Stuck?

[wrinkleigh]

Another suggestion for the roof -- go with a metal roof. These are actually pretty attractive since they can be color coordinated. You dont have to remove the old roof to apply -- you just nail down some inexpensive strips, and attach the metal to it. It come in sheets, and is REALLY easy to install, and extremely durable.

I agree with what everyone else has said -- maybe you should do a little maintenance at a time, as your budget allows. Spring is on the way -- so if you can suffer throught the rest of the cold days, you have time to save for a new furnace all summer/fall. Hot water heaters are very simple to install, and if you check around -- you may find a used one. We did that for my grandmother, she got hers for $25.00 over 10 years ago, and it still works perfectly.

Good luck to you!

[dep05]

The roof is probably quite old. I'm not sure how old, but it is slate not shingle. The house was built in the 1930's. The furnace works, but is very old. We didn't know if we would be required to replace it if we were selling the house.

The more we've discussed it, the more we've realized we should try to fix the things wrong with it and at least try to sell it. Does anyone know what would happen if we received a offer on the house that was lower than what our mortgage loan is for? I'm not clear on where we stand as far as selling it, since it was included in our BK. Do we need permission from our lender to sell? Do we have to sell for at least the loan amount or will they take less considering the debt is discharged anyway?

I want to avoid foreclosure, but I don't want to live in this house forever.

[chucko]

The roof is probably quite old. I'm not sure how old, but it is slate not shingle. The house was built in the 1930's. The furnace works, but is very old. We didn't know if we would be required to replace it if we were selling the house.

The more we've discussed it, the more we've realized we should try to fix the things wrong with it and at least try to sell it. Does anyone know what would happen if we received a offer on the house that was lower than what our mortgage loan is for? I'm not clear on where we stand as far as selling it, since it was included in our BK. Do we need permission from our lender to sell? Do we have to sell for at least the loan amount or will they take less considering the debt is discharged anyway?

I want to avoid foreclosure, but I don't want to live in this house forever.

You don't have to sell the home for a price at least equal to the payoff amount to the bank, as long as you have the cash to top off the selling price so you can pay off the mortgage. You have to pay off the mortgage to sell it, so you need to either sell it for at least the loan amount, or have enough to pay it off when the selling price comes in less than the loan payoff.

How can you not know where you stand? Call your bank and find out what your payoff amount would be, then get an appraisal. That will give you an idea if you are upside down on the house or not. Sounds like you are, so my guess is you have to stay put for the time being.

[bige1030]

The lender might allow a short sale if you can recover more than they could in foreclosure *and* they're reasonable.

[tay666]

The roof is probably quite old. I'm not sure how old, but it is slate not shingle. The house was built in the 1930's.

Ok, this is a totally different animal then.
Get some estimates from some qualified roofers.
Not the guys that just have a card and maybe a sign on their truck.
But some roofers that have been in business for a while.
Slate roofs are unique and have their own unique needs and issues.
On the plus side, they are an excellent selling point. As they are the top end of roofing materials. Durable, and practically indestructable.
What has probably happened is a few have come loose due to nails rusting away. (this is the best case scenario) And you just need a few replaced here or there.
The repairs could be very reasonably priced and not hard to swing at all.
Usually with slate you only need to replace some. With asphalt shingles, when they start to go bad, you have to redo the whole thing. So this might work in your favor.
There is the chance that you have major issues though. Not trying to put a damper on anything, but letting you know to not get your hopes up prematurly.
They only way you know for sure is to get some estimates.

[dep05]

I know about where we are as far as payoff amount, what I meant by not knowing where we stand was regarding the fact that our house was included in BK. I didn't know if the selling rules were different because of this.

We are going to work on fixing the things we can and getting estimates on the roof and hope we can afford to fix it. We plan on attempting to sell it after that. We have to sell it for what is owed, there is no way we could afford to pay the difference. Still, even with fixing the things that are wrong, the house may not come close to selling for what we need and it'll be years of paying before the loan amount goes down enough to make a difference. I hope that's not the case, since that would put us back to being stuck here.

[jal1129]

What chapter are you? If 13 you will need to get permission from the trustee to sell, then if you were to make any profit it would go towards the 13. I am not sure how it works with 7, but if your case is closed I would think you would be fine.

[dep05]

We filed chapter 7 and yep, our case has been closed for over a year now.