Car reaffirmation question

[Leesa926]

My attorney asked if I wanted to keep my car I said yes. She said some decide to give up the car and just get a cheaper car. If not it almost seemed she was for reaffirmation but never mentioned it again. She just stated it could go either way and sometimes the banks make you sign one.

So far I am keeping my car and am current but situations may change and I may need a different car. I am also worried my car may have repairs needed. I won't know until I take it in.

My question is when do they have you sign a reaffirmation agreement. I had my 341 in mid January and am just waiting on discharge. I know there were many papers we signed but I don't recall and cannot seem to find a reaffirmation agreement. I just want to check to make sure it may be something I missed, maybe it is called something else?

If I do not have a reaffirmation agreement my question is can you just give back your car with no further derogatory marks on your credit? Again not sure if this is something I may do but I can see it being a possibility if needed.

My scores have shot up after the bankruptcy I believe only because I only had an issue with utilization. Once that went down my scores went up. I am an authorized user on a card with great history for the last 26 years so I think that is helping as well. So far my scores that I am tracking are over 700 so I am thinking I may be able to get a decent car loan in a few months if needed.

Thoughts on this issue - just want to make sure I understand correctly. I will talk to the attorney about it as well next week just figured I would ask.

Also is it the same for a house? Not looking to get rid of my house but I have no equity and plan was to move in 2-3 years so I just wondered.

Thanks!

[justbroke]

Your authorized user (AU) account that is 25+ years old is what is giving you a great post-bankruptcy score. When your discharge hits, you may not see a big jump, but could go up several more points.

As for the car, never sign a reaffirmation agreement unless it's required in your District and/or by your specific lender or credit union. No one would be able to guess as to whether or not you signed a reaffirmation agreement. These are usually done between then 341 Meeting and Discharge. In some cases, the lender will bring the reaffirmation agreement to the 341 Meeting and have it done there.

As for home loans, the big thing is going to be that you probably need to wait 2 or more years for a conventional loan. FHA loans may be available immediately. Your scores and your re-establishment of credit will go a long way, but the AU accounts will not count for purposes of "re-establishing" credit.

[Leesa926]

Thanks. Not so much worried about the mortgage yet. Plan was to maybe start thinking about it in 2 years or so. I am almost positive I did not sign a reaffirmation agreement. Especially if it was after 341. I only signed the initial filing paperwork with the attorney, have not met with them or signed anything since.

So if no reaffirmation agreement I can give up the car if I wanted to. Obviously would want to see if I qualify for another car first. Again this is something I am not planning now but may decide to do it in a couple of months. Reason I say is when I filed I thought of course I want to keep my car. Now with the potential repairs and a possibility of having a child, may make sense to change cars. I am underwater so a trade in wouldn't make any sense.

Thanks!

[leonel9]

The other thing to think about is you have a deadline on when you must execute a reaffirmation or redemption agreement. I believe it is 45 days after your 341 meeting, which puts the deadline around now, if it hasn't already passed.