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[pambysue]

My home is in foreclosure. I had until 11/27 to answer the summons complaint and I had planned to file my bankruptcy on Dec 8 (chap 7) however due to not having the money for the bankruptcy, it looks like I will have to wait until January to file. I have moved from my house but I am keeping the utilities on and trying to clean it up and maybe paint the inside so it looks somewhat presentable when the bank takes it back. I cannot do a DIL as I also owe back property taxes. I haven't paid my mortgage since June of this year. I am trying to start over in life..although at 51 years old, I should have thought about this sooner! But, when I found myself single again a couple years ago, with a young daughter to raise by myself, I kind of went off the deep end and started spending money foolishly (I also have 3 married children and 5 grandchildren) on my kids and then started gambling (i suffer from OCD & social anxiety disorder) and it all got way out of hand. I through in the towel in July when I realized that EVERYONE wanted money and they wanted it ALL in full. So, I decided that I needed to downsize my life so that I could live within my means more. I decided to let my house go into foreclosure, as I could NEVER have sold it for what I owed and as it stands, when the foreclosure is completed, I may be 30-40,000 in the negative. My question is, if the foreclosure is completed before I file chapter 7 (I live in NY state), will they still include the deficiency in my BK and will it be discharged? I can't imagine what I will do if I have to pay 40,000!! I also need to know about the pre bankruptcy credit counseling course i took. It is only good until january 18. If I file before that date, would I need to re-take the course for a new certificate? I wasn't sure if it needed to be within the 180 days of the 341, the discharge or the filing.
Sorry this was so long! I appreciate all the help you can give me!

[BK'd-Betty]

Hi Pambysue!

A New York Foreclosure, without any problems, takes MINIMUM of 285 days. New York courts are slow.

My NY home has been in Foreclosure over a year now and the sale date is/was set for January! You have plenty of time.

However, even if you didn't file till after the sale date (which is probably a year away!), yes the deficiency balance will be discharged in your BK.

Another thing - DON'T PAINT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a waste of your hard earned money that will be better spent on your daughter. You have NO LEGAL responsibility to have this house be "presentable" or even "market ready" for the Lender.

Your Lender is going to buy this house at auction and put it into their REO. They will then sell the house themselves through normal real estate sales avenues.

Any repair or fixing up you do to the house is a complete waste of your time and money. Just don't damage anything on the way out and make sure you keep it insured. Also note that as long as the deed is in your name, you are responsible for the upkeep of the property (cutting grass, removing snow, etc.).

In NY, you could have lived in that house until the day they evict you. However, I understand about wanting to get on with your life - I did the same thing and actually moved completely to the other side of the Country.

My home is in foreclosure. I had until 11/27 to answer the summons complaint and I had planned to file my bankruptcy on Dec 8 (chap 7) however due to not having the money for the bankruptcy, it looks like I will have to wait until January to file. I have moved from my house but I am keeping the utilities on and trying to clean it up and maybe paint the inside so it looks somewhat presentable when the bank takes it back. I cannot do a DIL as I also owe back property taxes. I haven't paid my mortgage since June of this year. I am trying to start over in life..although at 51 years old, I should have thought about this sooner! But, when I found myself single again a couple years ago, with a young daughter to raise by myself, I kind of went off the deep end and started spending money foolishly (I also have 3 married children and 5 grandchildren) on my kids and then started gambling (i suffer from OCD & social anxiety disorder) and it all got way out of hand. I through in the towel in July when I realized that EVERYONE wanted money and they wanted it ALL in full. So, I decided that I needed to downsize my life so that I could live within my means more. I decided to let my house go into foreclosure, as I could NEVER have sold it for what I owed and as it stands, when the foreclosure is completed, I may be 30-40,000 in the negative. My question is, if the foreclosure is completed before I file chapter 7 (I live in NY state), will they still include the deficiency in my BK and will it be discharged? I can't imagine what I will do if I have to pay 40,000!! I also need to know about the pre bankruptcy credit counseling course i took. It is only good until january 18. If I file before that date, would I need to re-take the course for a new certificate? I wasn't sure if it needed to be within the 180 days of the 341, the discharge or the filing.
Sorry this was so long! I appreciate all the help you can give me!

[pambysue]

thankyou so much Betty! I feel much better now. Actually, instead of painting the house, maybe I can get a little (VERY little) something for my kids for Christmas. At least my young daughter & grandchildren.
I had already prepared them for a very slim Christmas this year and they all understand. I know that they wish they could help me out but they are all financially pressed as well. God knows it is really tough living in NY state!!
As I had said in a previous post, my homeowners insurance was cancelled due to me being 1 day late in paying the bill! so..I would imagine the lender already knows about this and I was advised to just not say anything to them. I go over to the house occasionally and put a light on and clean a little bit..just so it looks 'lived in'. It really is a nice, decent neighborhood (mostly older folks like me..lol)..but, you never know if someone could think..'hey! an abandoned house!' and break in! I even left all the curtains and mini blinds up as well as some old furniture that will eventually need to be thrown out! but at least it has a lived in look ;)
Again..thankyou so much for your encouraging words of wisdom. Have a nice Thanksgiving!

[SinkingFast]

Betty gave you lots of good info, Pamby. Do what you can to keep the house from being vandalized. Clean if you want to keep it presentable. But don't spend any money. Most likely, the Lender will buy the house back at Auction. They'll do the appropriate cleaning and painting needed to sell the house when the time comes.

One thing we did when we left our house was give a couple neighbors keys. We moved 600 miles away so we could not stop in and check on the house from time to time. Our neighbors went in and flushed toilets. Turned off lights when Realtors left them on after showings. Made sure the house was always locked up. You'd be surprised how many Realtors leave doors unlocked.

Your pre BK Cert is good for 180 days from the date you got it. So you have 6 months before you'd need to get another Cert if, for some reason, you didn't file before then.

Here's a link to a Day/Date Calculator:

http://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html

You can enter the date that's on your Cert, add 180 days, and know when the current Cert will expire.

[pambysue]

Thankyou sinking. Yes, I want to at least clean the house up if I can. I grew up in that house and just out of respect, I want it to be somewhat presentable. Thankfully, I only moved 3 blocks away and I can stop daily on my way home from work to check things out and make sure everything is ok.
Also..the 180 days for the counseling certificate..is that until the time FILED or does it still need to be valid at the 341 hearing? If i file on January 10th, the certificate is only valid until january 18th..will that be ok?
Thankyou again and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving

[SinkingFast]

The Credit Counseling Cert you have,............ Did you pay money to a DOJ approved Credit Counseling Agency?? One of the Agencies listed at the link below??

http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/ccde/cc_approved.htm

You have 180 days from the time you receive the approved, pre BK Cert to file. The 341 has nothing to do with the Cert.

Your attny will have to have a copy of that Cert to file with your BK Petition and Schedules.

[pambysue]

Yes, the certificate is from a DOJ approved agency. I have already given the copy to my lawyer and my papers are all filled out..just waiting for me to get the money together to pay all the fees. They had told me to hang on to all of my paystubs and the copy of my summons complaint for the foreclosure and turn those in to them. So, I guess if everything is 'in order', as soon as I pay them in January the can file. Then my certificate will still be valid.
Thanks!! I appreciate your help.

[SinkingFast]

Be sure to make your attny aware of the looming deadline on your Cert.

We got our Certs March 19th which made the 180 days end on Sept 15th. The middle of August, I checked the Day/Date Calculator, saw what the date was, and emailed our paralegal. I asked if we would file before Sept 15th or would we need to get new Certs. She said they would file us and they did. We filed Sept 14th. One day before our Certs would expire.

So be sure to let your attny know that your filing is really time sensitive when you make your final payment. If your attny daudles around at all and runs past Jan 18th, the Court can boot your filing because of the expired Cert.

[pambysue]

thanks sinking. I will let my lawyer know! I think I probably will need to take the course over and get a new certificate unless my lawyer files really quickly! I too, will probably only have a few days left on it if he doesn't file right away! I'm thinking the worst case scenario here..lol. Hopefully, by them having everything ready to go..just waiting on the payment..they will file as soon as the money is in to them!
Thanks again!!