How soon after buying a house is too soon to file? (when keeping the house)

[laurannm]

Here is an interesting article that addresses your question. Touches on the issue of purchasing a car as well

http://www.************************/...cur-new-debts/

[Stilltheone]

I'm just wondering how you'd be approved for a mortgage in the first place.

Lenders have really cracked down due to the mortgage "crisis" and the subprime scare. Lenders are sticking with a conservative debt to income ratio and if you're already "stretched to the limit each month" I highly doubt you'd be approved for a mortgage anyway. They include all of your bills, plus taxes, insurance....your debt to income ratio would be through the roof.

[poor@budgeting]

......
There is a developer selling new homes at slashed prices and offering downpayment assistance and closing costs. The cost of the mortgage/taxes/insurance will be basically the same as the rent I'm paying now. I could buy the house without putting in a dime of my money. They are desperate to sell. ......

There are more expenses associated with owning/keeping a house(especially a new one);granted most everything should be working and under warranty but here are some expenses ,just to name a few...
Lawn/yard up-keep. Need to buy hoses, lawnmower, fertilizer etc., water/sewer bill will be higher as well. Plants/bushes are expensive too.
Gas/Electric utilities will most likely be more as well.
Need to buy window blinds/drapes/curtains.
Taxes on new developments are usually calculated well below the market price and will come up with new assessment down the road. This would affect the home insurance as well.
Perhaps there would be a purchase of clothes washer/dryer & even a new ref.
And there will always be a trip to your favorite harware store for all the little stuff that the house might need or not that would cost more money.

[Help!]

I think this is a bad idea. You would be incurring new debt while simultaneously planning for a future BK. No matter how good a deal it is, it is not worth the risk.

[Poppie]

A little background on me - I'm not late on any bills yet, but at some point will have to file since I'm stretched to the limit each month and see no way out.

There is a developer selling new homes at slashed prices and offering downpayment assistance and closing costs. The cost of the mortgage/taxes/insurance will be basically the same as the rent I'm paying now. I could buy the house without putting in a dime of my money. They are desperate to sell.

I'm planning on filing BK by the end of the year after some income falls off.

If I bought this house now, closing at the end of August, then filed BK in December (reaffirming the house), would that cause any problems? Like I said, the monthly expense would be roughly the same, so it wouldn't cause undue hardship. The downpayment assist would give me a little bit of equity but not enough to matter in my state.

If necessary, I could hold off on filing a few more months. What do you think?