

[–] hammerbutt 8 years ago

I don't think the bank knew about the oil at all this whole thing only got triggered because the mother died which puts in motion the bank taking the land. If the mother had lived another year everything would have worked out for them

[–] TheMouseShadow 8 years ago

what a stupid *beep* question.

1. Two brothers, one is a friggin convict and the other basically a loser with no means of support, cant even pay child support. What fuggin bank is going to give them a loan?

2. If they are paying off the reverse mortgage that means its still in the mothers name which means they CANT refinance it.

[–] bstee-1 8 years ago

That is not a stupid question, care to explain why they can't get bridge financing? What about the fact that oil companies will give you cash on signing of lease rights which could then be used to pay the reverse mortgage. When you have guaranteed income sources there are a lot of investors willing to jump in and it has zero to do with your credit worthiness. Credit scoring is based upon your personal ability to repay based upon history. If you have access to an asset that will stream income the credit score is meaningless. Even if someone was concerned about a default you could get a bond against the default. There are lots of options. As for the issue of "they only had a week and the house went to the bank"....um...that reverse mortgage happened at least two years prior and they have obviously known about the oil for some time as well. It is their fault for waiting until the week before to decide they wanted to go off and terrorize bank employees and kill because they were out of time. Both their actions and the entire move are just utterly stupid.

[–] TheMouseShadow 8 years ago

genius.....you cant claim income on a property YOU DONT OWN, especially if its about to get foreclosed on. Sorry you dont understand the basics of how lending works in this country. Banks arent here to help you, they only care about your ability to repay, an ability the brothers didnt have.

Bridge financing....LOL for those two losers?

[–] hammerbutt 8 years ago

I get that being a trollin retard is your thing but reverse mortgage rules and escrow times on inheriting properties aren't exactly common knowledge so the writer would have done himself a favor by adding a couple of lines explaining the predicament to his audience.

Of course if he did that then you wouldn't get to sit in your basement yankin your pud over how clever you are online.

[–] TheMouseShadow 8 years ago

Wise words from a douche named "HAMMERBUTT" 😄

Who also knows nothing about how the real world works apparently......

[–] MrBelette 8 years ago

Why couldn't they just refinance instead of robbing banks?

Sure would make a very entertaining script. Can't wait to see it on the screen.

[–] eleetsh 8 years ago

As I remember, it was stated that the ranch was in a reverse mortgage which means that legally the bank now owned the ranch but would give monthly payments and allow the occupants to stay until their death, at which point the bank would then take ownership of the property and therefore the family could not refinance. They could have borrowed from an investor but then they would have same issue of someone else being involved with their property and certainly wanting a much bigger return from their $40,000 investment. Hope this helps.

[–] bstee-1 8 years ago

That is basically correct. A reverse mortgage can be a monthly payment (typically it is) or because of the brain dead writers thy could have the mother basically sell the home to bank and then continue to live there. Then when these sons discover they would personally be better off with the property they want to come up with the money that their mother needed a couple of of years ago to make themselves wealthy. They clearly did not step up to help their mother, instead they let her live in poverty and only got concerned when they thought they were losing out. Typical mindset of blaming others for their own decisions.

[–] mooncalled2 8 years ago

That is basically correct. A reverse mortgage can be a monthly payment (typically it is) or because of the brain dead writers thy could have the mother basically sell the home to bank and then continue to live there. Then when these sons discover they would personally be better off with the property they want to come up with the money that their mother needed a couple of of years ago to make themselves wealthy. They clearly did not step up to help their mother, instead they let her live in poverty and only got concerned when they thought they were losing out. Typical mindset of blaming others for their own decisions.

Toby took care of his mother during the last year of her life, and during the three months before her death he fed, bathed, and cleaned her. When his brother asked why the cattle were so skinny and "There ain't a steak between 'em" Toby replied that they didn't have anything to feed them. I think most people posting here just don't understand what it means to be that bone-bare poor.

The oil was never intended for the brothers, but for Toby's sons. He wanted to break the cycle of poverty his family had endured for generations. All they had was the land/ranch, which had been in their family for generations. And the bank absolutely knew about the oil. Why else would the Bank Manager still try to swindle Toby after he repaid the loan and Taxes? He attempted to stall the release of property lien, and would have if Toby hadn't sat there and watched him.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] tripper511 8 years ago

I'm surprised no one actually paid attention to the movie but it was a very simple reason why they robbed the banks and didn't get a loan: The attorney in the middle of the movie clearly explains that the oil company will not drill on the their land unless NO MONEY IS OWED. That means they had to have complete ownership. They couldn't have any liens on it.

All the revenge stuff was secondary. They simply had to find a way to completely pay off the reverse mortgage (and back taxes and interest) with only a couple of weeks to spare.

[–] PopperTheKungFu-Dragon 8 years ago

I'm not American, as well as dumb regarding loans and finance and all that stuff, so I don't understand most of this thread, but this answer suits me fine.

Anyway, I enjoyed the heck out of this movie.

Poorly Lived and Poorly Died, Poorly Buried and No One Cried

[–] Jaynes601 8 years ago

It was mentioned in the movie that Chevron wouldn't drill on the land unless it was debt free. If you think about it, you can hardly blame them. The bank would be wanting some of that oil money, too.