When is the best time to make an offer?

[TatteredInTexas]

Hi all,

I have a dilema that's driving me nuts and thought I would see if anyone here has been down this road or has any ideas/suggestions.

CH-7 Filed - 10-06-05
341- date not set

I initially put my intent to reaffirm on both vehicles that we own, but now that my "marriage circumstances" are about to change... I can't afford the payment on one of my vehicles.

I have a 2002 Ford Escape XLT with about 99k miles on it. I still owe Ford Motor Credit around $10-$11K on the note. KBB "trade in" values says it's worth maybe $7k. (Also, I am now 1 payment behind on it)

Here's my dilema...

Being currently in B/K and not even to the 341 meeting point, I know the chances of me getting another vehicle are slim to none. I would like to just let Ford have it back and be done, but I also have to have a way to get to and from work.

If I wanted to try and make an offer to Ford to pay say... $5,000 and see if they would settle (knowing they probably can't get anymore than that at auction), would it be wise to try to make the offer now or wait until after the 341 meeting? (a family member has offered to front the settlement money, if I can get Ford to strike a deal)

Another issue that may impact this is, I had a truck financed with them in 04 which was repo'd and sold at auction - leaving a $9,000 outstanding balance. So... I don't know if that would have any weight in their decision to bargain or not. I did put the $9,000 in my BK petition as unsecured debt and it should be wiped out since there was never a judgement filed on it.

Just wondering, has anyone tried anything like this, and if so what has been your experiences?

I've heard that Ford can be a real hard a** to deal with - I know they sure get nasty when you are late on a payment.

Many thanks,
TatteredInTexas

[StaciMM]

You have the right to redeem a vehicle at fair market value thru BK. The prior repo should not be an issue. Call and ask to speak to someone in their BK department and start talking to them about redemtion.

[Zapata]

I am way out of my league in re expertise here... but it seems to me that you can't just decide who you are going to pay for what outside of the court's purview. That's why they want to know so much about how much you have paid creditors pre-bankruptcy.... cause it is the court who decides which creditors get to get paid, if any.

It would seem that you would have to go through the reaffirmation process and get court approval to make any deals. And for a vehicle, they will surely allow that.

But I could be talking out my neck....but check it out.

I don't know... an out of bk court $5000 payment to ANYONE or ANY ENTITY for any reason after you filed for bankruptcy and before any determinations have been made would probably cause a flurry of objections.....

[TatteredInTexas]

Thanks StaciMM,

Much appreciation for the kind help!

All the best,
TatteredInTexas

[TatteredInTexas]

Thanks Zapata,

Yes, I agree with you. I was hoping to see if Ford would accept the offer before the 341, then present that to the Trustee for approval.

I wouldn't even think of trying to do anything that might cause problems with the B/K.

Much appreciation!
TatteredInTexas