Question How Much leverage Will Home Buyers Of Our House Have Post -BK13 Discharge?

[Barbisi]

When we try to sell our house ( hopefully) in 2022, how much info will potential buyers be able to access about our Bk13 and us? Could this be used to offer only low ball bids? Is this why debtors shouldn't sell their home until 7 years post-BK13 when the impact of the BK13 no longer shows on credit reports? Housing prices may peak soon in Colorado and start swiftly declining (like the big resession of 20o8). We want out as soon as we are allowed and get the most money as possible and not get rooked a third time on a house.
We don't mind renting in another state for 2 years or more- home ownership has been a living hell from 2014 on!

[justbroke]

While it may be relevant when it comes to the bankrupt's attempt to find financing, a bankruptcy should not affect the sale of a home except in certain circumstances. The "certain" circumstances would be related to an estate sale in which the bankruptcy trustee attempts to liquidate the property on behalf of the estate. In that specific case, it is known that it's an estate or bankruptcy sale and the wolves will come to feast upon the highly motivated seller's flesh. A short sale, done in order to prevent or to enter bankruptcy without the housing debt, may also be a circumstance where the buyer has the power to lower the price.

But that doesn't matter in a post Chapter 7 or post Chapter 13 sale.

The value will be what a willing seller and a willing buyer agree as to the price. Market influences, neighborhood, condition, and the motivation of the seller will also play a key role into the final price. Those will be the key to your final selling price. I call it the motivation of the seller, but it's really about just how low will a willing seller reduce the price in order to sell their property.

[HHM]

Let's clarify the two scenarios.

1. If you sell your house after your chapter 13 is complete (discharged), chapter 13 will have zero impact on the sale or sale price. Also, unless someone specifically searched PACER (bankruptcy database), there would be no reason why your bankruptcy would come-up as part of a routine sale transaction.
2. If you are trying to sell your house during the chapter 13, that could conceivably impact the sale. First and foremost, the debtors in chapter 13 must usually get permission from the trustee/bankruptcy court to sell. The chapter 13 trustee is likely going to want a piece of the action (assuming there is a legal basis to do so). So, selling a house during a chapter 13 is a much bigger hassle. That can scare off some buyers and would likely invite lower offers under the circumstances.

[sophieanne]

Hi Barbisi - I have to be honest...I have never researched the financial situation of a home seller and never would. My focus is always on a home’s condition and if the price is in line with the market,

[Barbisi]

Thanks to all for replying - it is a relief to read these potential buyers and their agents won't automatically have access to our financial records as a means to bilk us out of the kind of profit everybody else in Colorado seems to making when they sell their houses. Of course no one else here in Colorado had to survive a BK13 before they were allowed to sell their property.
I hope 2022 won't be the year the Colorado housing market self corrects and home values plunge so low we won't even be able to break even and pay off what we still owe. In that scenario, we wouldn't have enough for relocation, so that might prevent a move . Unless of course my husband can obtain a decent relo package, which as you all may know has virtually disappeared with the pandemic.

[Throwaway92]

Hi Barbisi

I’m going to be filing chapter 13 in Colorado soon. Can I ask who your trustee is? It sounds like they are a pain, so I’m hoping it’s not the same for me!

[Barbisi]

Hello and welcome to the forums, Throwaway92!
I wish more people living in Colorado would post about their experiences on these forums.
Our trustee represents Douglas County and may be one of two (?) trustees for all of Colorado.
Let me know if you need more specific info and if necessary you can contact me by dm on here.
Please post more often and good luck filing!

[Throwaway92]

Hi Barbisi,

Unfortunately I cannot DM on here because my account is still new and it’s limited. As far as I’ve been told you’re right, there are only 2 chapter 13 trustees for CO. Perhaps you can confirm the letter of the last name? If I remember correctly Douglas County is trustee “G”.

[Barbisi]

Hey Throwaway92 !
No ,it's K.
If you like I can DM you , if I can get my better half to help LOL!
I think it best not to directly name the trustee in case they are some how monitoring to see if anonymous posters are directly mentioning them.
I may sound a little paranoid, but I wonder if they could take some retaliatory action if they felt they were being bad mouthed. Of course, that is not the case here. I am simply complaining because we are paying as much as we currently can, and I feel like it will never be enough for them. I know they are only doing their job, but I wish they would just leave us alone and let us pay the agreed upon amount so we can finish this 60 months of payments and start living again!

[justbroke]

(Yes, initials are okay. Just don't give complete names.)

[Throwaway92]

Thanks Barbisi. That will be my trustee as well. I've talked to 4 lawyers and they all have identified K as the more easy going relaxed trustee, so now I'm a little worried after hearing your experience!!

[Barbisi]

Well, Throwaway92,
I really didn't mean to scare you , but I thought it best to be honest about our experiences.
When we filed, the trustee wanted $1200. I had a hundred documented pages of doctor testimonies as to why I needed certain regular pricey treatments, MRI and ultrasound copies,receipts, etc. so he relented and lowered the payment by about $400 for medical care. Also, I tried to get a $150 allowance for my screenwriting class as a educational expense, but he balked and would not allow that, so I permanently stopped trying to continue my quest to being a performing actress/screenwriter, singer and VO artist in Colorado. I think he felt we have never paid what we should have , given my husband's gross salary on paper and may have held that against us! But that is just MHO!
My medical costs have increased between HSA ,and insurance coverage which costs us $800 per month through Cigna. Last year my bills exceeded 10K with only $6700 allowed for HSA, so we had to come up with about $3300+ in order to keep me (mostly) injury free and mobile in Colorado.The medical care is my wiggle room - when I can space out care, we can save a little, but we couldn't replace a home furnace or major appliance.
I did read about the gambling in your first post, but have zero personal experience dealing with that, so I am not the one to give thorough advice about that. I do wonder if it's allowed, could you roll in some kind of counseling in your BK13 budget to aid in recovery from that condition? Maybe others who had to file for that reason with that kind of debt can weigh in and provide better counsel.
Please continue to post and let us know how confirmation goes. And if you need to DM me with any questions , you are welcome to,and I will try to answer as best I can!
Best of luck going forward and my husband and I are sending positive vibes your way!

[Throwaway92]

Barbisi Thank you very much for the positive energy and the all of the information you have provided. I would DM some of these questions to you but I still can't do so yet so please don't hesitate to say you're not comfortable chatting in the forum. My lawyer seems to be optimistic as far as what payment he thinks we can get to. My rent is $1900 and with all expenses for a household of 2 (me and my child) that he sees reasonable (by the way he thinks my co-pay for therapy related to gambling will be acceptable) he estimates my repayment at ~$700. If this rings true I would be elated to only have to pay that amount but I have anxiety thinking about the "what ifs" until then. From what I've been told it may be best to wait until May (90 days from last credit used on gambling) in order to avoid more issues, so I may have a long waiting period ahead

[Barbisi]

Well, Throwaway92 maybe my husband can DM you later. (He posted about the situation in the other thread in which you and I have corresponded .)
I hope you can get that low a payment (maybe if you can cram down your cars (something we didn't have to deal with!), but with that high an unsecured debt (190K) plus the cars ..... I don't know! The student loans should be deferred, so that shouldn't be a problem but you will still have interest to pay when your BK13 is done. (We haven't had student loans since 2013(for my husband ,mine was less so it didn't last as long.)
I remember our attorney complained about how high our mortgage was when we started ($2240), so $1900 might be a problem with this trustee, but Colorado has become such an unreasonable place to live since we moved here in 2010, I don't know how he can really object - you need to live somewhere safe, esp. with a child!
If you want to know how we ended up in BK13, read all my other posts about the Investor House from Hell! LOL
One thing my husband forgot to mention is if you have pets, I believe you are allowed around $100 total per month for their maintenance.(We have 4 happy, hardy and healthy cats!)
Be brave and hang in there!