Filed Today

[nioka]

After talking with my attorney I decided it was best to file chapter 7 now.

I will have another meeting with my attorney in three days to go over and finalize the papers. I will be surrendering by house. I will be staying in the house until the bank or HOA forecloses.

[BobMango]

Will you be able to pay your HOA fees monthly or will they require annual payments?

[LadyInTheRed]

I'm glad you decided to get the BK filed, Nioka.

I'm confused. The title of this thread says you filed today, but you also say you will finalize paperwork in 3 days. Did you file an "emergency" petition?

[nioka]

BobMango,

Here the interesting thing. My attorney advised me not to pay the HOA fees. He said unless I want my HOA membership privileges restored there is no point in paying them. He actually said that paying them would be like throwing money in the trash can.

When I asked about foreclosure by the HOA he said it was highly unlikely in my case. However, the HOA can legally foreclose although it would not be financially practical for them to do that. The most likely scenario would be the HOA will wait for the bank to foreclose or a buyer to purchase the property to collect the delinquent sum.
Note: I have no assets and protected income and I am hoping for a timely foreclosure.

I have gotten mixed suggestions here and all of it good advice. Without a doubt each case is different and the laws of the locations can vary. I think it finally comes down to trusting your attorney to provide the best course of action for your individual situation.

As to your question, I can only wait until I see my monthly statement in April to see how the HOA will bill.

[nioka]

LadyInTheRed,

I am not sure. I had a second consult with my attorney, paid the fees, gave all my information to the attorney's assistant and was told to come back on Thursday to go over the paperwork that will be formalized and verify the with the attorney.
I was told I am now protected. If that means "emergency petition" I suppose so. However, there was no need to for any action today as I have nothing immediately threatening.
I think she said I will have a case number and 341 hearing date on Thursday also. Most likely the 341 will be about the end of April.

[BobMango]

Well, you're paying your attorney for his advice so I'd trust that over the free advice you get here and other corners of the internet.

My understanding has been that paying pre-petition HOA fees is wasting money, but you generally are on the hook for them after filing up until the house is actually out of your name, but again, your attorney should know best.

Good luck to you.

[LadyInTheRed]

LadyInTheRed,

I am not sure. I had a second consult with my attorney, paid the fees, gave all my information to the attorney's assistant and was told to come back on Thursday to go over the paperwork that will be formalized and verify the with the attorney.
I was told I am now protected. If that means "emergency petition" I suppose so. However, there was no need to for any action today as I have nothing immediately threatening.
I think she said I will have a case number and 341 hearing date on Thursday also. Most likely the 341 will be about the end of April.

Did you sign a petition? I suspect your case has not been filed. You will probably sign the petition on Thursday and they will file it electronically the same day and get your case number and 341 date.

[nioka]

LITR,

I did not sign a petition. I believe you are correct.

Thursday will be my actual filing date.


BobMango,

My attorney did say it was up to me to pay or not pay the HOA fees. I told him I did not think $100 a month was unreasonable.
From all that I read and all that has been suggested paying post HOA fees makes sense. However, I am a senior with no assets and protected income. There is no way to force me to pay. Perhaps this is the difference.

Regardless, with the experience I have had with my HOA I fully expect them to try something underhanded. If I see the April statement that shows only the current amount due I will consider paying it.

[nioka]

BobMango,

I found this article I think explains the post HOA non payment suggested by my attorney.

http://www.wgandf-law.com/Articles/Post-Petition-HOA-Fees-in-Bankruptcy.shtml

[tobee43]

GOOD for you nioka. !!!! you made your FIRST official step towards filing!!!! i'm so glad, i think it's best. either way whether it's the HOA or the bank you have some time to sit on your cash for you move and relocation. just a suggestion, i have, you may want to see about renting a place prior to your filing before your credit really goes, it not already. we secured a place right before we filed. it helped also that we rented from a distant relative.

[BobMango]

BobMango,

I found this article I think explains the post HOA non payment suggested by my attorney.


http://www.wgandf-law.com/Articles/P...nkruptcy.shtml

Enlightening! Thanks for the link.

[Lilyat108x]

Here in Florida there are a lot of HOA's foreclosing before the banks. Sometimes an investor will buy the house at the HOA auction and rent the house out until the bank forecloses and if an investor doesn't buy the house, the HOA's will rent the house out to make their money back until the bank forecloses. There was a lien on my house before my BK and I should have stripped the lien but didn't. After the BK, the HOA would not let me log onto their website to make my payments and would not let me mail them in. So my debt kept getting Attorney's fees tacked on. They know darn well what they are doing. My HOA is foreclosing in less than two weeks.

[nioka]

Lilyat108x,

I think my HOA is planning the same action for me. During my last yard sale I had an investor here asking lots of questions. He told me that he buys properties like mine in cooperation with the HOA prior to a bank foreclosure. Best of luck to you!

If things weren't bad enough for homeowners in distress check out this article:

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-02-06/business/os-overdue-hoa-bills-20130206_1_community-associations-cyber-citizens-dues

tobee43,

Thanks. I plan a cross country move so it is not practical for me to rent prior to moving there. I am a senior and I have talked to 4-5 retirement communities and explained my situation. All said that there would be no problem renting to me once my bankruptcy was completed.
Most of the managers told me that a majority of their residents have one financial issue or anther including bankruptcies and foreclosures. None of them were willing to rent to me while my bankruptcy was in progress.
If it renting becomes too much of an issue I will head to Mexico where there is no credit reports.

[nioka]

I am the OP.

I did sign the petition today. My bk will be filed electronically. I will get a letter in a week to ten days with my 341 date and case number.

I thought my house was slightly underwater but today I learned it is about $30k under.