Hello!
I stopped paying my credit cards and mortgage last month with the plan of filing CH7 at the point of the sheriff's sale.
The taxable market value of my home is $210,000 and I only owe $103,000 -- the BK attorney was concerned that the trustee might say the house should be sold. There is no way the house would sell for $210,000 even in great condition. And the house is not in great condition at all -- many things need to be repaired/replaced. BK attorney recommended getting a Comparative Market Analysis.
I just had a realtor come out this weekend and he was very postive about my chances at selling the house for significantly more than I owe. Exactly as is, he thought it could sell for $142,000 ($28,000 cash to seller); and well staged (cleaned, de-cluttered, but no repairs made,) he thought it could sell for $160,000 ($45,000 cash to seller.) He said the estimate was based on getting it on the market in the next month or two since supposedly the spring market is the best time to sell. It made me question whether I should let it go into foreclosure as planned or whether I should try to keep it through BK and then try to sell it...
Here are my questions:
I really think his estimates are unrealistically high -- it's a very small 2BR/1BA. The one bathroom would need to be completely remodeled, water damage in the basement, inside needs to be painted, carpet needs to be replaced, no hardwood floors or charming woodwork that is characteristic of this neighborhood, both garage doors and openers need to be replaced, gutters need to be replaced, windows need to be replaced, electric water heater is 14 years old, huge trees in the backyard need to either be removed or seriously trimmed, front sidewalk needs repair, yard is not landscaped and grass is in pretty bad condition, side deck is falling apart. Basically, the house is not in move-in condition -- a buyer would have to spend a lot more money to make it nice. So it makes me wonder if real estate agents maybe have an incentive to over-estimate in order to convince you to sell (so that they can get the brokerage commission...)?
Other questions:
My ex partner is on the title to the home (but not on the mortgage) -- wouldn't she be entitled to 1/2 of what I got if I sold?
Do the numbers above have me safely fall with in the federal home equity exemption? Would I only have to claim 1/2 the equity because my ex is on the title?
If I did use federal exemptions and the trustee did determine that the house had to be sold, would I get money from the sale?
One more thing -- I'm so paranoid about one of the credit card companies suing me and getting a judgment before I get to the point of sheriff's sale to file CH7... If there was a judgment against me, would it be reversed in CH7?
Thank you for any / all advice!
I stopped paying my credit cards and mortgage last month with the plan of filing CH7 at the point of the sheriff's sale.
The taxable market value of my home is $210,000 and I only owe $103,000 -- the BK attorney was concerned that the trustee might say the house should be sold. There is no way the house would sell for $210,000 even in great condition. And the house is not in great condition at all -- many things need to be repaired/replaced. BK attorney recommended getting a Comparative Market Analysis.
I just had a realtor come out this weekend and he was very postive about my chances at selling the house for significantly more than I owe. Exactly as is, he thought it could sell for $142,000 ($28,000 cash to seller); and well staged (cleaned, de-cluttered, but no repairs made,) he thought it could sell for $160,000 ($45,000 cash to seller.) He said the estimate was based on getting it on the market in the next month or two since supposedly the spring market is the best time to sell. It made me question whether I should let it go into foreclosure as planned or whether I should try to keep it through BK and then try to sell it...
Here are my questions:
I really think his estimates are unrealistically high -- it's a very small 2BR/1BA. The one bathroom would need to be completely remodeled, water damage in the basement, inside needs to be painted, carpet needs to be replaced, no hardwood floors or charming woodwork that is characteristic of this neighborhood, both garage doors and openers need to be replaced, gutters need to be replaced, windows need to be replaced, electric water heater is 14 years old, huge trees in the backyard need to either be removed or seriously trimmed, front sidewalk needs repair, yard is not landscaped and grass is in pretty bad condition, side deck is falling apart. Basically, the house is not in move-in condition -- a buyer would have to spend a lot more money to make it nice. So it makes me wonder if real estate agents maybe have an incentive to over-estimate in order to convince you to sell (so that they can get the brokerage commission...)?
Other questions:
My ex partner is on the title to the home (but not on the mortgage) -- wouldn't she be entitled to 1/2 of what I got if I sold?
Do the numbers above have me safely fall with in the federal home equity exemption? Would I only have to claim 1/2 the equity because my ex is on the title?
If I did use federal exemptions and the trustee did determine that the house had to be sold, would I get money from the sale?
One more thing -- I'm so paranoid about one of the credit card companies suing me and getting a judgment before I get to the point of sheriff's sale to file CH7... If there was a judgment against me, would it be reversed in CH7?
Thank you for any / all advice!
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