I am planning on filing individual chapter 7 bankruptcy next week. I have a joint auto loan on a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer with my fiancé, which is current with no late payments. My fiancé is listed on Schedule H as a co debtor. I owe about 13k on it and the replacement value per KBB is about 9600. I understand that with KBB, the retail value is based on excellent condition, which my car is def not. Although the car has some minor cosmetic, as well as mechanical issues, it’s definitely not worth the 9600, probably more like 8600. The original loan was for 16k for 54 months with a 19% APR, so after it’s all said and done, I’ll be paying through the nose if I don negotiate on the reaffirmation, or if they don’t agree, and just ride through.
My thought process here is that I could redeem the car for around 8600, and try to get a redemption loan and go through all of those hoops and probably wind up paying a much higher APR than I am now, or I could try to negotiate through re-affirmation and try to achieve the same results, yet lowering my interest and payments while keeping the positive trade line and history of the same loan. I was thinking that I could try to negotiate re-affirmation for 8900 - 9000, for the remaining 42 mos. and try to get them to go for 10-12 % APR. Either way, they are going to get their money, however if I re-affirm at the proposed negotiated rates, they are going to still have the loan, and the collateral, and they will still continue to make more money off the interest, than they would get through redemption.
My justification to the judge, should I have a re-affirmation hearing, is that I am already factoring into my monthly expenses my 420 / mo car payment, so it would practically be cut in half through the negotiation, allowing me to most definitely afford it, and have a little bit of money left over each month after discharge.
My questions are:
Since this is a joint loan, and I have a co-debtor, would she be protected under the automatic stay, once my Ch. 7 is filed?
Once the stay is in place, am I obligated or barred from making my auto loan payment? If I do not make my payments during the stay, it is my understanding that they cannot repossess the car. Is this accurate even if I have a co-debtor?
If I don’t continue to make payments during the stay, and if the finance company agrees to my proposed terms, can I ask the judge to approve the re-affirmation agreement contingent upon them taking the payments not made during the stay, and adding them to the end of the loan?
I have been doing so much research and read so many different opinions. I def cannot afford to pay for an attorney and pay for the whole filing fee up front. I really need to get this filed a s a p so any and all information would be greatly appreciated.
My thought process here is that I could redeem the car for around 8600, and try to get a redemption loan and go through all of those hoops and probably wind up paying a much higher APR than I am now, or I could try to negotiate through re-affirmation and try to achieve the same results, yet lowering my interest and payments while keeping the positive trade line and history of the same loan. I was thinking that I could try to negotiate re-affirmation for 8900 - 9000, for the remaining 42 mos. and try to get them to go for 10-12 % APR. Either way, they are going to get their money, however if I re-affirm at the proposed negotiated rates, they are going to still have the loan, and the collateral, and they will still continue to make more money off the interest, than they would get through redemption.
My justification to the judge, should I have a re-affirmation hearing, is that I am already factoring into my monthly expenses my 420 / mo car payment, so it would practically be cut in half through the negotiation, allowing me to most definitely afford it, and have a little bit of money left over each month after discharge.
My questions are:
Since this is a joint loan, and I have a co-debtor, would she be protected under the automatic stay, once my Ch. 7 is filed?
Once the stay is in place, am I obligated or barred from making my auto loan payment? If I do not make my payments during the stay, it is my understanding that they cannot repossess the car. Is this accurate even if I have a co-debtor?
If I don’t continue to make payments during the stay, and if the finance company agrees to my proposed terms, can I ask the judge to approve the re-affirmation agreement contingent upon them taking the payments not made during the stay, and adding them to the end of the loan?
I have been doing so much research and read so many different opinions. I def cannot afford to pay for an attorney and pay for the whole filing fee up front. I really need to get this filed a s a p so any and all information would be greatly appreciated.
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