Currently in a Chapter 13 - What now?

[Bernie]

I am currently in a Chapter 13. I have been reading these boards and can get so confused. My situation is as follows: Filed 9-05, 1st payment 10-05, plan approved 11-05, plan confirmed 12-05. Now, we had credit card debt and we had 2 leased vehicles and a mortgage. WE ourselves pay the lease payments on the 2 vehicles and we pay ourselves the mortgage payment. We have been paying our payment to the trustee through payroll deduction. It shows on the NDC that and on our plan that we are paying back at 100% for a 36 month plan. Is there ANYTHING we need to be doing right now as far as our credit report or anything? Also, our 1 vehicle is ready to be turned in next month and we have already gotten the letter from trustee allowing us to get another vehicle, but we are having trouble finding someone to lend to us since we are not a year in to the bankruptcy...any ideas on lenders? I know this is long, but I have one more question. I see where some people have said that the trustee pays their mortgage payments and he is holding the monies and not paying...why was their mortgage included in a chapter 13? Thanks in advance for all the help.

[Anj]

I haven't cked my credit report - I am a sheep... meaning, I know it is TRASHED and until I get out of this, there isn't much "repairing" to do... but I would be interested to know if you can gain some points while in 13...


ps - I hate my mortgage company - my lawyer hates them and now the trustee isn't too happy with them either... I'm almost glad we are paying outside of the plan, cause at least I know and have proof in my hands that they are getting their payments.

[aa06a47]

I am currently in a Chapter 13. I have been reading these boards and can get so confused. My situation is as follows: Filed 9-05, 1st payment 10-05, plan approved 11-05, plan confirmed 12-05. Now, we had credit card debt and we had 2 leased vehicles and a mortgage. WE ourselves pay the lease payments on the 2 vehicles and we pay ourselves the mortgage payment. We have been paying our payment to the trustee through payroll deduction. It shows on the NDC that and on our plan that we are paying back at 100% for a 36 month plan. Is there ANYTHING we need to be doing right now as far as our credit report or anything? Also, our 1 vehicle is ready to be turned in next month and we have already gotten the letter from trustee allowing us to get another vehicle, but we are having trouble finding someone to lend to us since we are not a year in to the bankruptcy...any ideas on lenders? I know this is long, but I have one more question. I see where some people have said that the trustee pays their mortgage payments and he is holding the monies and not paying...why was their mortgage included in a chapter 13? Thanks in advance for all the help.

I would pull one just to make sure all the creditors listed are showing correctly. 1) Included in Bankruptcy, and 2) Show a Zero Balance. What you can try and clean up now is those types of mistakes, and believe me, creditors are know to report wrong and won't change it unless challenged.

Usually if the mortgage payment is in a chapter 13 plan, it is because they were past due on there payments. THe arrears on secured credit must be paid in the plan.

I have heard Ford Credit is BK friendly. You might try them.

[Jman30]

I see where some people have said that the trustee pays their mortgage payments and he is holding the monies and not paying...why was their mortgage included in a chapter 13? Thanks in advance for all the help.

My mortgage is included in my Chap 13. The reason is that I was a month in arrears. So the mortgage company filed a petition to be included in the Chapter 13. They can do if you are in arrears. Technically, they can even do it even if you are not in arrears - once you in a Chapter 13, any creditor has a right to be included. My mortgage company was included as a "Class 1 Secured Creditor" which means they get paid first, before any other creditor. Looking at the NDC website, my Trustee sends them a check monthly. This actually caused problems with my other secured creditors. Ford Credit filed a motion for relief of stay, saying that they had not been paid yet in the entire 18 months of my Chapter 13. The Trustee basically laughed at them and said they would get paid when they got paid and they were not entitled to relief from stay since I was paying my Chap 13 payment as agreed. The Trustee can pay anyone he wants, when he wants. Or he can hold the money for a month or two and pay noone. They are almost god-like in their powers.

I haven't cked my credit report - I am a sheep... meaning, I know it is TRASHED and until I get out of this, there isn't much "repairing" to do... but I would be interested to know if you can gain some points while in 13...

Anj, I have ALOT of experience in this. Yes, can gain alot of points while in a Chapter 13. Pull all your credit reports from Annualcreditreport.com, which is the website set up based on the new federal law that says you get one free copy of each of your credits reports per year. You need to make sure that the accounts that are included in your chapter 13 say "included in bankrputcy" or "included in wage earner plan". I got collection account status deleted from most of mine has well as outstanding balances. You just have to patient and begin a letter writing campaign. You can find excellent resources on the "Repairing Credit" section of this website. Personally, I already raised my Transunion score from 480 to 530. Let me know if you have any questions or need sample letters that you can send to creditors and the credit bureaus. I would be happy to help!