Need advice. Confused and Nervous

[syk]

I have 100k cc debts. My house is down 100k. Considering to file for bk. Dont qualify for chapter 7 coz I make 108$ gross a year. Met with a few lawyers and I am so confused. One of the attorneys said I need to enroll in 100% payback plan. The other one suggested that I bring my mortgage current which I can. File for chap 13 and not to surrender the house to keep my payments low. Once the payment plan is approved, he says I can let the house go to foreclosure and the bank cant come after coz I am already in bk. I am just too nervous about all this coz I really dont want the house. I am currently purusing short sale. But just not sure what to do.. Any advice will greatly be appreciated !!

[stljohn]

hi

i'm no expert, no lawyer but was in similar place. had to do 13 cause of income but i was upside down and waaay behind on the mortgage so far that foreclosure had started when i went to my atty. he wanted to include the house to stop the foreclosure. i think his plan was to same as your one atty but it was too late so i ended up losing house.

turned out i think it was best, had very low payments and now rent better house. understand with good salary and you clean things up you can qualify for mortgage within months of discharge.

don't think that necessarily answers your questions but you aint the only one and there light. and it aint oncoming head lights.

[syk]

thanks for the info.. should i bring my mortgage current by working out a payment pplan with the bank before filing?
anyone else.. please advice.. need to make a decision soon.. any inputs will be greatly appreciated..

[southerncomfort]

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[jgarton244]

I agree that getting your mortgage up to date first, then filing BK 13, get your plan approved and then let the home go into foreclosure. By being up to date in your mortgage, you do not have to include the monthly mortgage payments in your monthly payments to trustee for the BK13. For example, if mortgage is $1,000 per month, and your monthly plan for 100% payback on cc over 60 months would be around $1800. Then if you let home go into foreclosure, stop paying the $1000 per month on mortgage, and you find a rental for $750 month, you have payments $350 less per month going forward. In most states, it can take months to complete foreclosure, so you also get several months of living in the home, without making payments on the mortgage.

If you do not get current on the mortgage, then the mortgage payment and shortfall would be added to your BK13 payment plan. If your home is foreclosed on, your plan would not lower the monthly payments, even if you rented for less money then your mortgage payments. You would just finish the plan earlier.

As the other poster stated, I am not an attorney, and this is just my thoughts. In any regards, you need to get out from under the cc debt. I would follow the attorneys advice.

We filed BK13 under the old laws. Fortunately, we were current in our mortgage when we filed, and were able to actually refinance with an FHA mortgage in year tow of our plan, at a lower interest rate. We had cc debt of $77k, but income of $125k annually. We finished in 42 months, at $2000 per month. Now a little over two years of completion, no debt except mortgage, no car payments, pay extra $1000 per month on mortgage, and should complete mortgage in 5 more years. Have savings in the bank and life is much less streeful. The BK13 was tough at times. Had to let one car set for a few months until we saved enough to have repairs, became a VIP customer at Goodwill, and learned to live below our means. My only regret is that we did not file sooner, as we struggled for several years trying to pay cc debt at 25% interest, plus. The debt was 50% medical, and 50% stupidity.

[syk]

thanks for the info..
met with another attorney today. I asked her if I should bring my mortage current so I get a lower montly payment and dont have to go with 100% payment plan.
she suggested that I include the mortgage arears and payment in the plan. 2 months in the plan, surrender the home.. All the money paid towards the mortage will go towards the unsecured debt and I wouldnt have to make a bk payments for few months.
She suggested not to accept payment modification plans from the bank.. include it in the bk payment plans.
confused again now..