A family member of mine had his Ch. 7 BK discharged in 2005, which is under the 'old laws', and I do not know how this affects him, if at all, concerning his house now in 2010.
At the time of his BK, he was not well informed by his attorney concerning any of the documents filled out, or how BK laws worked.
He certainly didn't know of this site, and due to the general humility of going through BK, just tried to keep it very "hush hush".
His biggest concern was being able to keep the house & car, which was allowed, and his BK was discharged without any issues.
It appears that there were no "reaffirmation" agreements with Countrywide.
The only document we can find is a "Debtor's Statement of Intention" concerning property to be retained.
This is the document for the US Bankruptcy Court, has all of the assets/debts listed (schedules)
It gives a description of the property (lot & block #, address), and it only states (verbatim):
"Debtor will retain collateral & continue to make regular payments" 05/20/2005
No where can we locate any Mortgage Re-affirmation with Countrywide.
The house was used as an exemption.
Fast forward, the house is a money pit. It was upside down at the time of BK, and realistically he should've let it foreclose, the attorney should've informed him of his rights...but he was scared and uninformed, didn't ask any questions, because he didn't think he needed to.
A lot of this is because of the humility and stigma attached to BK and foreclosure, the fact that he is a single parent, doesn't receive any child support, and didn't want his daughter affected by a move or stigma attached to a foreclosure.
The house is still upside down, and needs so much foundation work it's ridiculous, keeping the house has been the biggest thorn in his side since his BK--It is making it amost impossible for him to get on his feet completely.
My/Our question is this--if the mortgage w/ Countrywide was never
"re-affirmed" back in 2005--
IF he let the house forclose, NOW---
would it/could it be something included in the original BK???
Meaning could it be listed as a foreclosure & "IIC" if there never was a re-affirmation of his mortgage???
He is no longer concerned with the stigma attached to foreclosure, his child is almost through with high school--
He wants to walk away, but does not want to add a foreclosure seperate from his BK to his credit report.
Is there a Statute of Limitations for re-affirming a mortgage?
He has been making his mort pymts on time, but things are getting harder and harder each month.
Since he has been making the monthly pymts--does that mean he is re-affirmed with the mortgage company even if no documents were ever signed???
Is there anything he can do now--almost 5 years later?
Does it matter that he used the house as an exemption?
He does not want to go through a seperate BK again to let the house go, but would consider other options, if he had to, if he could not just "walk away"--such as amending the 2005 bk if possible.
Any suggestions?
Ideas?
The house won't sell, even short, it is upside down by about $20k. It also needs $30k worth of work on top of what he owes due to severe foundation issues, (the house is literally sinking) and it's in a poor city neighborhood.
I'm hoping that without any re-affirmation papers signed between he and Countrywide that he can walk away from this mess and let it foreclose, and it would be considered as part of the original BK in 2005...
This would truly allow him the "fresh start" that the BK should've afforded him if he's had a decent & informative attorney in the 1st place.
At the time of his BK, he was not well informed by his attorney concerning any of the documents filled out, or how BK laws worked.
He certainly didn't know of this site, and due to the general humility of going through BK, just tried to keep it very "hush hush".
His biggest concern was being able to keep the house & car, which was allowed, and his BK was discharged without any issues.
It appears that there were no "reaffirmation" agreements with Countrywide.
The only document we can find is a "Debtor's Statement of Intention" concerning property to be retained.
This is the document for the US Bankruptcy Court, has all of the assets/debts listed (schedules)
It gives a description of the property (lot & block #, address), and it only states (verbatim):
"Debtor will retain collateral & continue to make regular payments" 05/20/2005
No where can we locate any Mortgage Re-affirmation with Countrywide.
The house was used as an exemption.
Fast forward, the house is a money pit. It was upside down at the time of BK, and realistically he should've let it foreclose, the attorney should've informed him of his rights...but he was scared and uninformed, didn't ask any questions, because he didn't think he needed to.
A lot of this is because of the humility and stigma attached to BK and foreclosure, the fact that he is a single parent, doesn't receive any child support, and didn't want his daughter affected by a move or stigma attached to a foreclosure.
The house is still upside down, and needs so much foundation work it's ridiculous, keeping the house has been the biggest thorn in his side since his BK--It is making it amost impossible for him to get on his feet completely.
My/Our question is this--if the mortgage w/ Countrywide was never
"re-affirmed" back in 2005--
IF he let the house forclose, NOW---
would it/could it be something included in the original BK???
Meaning could it be listed as a foreclosure & "IIC" if there never was a re-affirmation of his mortgage???
He is no longer concerned with the stigma attached to foreclosure, his child is almost through with high school--
He wants to walk away, but does not want to add a foreclosure seperate from his BK to his credit report.
Is there a Statute of Limitations for re-affirming a mortgage?
He has been making his mort pymts on time, but things are getting harder and harder each month.
Since he has been making the monthly pymts--does that mean he is re-affirmed with the mortgage company even if no documents were ever signed???
Is there anything he can do now--almost 5 years later?
Does it matter that he used the house as an exemption?
He does not want to go through a seperate BK again to let the house go, but would consider other options, if he had to, if he could not just "walk away"--such as amending the 2005 bk if possible.
Any suggestions?
Ideas?
The house won't sell, even short, it is upside down by about $20k. It also needs $30k worth of work on top of what he owes due to severe foundation issues, (the house is literally sinking) and it's in a poor city neighborhood.
I'm hoping that without any re-affirmation papers signed between he and Countrywide that he can walk away from this mess and let it foreclose, and it would be considered as part of the original BK in 2005...
This would truly allow him the "fresh start" that the BK should've afforded him if he's had a decent & informative attorney in the 1st place.
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