Trustee whats to do a home inpection

[JMARC]

Hi i had my creditors meeting today and after 5 minutes the trustee said she needs to make a home inception has anybody had this before

[justbroke]

You must be in the Middle District of Florida. There are still a few Chapter 7 Trustees that want to look around in your home to see if what you listed on your schedules, as far as personal property, matches what's on your Schedule B. This was a highly contentious issue back in 2008-2011 when Chapter 7 Trustees in Florida would try to squeeze out more money because of an issue with the "unused" homestead exemption.

(There was an issue back then where the Trustees fought and won cases where they claimed that if you keep your home, then you can't use the "unused" homestead exemption. That exemption is $4,000 per debtor. That was settled back in 2011 by the Florida Supreme court. See my earlier post http://www.bkforum.com/forum/before-...ed-should-i-be.)

Sorry for that bit of tangent but it is relative. Trustees in Florida are smart and they now that most people can't, especially those keeping their home, can't exempt all their property with the measly $1,000 personal property exemption. So your Trustee is just one of those who, technically, still do an audit / appraisal of the personal property. I only found that they typically do this when you claim you have a 2,000+ square foot home yet only have $1,000 worth of furnishings, clothing, computers, dishes, shoes, music media, televisions, etc.

So long as your valuations were good and you didn't "miss" anything, you should be fine.

Did you file with an attorney?

[JMARC]

Yes i used a well know lawyer , and i do have some stuff i didn't included in the list of assets just little things , so what happens when she comes over and takes inventory and says that i have more personal property that what a listed and lets say she says it worth about $7,000.00 (im just trowing a number out there) then what?

[JMARC]

can i convert to chapter 13 if is too much? i dont have any money to pay anything right i owe $9,000.00 to the IRS for last yr so any extra money i have goes to uncle sam

[justbroke]

If it exceeds your exemptions, you can a.) negotiate a settlement with the Trustee, or b.) tell the Trustee to come and get the stuff and sell it themselves. It's an art form and the Trustee is really just trying to earn some money.

Many debtors don't know that a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee earns about $70 per case. In 90% of the cases, there are no assets, so the Panel Trustee typically breaks even or wastes money looking for assets. If they see something "juicy" or they think that you undervalued property, they will sniff around (while trying not to spend more than $70) to find if you have some over-exempted property. When they find that the property value exceeds the exemptions, they'll try to negotiate.

I say... come and get my dog urine infested sofa and sell it. I wanted it gone anyway.

(just a little joke to keep the discussion lively)

I would not convert to a Chapter 13 unless I'm trying to protect "real" property (a home) or I need the protection to deal with taxes. Your lawyer should be able to help you should the Trustee fine some "juicy" assets that they can leverage. Remember, the Trustee is trying to eliminate and/or reduce his/her costs. They don't want to get into a fight which costs them more money with no reward for the unsecured creditors (not to mention the Trustee's commission).

[JMARC]

Hi
Still waiting for the home inception its been 7 days and nothing yet , do you know if he comes out of do they send somebody else? should i have my lawyer present with me he wants 350.00 hr to be at the house and it can take 2 or more hrs i dont have that money just to waste like that has anybody gone tru a inspection

[justbroke]

JMARC you don't need your attorney present. I can't tell you when they'll schedule the appraiser to come to your home. Your attorney and/or the Trustee will notify you.

[JMARC]

Thanks justbroke, do you know whats involve in the inspection what do expect this is killing me its been over 10 days and nothing yet , also if the trustee coming or does he send somebody else ?

[justbroke]

JMARC the Trustee really does thing themselves since they have a staff. It is likely going to be a third party appraiser. I know it's easier said than done, but just relax. Typically, though, the Trustee does these within a couple of weeks of the 341 Meeting. You'll just have to wait and see if the Trustee even decides to go through with it.

[snapple1905]

I did have the trustee come to my house for an inspection. He said if he did not received one of our car titles, he was going to do a home inspection as he felt our estimates were low for a house our size. He said he never received a car title (I sent the title 3 times to my lawyer.) So a date and time was set.

I declined the offer from my lawyer to be present. All the furnishings in our house were at least 10 years old at the time so I was not worried.

I welcomed him into the house, and he could not have been nicer. He said it was the least favorite part of his job. He walked thru every room and took some pictures.

I showed him the basement which is just storage and he just snapped a few pictures, never opening any boxes.

The only issue that caught be off guard was when he was in my oldest son's room. My son died a few years prior in a car accident. He room was pretty much as it was when he died. I told him about my son and he asked who bought the bedroom set. I hesitated and told him we did. I was not trying to hide anything, It was just the first time I realized I had inherited something from my 18 year old son.

The only place I did not show him was the garage. I notified him prior to coming that that is where I would be keeping the dogs during the inspection. He was ok with that.

He left and the items in our home where never mentioned again.

My point is, while yes it is stressful, the Trustee is just doing his job. It is nothing to worry about.

[despritfreya]

The only issue that caught be off guard was when he was in my oldest son's room. My son died a few years prior in a car accident. He room was pretty much as it was when he died. I told him about my son and he asked who bought the bedroom set. I hesitated and told him we did. I was not trying to hide anything, It was just the first time I realized I had inherited something from my 18 year old son.

So so sorry for your loss - (((())))

Des.

[JMARC]

Thank you for the advice on the home inspection issue

i have another question if you can help me back in 2011 i did a loan modification and i have never miss any payments and im current on the house now will the BK affect my loan modification terms and agreement?

[LadyInTheRed]

Thank you for the advice on the home inspection issue

i have another question if you can help me back in 2011 i did a loan modification and i have never miss any payments and im current on the house now will the BK affect my loan modification terms and agreement?

No.