341 Question, "Are we going to keep the house"?

[etechjc]

Hello Folks,
Our 341 is on Tuesday. Its hard not to get little scared. When the trustee asks us if we are going to try to or want to keep the house, I am not sure what to say. We are not completely sure. It has been on and off. We are 2 payments behind, Mainly because we had to fix the heat. I think maybe we could work something out with the mortgage company, But by time heat was fixed we were behind. But it would be so much less for us to rent, And I am so tired of fixing things. We marked we were going to re-affirm on the paperwork, And genuinely planned on doing it when we marked it. Lately we had thought we were going to move, But when I look at the share amount of stuff we would have to pack and get rid of, we are considering staying again.

So when you just don't know for sure what do you say? Should I say I don't know? Should I say were gonna stay?

[justbroke]

You can't say that you don't know. The choices are redeem, reaffirm or surrender. (There's a so-called "stay and pay" fourth option that isn't necessarily available unless you are current.) Since you are behind, you could ask for a modification. If you're going to do the modification, do it while the Chapter 7 is pending. I had great results in modifying during my Chapter 7 pendency. Be aware, though, that you may still end up facing a motion for relief from stay (which I still did) as well as foreclosure proceedings.

The nice thing about a Chapter 7 is that the lender knows that they'll probably be discharged and unable to collect, but a modification would get them receiving money again. This could be a win-win situation. However, the ultimate decision should be a financial one, not a "we don't have enough space to store the 5, 10, 15, 20 years of accumulated... things."

My Trustee never asked about the house. They only asked the standard questions. If your intent was to stay, then your intention remains the same... reaffirm. Have you talked to your attorney about this? Being 60 days past due while your bankruptcy is pending is a huge risk. Not one that can't be overcome, but you have some work to do.