Approved for 722 replacement today

[alice0427]

Hey all,

I know Staci has some experience with this, but I'm wondering if anyone else does.

We surrendered my car because the engine blew last week. It was a scuzball thing to do, but we couldn't have asked for better timing. Today, my DH got approved for a 722 replacement loan. The payment has to be $250 or less (the car I surrendered was $243/mo). They approve you for per-month payment rather than a loan amount.

I called my attorney to talk it over with her, but she's not getting back to me! If we do this replacement, will we have to change or amend any of our bankruptcy paperwork? Any answers would be appreciated.

We need to work quickly. We had planned on keeping both vehicles, but mine died and now DH's is acting up too. He knows exactly what is wrong with his and can fix it, but he leaves on a 6-month deployment next Monday, so he just doesn't have time! That leaves me without reliable transportation for 6 months. Just not possible with an 18-month-old baby! If we could get something this week, it would really help. It doesn't have to be my dream car, just something reliable to get me from Point A to Point B!

[AAAArt]

You prob. should amend, but you can't do that until you know what the car is and what the payments are. As I recall, your 341 is coming up very shortly and you may be pressed for time.
If you do not have the time, I would just tell the Trustee what happened when you have your 341. From other's experiences recently, it sounds like the worst that would happen is that the Trustee would "hold-over" your meeting until all of the paperwork is correct. No big deal since you're going early and your husband shouldn't have to be at the second meeting. In fact someone on here, stated that the Trustee told them that if they got the paperwork in on time, they wouldn't have to show at all for the next meeting.
Congrats on the loan. Keep us posted. Art

[alice0427]

Hey Art,

We already had our 341 meeting on Monday the 14th. We decided after the 341 meeting to surrender my car as it can't be fixed.

Wish my attorney would call me!

[StaciMM]

It may be different w/ your trustee, but we had decided on the replacement vehicle before the 341. (Hadn't gotten it yet though.) Tried to tell the trustee about it, he wasn't interested. (Our overall financial picture didn't change, turned in 2 vehicles so expenses went down but DH also gave up a part time job as he couldn't keep it w/ us sharing a vehicle. The end result was the income & expense change balanced out.)

[alice0427]

I'm thinking it won't matter for us either, because like Staci, our monthly financial picture won't change AT ALL. I guess our payment will be $7.38 higher than it was before, but on the new vehicle we're looking at, our monthly insurance premium is $20 cheaper. So overall we're at a difference of about $13 less per month. Big deal!

Now what I'm wondering about is that the dealer we are working with is about "90% certain" that we could get a better interest rate by skipping the 722 altogether and just using a second-tier loan. He said that DH's military income and the fact that he's been in for 13.5 years works in our favor. If we could get a lower interest rate I'd be all for it.

I would rather wait to buy a vehicle until a year after the BK, but I just can't be without a car for 6 months! If it was just me, I'd buy a bike, but with the baby, that's just not possible. Bah!

[AAAArt]

I think that the diff. with 722 is that their vehicles are closer to real value...not as much mark-up. Art

[Surrender]

I was told that I had to file for permission to borrow in order to get a different vehicle. I have that hearing scheduled 4 hours prior to my 341 THIS Tuesday.

God help meeeee. ( My Mother always said I should've been a lawyer!!)

[StaciMM]

My opinion on the 722 replacement (and I'm a satisfied customer)...

Its a great altenative for someone in ch. 7 who MUST get a vehicle. Obviously, there are not alot of options for getting a reliable vehicle. The APR is high, but the loan amount is good in comarison to the value of the vehicles they deal with, and the process is fairly simple. (And w/ a high APR, you can save $$ by paying extra if & when you're able to do so.)

On the other hand, if you have a financed vehicle that you can keep temporarily, perhaps you're upside down or it has maintenance issues so you don't want to commit to it long term, this may not be a situation where 722 is your best bet. If you are not behind, & can keep it for a few months (not reaffirm) then once you are discharged you will have a variety of options on financing.

So