Nail Biting Time

[Ineedhelp2]

We filed Chapter 13 about 6 months ago to save our house, and I got behind in house payments again.

The lenders have filed for relief and dismissal of bankruptcy.

I was told by a paralegal at the law firm that we could "cure" the deficiency, by paying an extra amount over the next several months.

But the attorney paints a somewhat bleaker picture in that it is not a done deal that the bankrupcy court will accept the proposal. He is going to propose that we pay the deficiency over the next 6 months and if we fail, the lender will be able to contact the court and we will be in a foreclosure situation again.

He thinks the odds are good that he can get the arrangements made, but did not guarantee it.

Also, I asked him about the possibility of filing again if we get dismissed, and he said he would not do it for me.

I have finally built my business back up to a point where I believe I can be current with everything, but I am worried that we could get dismissed, and if that happens, would have an extremely difficult time raising the cash to cover all back payments and attorney fees, especially if the sale were to happen quickly.

Has anyone here had any experience with what I am going through and/or REfiling Chapter 13?

[rrockinggramma]

I have refiled three times? Currently in 3rd filing. Previous two were dismissed for non payment so refiled immediately. I finally figured out that the ONE of the reasons the first 2 failed was that the attorney's we had (was still married) didn't really figure out a very good budget for us to live on. We are retired and our payments were awful! (close to 3000 a month) And 99 percent of the debt was mine so my now ex said "see ya" and I filed the final time on my own and now am close to discharge. The attorney makes ALL the difference. If you get dismissed "with prejudice" then you can't file again for at least 180 days and because you would be dismissed for mortgage arrears, it could be that the lender will file an adversary with the court preventing you from refiling again to keep the foreclosure hounds away. I would really try to save the one you are in if you can, but then the other issue here is why are you behind again? It is a tough decision but maybe you need to walk away from the house, convert to a chapter 7 and just plain start over???

[Flamingo]

We filed Chapter 13 about 6 months ago to save our house, and I got behind in house payments again.

The lenders have filed for relief and dismissal of bankruptcy.

I was told by a paralegal at the law firm that we could "cure" the deficiency, by paying an extra amount over the next several months.

But the attorney paints a somewhat bleaker picture in that it is not a done deal that the bankrupcy court will accept the proposal. He is going to propose that we pay the deficiency over the next 6 months and if we fail, the lender will be able to contact the court and we will be in a foreclosure situation again.

He thinks the odds are good that he can get the arrangements made, but did not guarantee it.

Also, I asked him about the possibility of filing again if we get dismissed, and he said he would not do it for me.

I have finally built my business back up to a point where I believe I can be current with everything, but I am worried that we could get dismissed, and if that happens, would have an extremely difficult time raising the cash to cover all back payments and attorney fees, especially if the sale were to happen quickly.

Has anyone here had any experience with what I am going through and/or REfiling Chapter 13?

When anyone is in a Chapter 13, at the first sign of trouble when you cannot make a Plan or mortgage payment, one needs to contact their attorney right away. Never be late with any payment during a 13. What you are experiencing is the result. If the Plan payments are too high the Plan can be modified to a lower payment. Unfortunately, you are way beyond not being able to make the first payment you missed and it just became worse. That being said if you are able to file again, please keep that in mind. Right now you need to evaluate your situation with your current attorney and find the easiest way out of this and if your Plan should be dismissed you will need to find another attorney. Your attorney seems to be afraid that if he files for you again, the same thing will happen. Hopefully he will get this resolved for you and if he does you will need to ensure you do not miss anything as to any payments. If you do encounter difficulty, contact your attorney again immediately. Best of luck you.

[lrprn]

No one has mentioned this yet, so I'll ask the hard question. Can you really afford to keep the house?

Do your best to step back and look at your situation in a cold, hard, emotionless way. If a friend approached you in your same situation (hoping a business will make more money with no guarantee that will be the case and they were in danger of having their house foreclosed for inability to make the payments and putting their Ch 13 at risk), what would you tell the friend to do? Be honest with yourself.

Unless something unexpected has happened (illness, job loss, divorce, etc), you either need to make more money or spend less of what you do make. Is there a way to bring in more income until your business confirms that the profits are consistently enough to keep you in the black every single month?