1st mortgage, line of credit

[Schuester]

my bankruptcy was discharged in 2/09. My mortgage was included and shows up on my bankruptcy. i planned to re-affirm, but it slipped past my attorney. I have been voluntarily paying, as I planned all along to keep my house. I have a home equity line of credit, which apparently was not included in the bankruptcy. I am current on payments, but they have frozen my account since the BK, and I can no longer make any withdrawals. I am completely confused... I'm in Michigan. Property values have tanked horribly and my home might sell for what I owe on the first mortgage. Any advice would be great. I don't know if there's a way to re-negotiate?

Thanks for any help!

[justbroke]

There's effectively no way to negotiate with a 2nd lienholder (or HELOC) unless you make an offer. Some debtors have been successful offering as little as 10% (or less) to buy the lien back. You'll have to look at whether this is financially the right thing. It would also need to be a lump sum.

When you filed and received your discharge, all your credit accounts were basically closed. You can't access the HELOC because you don't owe them any money. The only recourse the HELOC creditor has, is to foreclose on your property. It is unlikely that they will, but that is their right as per the Mortgage or Deed of Trust that you executed/signed upon closing on the loan.

Are you ready to walk away?

[Schuester]

Thanks for your reply. I'm really not interested in walking away. I did log on to PACER and print out the paperwork my attorney had submitted to the court. My mortgage and
HELOC had changed names/lenders, so both were listed in the bankruptcy, but they were both there. My mortgage is listed as IIC on my credit report, but the HELOC is not. That's the only way I even though of any of it, as I've been making payments all along. I wasn't trying to access the HELOC.

What do you think the odds are they would negotiate it down? That would be fabulous!
I'm hoping that this year will be better for me, as the last several years have been difficult, what with medical bills, deductibles, being off work. That would definitely be a blessing, if they would settle for 10%.