Please help..Need some advice.

[maxnty]

First I'd like to say thank you to all of you that take time helping everyone here. It makes this process somewhat more bearable.

Like many, I've found myself in this situation because my 2nd job (Real Estate Appraiser) which was lucrative for 2-3 years went out of business and I was living beyond my means..so here I am.

I've been talking to a lawyer and have been told that since I am employed and make $20k more than the state average at my primary job, I have to file Chapter 13. Before I do anything, I wanted to outline my situation and was hoping for some feedback on my other possible solution..

My debts are as follows:

Mortgage - $238k (Foreclose sale date set for May 10th)
3 Years property taxes - approx $10k
1 Credit Card - Pre penalty balance - 9k


Since the Attorney fees are $3,500 for a Chap 13, would I be better off negotiating a settlement for that amount with the Credit Card company/Collections Agency?

Then allow the home to go through the foreclosure thus eliminating the property taxes as well?


Would this be a better alternative than Chapter 13? Thanks for your responses.

[Flamingo]

It all depends whether or not you want to keep the house.

[Trixie007]

I've been talking to a lawyer and have been told that since I am employed and make $20k more than the state average at my primary job, I have to file Chapter 13.

My debts are as follows:
Mortgage - $238k (Foreclose sale date set for May 10th)
3 Years property taxes - approx $10k
1 Credit Card - Pre penalty balance - 9k

Since the Attorney fees are $3,500 for a Chap 13, would I be better off negotiating a settlement for that amount with the Credit Card company/Collections Agency?

Then allow the home to go through the foreclosure thus eliminating the property taxes as well?

What state are you in? Is it a single action state? Is that one loan or two? It sounds like you want to give up the house; if you only have one lien (no second) and you're in a single action state, then I would just let this go to foreclosure rather than doing the BK. Ch 13 is really only if you need the help in catching up on the house payments if you want to keep it.

And really, even if you want to keep the house, both the mortgage co. and the tax agency will work with you on payments, even if you're already in foreclosure. The lender does not want your house!

[maxnty]

What state are you in? Is it a single action state? Is that one loan or two? It sounds like you want to give up the house; if you only have one lien (no second) and you're in a single action state, then I would just let this go to foreclosure rather than doing the BK. Ch 13 is really only if you need the help in catching up on the house payments if you want to keep it.

And really, even if you want to keep the house, both the mortgage co. and the tax agency will work with you on payments, even if you're already in foreclosure. The lender does not want your house!

Thank you for your replies!!

Yes, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I don't want the home anymore. I've been working with the lender and they've been pretty good about offering different types of programs but they haven't really been able to get it to a comfortable price point for me (they're talking about switching me to a 40 yr loan instead of 30yr)

I'm in Florida. It's 1 loan, there is no 2nd mortgage.

[StartingOver08]

Florida has a provision for a deficiency judgment.

You need to find another attorney. I too am in FL and was over the median by much more than you and was able to file a successful CH 7. Look for a good attorney - keep interviewing. Remember, most BK attorney's make a larger fee in CH 13 - some of the not so good attorney's push their clients into a 13 for that reason.

Are you in the Southern BK District of FL?

[maxnty]

Florida has a provision for a deficiency judgment.

You need to find another attorney. I too am in FL and was over the median by much more than you and was able to file a successful CH 7. Look for a good attorney - keep interviewing. Remember, most BK attorney's make a larger fee in CH 13 - some of the not so good attorney's push their clients into a 13 for that reason.

Are you in the Southern BK District of FL?

I'm in Orlando. So You think I should keep looking?

[StartingOver08]

Yes, you should keep looking. You are in the Middle District - and there is a Trustee in that district that is a real SOB.

Look at the posts by FloridaGuy and some other Middle District posts.
You need an excellent attorney.