Selling home

[jrad5]

My husband and I live in Oregon, we filed Chapter 13 in May 2006, our plan will be paid in May 2009. We've fallen behind in our mortgage payments and the bank is threatening foreclosure. My question: does anyone know if we were able to sell our home in time, can we keep the difference or is the trustee going to take it from us? If so, I'd rather just let them foreclose since we won't come out ahead either way. I just would like to get any ideas before I speak with our attorney on Monday. Thanks!!

[Flamingo]

jrad5 - when you first realized you could not make your first missed mortgage payment, you should have contacted your attorney immediately. I am surprised you were not advised that if you have trouble making your plan or other payments during your Chapter 13 plan to contact your attorney immediately. Under the circumstances you describe, first thing Monday morning call your attorney and let he/she know what has transpired and he/she will advise you what and what not can be done as to your house and as to your Chapter 13 plan.

[justbroke]

I concur.

Whenever you're having problem with payments, notify your lawyer s/he will file a motion to suspend payments. Becuase you're in a 3 year plan, this will actually cause your plan to extend.

That's all I'll add for now. Don't forget to contact your lawyer FIRST thing on TUESDAY.

My question: does anyone know if we were able to sell our home in time, can we keep the difference or is the trustee going to take it from us?

Trustee's are strange animals. They are unpredictable. Don't know if they would take any of the proceeds (if it sold at a profit). it depends on your Plan and how much you're paying to unsecured creditors (of course).

Strange, here in Florida, we have to make all secured payments through the Trustee.

[Flamingo]

One thing I neglected to mention to the OP, you cannot sell your home in a Chapter 13 without Trustee permission so, yes, first thing on Tuesday (Monday being the Labor Day holiday), contact your attorney immediately...hopefully you can get this resolved without having to dismiss your Chapter 13 plan and be able to keep your house. Best of luck to you.

[lrprn]

My question: does anyone know if we were able to sell our home in time, can we keep the difference or is the trustee going to take it from us?

Depends on if you are able to sell the house at a profit and how big the profit is. Any profit that is beyond what your OR homestead exemptions (and any other related exemptions that you haven't already used) protect is fair game for the trustee to take during an active Ch 13.

If you can't sell the house for a profit and end up with a selling price that doesn't cover what you owe, the next important question is if you and the bank signed a reaffirmation agreement and filed it with the court or not. If a signed reaffirmation was filed with the court, then if you surrender the house, you will owe the difference. If no reaffirmation was filed, then you don't owe the difference.

I wish you had already told your lawyer that you were late making several mortgage payments before the bank filed to lift your stay. That was time negotiations could have been ongoing to stop that from happening. But that can't be helped now.

As you've already been wisely advised, contacting your lawyer is your top priority on Tuesday. Be sure to tell the office staff that you've received a mortgage lift of automatic stay notice and need to speak to your lawyer immediately about it.