What if I have nothing to pay unsecured creditors in chapter 13

[StaciMM]

This is from what I've read and not from personal experience...

People normally don't lose anything in a 13. THat is one of the points to filing a 13, you keep your stuff that you would lose in a 7.

I'm not too sure, but the trustee may demand (And get it) that you sell the harley...After all, they will be looking for ANY $$$ to take and pay against the Ch 13...And even making you do a refi to get ahold of that equity.

However, a lawyer can better explain.

Then, a drink afterwards might be ok

[losing_it]

Ok thanks Staci. I was kind of thinking that I could keep that stuff as long as I could continue the ch. 13 plan for 5 years. I've read quite a bit where people end up falling out of it and filing ch. 7. They lose their job or something else happens that prevents them from keeping those level of payments up.

I read somewhere else too that if the scenario of my place being sold to cover debts (as in an enforcement on a judgement to sell from the creditors suing) plays out, then yes, the sheriff would sell the place and he would have to be paid, advertising costs, auction costs, title search and other legal docs, and their own lawyer fees, and of course the mortgage would have to be paid off and the $5000 due to me would have to be paid. Thats why that one article I posted in another area here said usually, unless the debtor has a substantial amount of equity in their place, creditors don't enforce sells, even if the equity is more than the homestead exemption which in my case would be about $15,000...........or $20,000 including the bike.

Hmm. I have 2 things I could try if worse comes to worse and I don't find a job soon. I could try a ch.7, tell the trustee my place is worth about $105,000 (according to taxes I pay, their assesment done 3 years ago says it's only worth $75,000) but I could see if the trustee would try to force me to sell if he/she ordered an appraisel, and if so, maybe my place would come in at a low estimate and the trustee would allow me to keep my place, sell the bike and I could be approved for a ch.7 with only losing my bike.
But I would have a backup plan. If my place appraised for a higher amount, and the trustee said I would have to sell, I could cancel the ch. 7 and convert it to a 13 as long as I have a good job. And if I don't get a job with income to support a ch. 13 plan, then I guess I'll just let the creditors try to force a sell. That would give me time to think, strategize, and maybe sell everything and move to Mexico haha

I don't know though....decisions, decisions

By the way Staci, thats an adorable pic of you and your daughter (if that is you and that is your daughter

[StaciMM]

Thanks, it is me and my daughter. She is 5, full of spirit, and a force to be reckoned with!!! She loves to argue-her favorite thing to say to me is "but...". Wonder where she gets it from???

You're got a good point that if you file a ch. 7, you should be able to convert it to a 13 if necessary.

On the house value... Try searching at domania.com for what homes in your area are selling for. (You may have to sign up, but its free. Other than junk email, shouldn't cost anything!) It won't be ideal, since you won't know how the others compare exactly, but its a starting point. You've mentioned that you don't quite agree w/ the high estimate entirely (I think you mentioned something about how the appraisal a few years ago seemed high) and you have to be careful, of course, with what you list. List something too low on your petition, and the trustee calls in his own appraiser. List something too high, and you may end up paying more than you should. I would think it best to go somewhere in the middle. Try to do a little research to determine what your district uses. Some may have a formula, for example, to convert the tax value.

Anyhow, the point I'm getting to (slowly) is to do all you can to get an idea of what your home is really worth. Adjust, if needed, for any work that needs to be done. In the end, if you do file BK, list a fair valuation, and clearly answer the question "how did you arrive at your home's value" there will be less of a chance that the trustee will question it. If you can present a strong case for $10,000-15,000 in equity rather than $15,000-20,000, it may make a big difference in the end.