Roof on the brink

[Ortgeist]

I just got an estimate from a roofer to have our flat roof coated to extend the life of it by 7 years. It's $3800 for the flat roof coating and another $1400 for the garage roof to be replaced.

We've been in our Ch 13 plan since August '07. We live in Missouri. I've worked on our taxes this past weekend and so far, it looks like our Federal return will generate atleast $3800. And we always get a return from the state. HOWEVER, I know we were told to turn over the entire tax refund check and have it sent directly to the bk court.

When we first met with our attourney, he stated we could keep up to $600 our our return. But then in the 341 meeting, we were told by the trustee to send the check straight to the court.

We had asked our lawyer when we filed if we could somehow keep our tax return to cover the cost of fixing the roof. He said he could petition the court to allow us to keep it, however, he said it would be the lowest on his priority list and would probably not get done in time for tax refunds.

I knew our garage roof needed to be replaced, but I didn't know all of the issues our flat roof has. I hate flat roofs! Anyways, is it even possible that the court would approve us keeping our tax refund?

I don't know any other way to pay for it. I have even lost 16 hours per pay period at my job so it's been very difficult to keep up with the bills, and save for real estate & personal property taxes.

Anyone have any input? I would really appreciate it. I left a message with my attourney, but it could take a week to get a call back.

Thanks in advance!
Carrie

[lrprn]

All you can do is have your lawyer petition the court for an exception. Sounds like he is not anxious to do that, and even if you could light a fire under him, there's no guarantee your trustee will agree.

This is one of the hardest situations for us 13ers - a big bill to maintain or replace an asset and we have no disposable income to swing it. I wish I had some easy answer for you - unfortunately there just isn't one .

Is it possible for a family member to give you the money under the table with the understanding you'll pay them back when your Ch 13 is over? I don't know your circumstances, but as hard as it is to consider, perhaps it's time to have a serious discussion about whether keeping the house is in your best interests in the long run?

[RickInMich]

I don't mean to jump in to this thread since I'm a Ch. 7, but wouldn't it be imperative to make sure that you don't get a refund of any kind by decreasing your exemptions so you get the money throughout the year instead?

[Cali]

I don't mean to jump in to this thread since I'm a Ch. 7, but wouldn't it be imperative to make sure that you don't get a refund of any kind by decreasing your exemptions so you get the money throughout the year instead?

In order to not get a refund at the end of the year, you need to INCREASE your exemptions, not decrease.

[Flamingo]

I don't know any other way to pay for it. I have even lost 16 hours per pay period at my job so it's been very difficult to keep up with the bills, and save for real estate & personal property taxes.
Anyone have any input? I would really appreciate it. I left a message with my attourney, but it could take a week to get a call back.
Thanks in advance!
Carrie

Carrie,

Get about 3 estimates on your roof and have the estimators indicate on there how bad a shape the roof is in. Send those estimates to your attorney with a note showing that the entire refund, or most of it or whatever, will be used for that repair and that the roof will not last very long without this being done. As long as you show the use of the funds and the emergent situation under which you are asking for those funds, I'll bet the trustee will accomodate you. You need to stress how bad it is and that the roof will just not make it to the end of your plan. I am sorry your attorney doesn't feel this comes as a priority but with spring rains coming, sections of the country get really bad thunderstorms and you should reallyi have this taken care of soon cause it takes a while to line up the work and get it done.

We also had roof issues during our Plan but we had a different situation as to how to pay to get a new roof (we were able to buy out and use equity to pay for it). We went into our 5 year plan with a 25 year old roof and with our fingers crossed and did a lot of patching and tweaking for about 3 years! Best of luck to you.

[Ortgeist]

I spoke with my lawyer and he told me to fax the estimate of the roof company that we have decided to hire and a copy of the last page of our income tax records (showing how much we get back) and he will start the petition. He did say that he's never seen a trustee object to an issue that is emergent. So I feel MUCH better about everything. Too bad we are not getting enough back to cover replacing the garage roof. But the main roof is more important at the moment.
Maybe my husband and his friend ( who has replaced many roofs) can replace the garage roof and save us some $... I'm crossing my fingers!