Help, look at my numbers, for a possible chapter 13

[Shelly3630]

trash service 17
waterbill 25
gym 25
life ins 30
pest control 30
school lunches 40
auto ins 90
internet/tv 115
cellphones 125
church 160
power 160 plus
credit card 190
furniture pymnt 256
gas 300
babysitter 340
food 600
land payment 730

3233


We BRING home like 3200 a month. We also have a home on 15 acres of land that is paid for. Worth like 200,000. Could we file chapter 13? Or would this house and land that is paid for knock us out of that?

[momofthree]

I believe the rule is that your unsecured creditors have to receive at least as much through a chapter 13 as they would if you filed chapter 7, so it depends on your state exemptions. How much is your homestead exemption? What is the "land payment?" is that some sort of mortgage?

Do you have any other assets (paid off cars, motorcycles, guns, hobby equipment, etc?)

Are you under or over state median income?

[forgotten]

What kind of debt are you looking to get rid of?
You mention credit card payments at 190, so I assume the balance isn't that high?

[OHBOY]

Just some thoughts ( I am sure you'll come up with some other items)..do you buy:

paper & ink for computer, stamps (postage)& envelopes, travel/vacation(minimal amounts, i.e to weddings or funerals), entertainment (also minimal but needed amounts ( maybe go out to eat once a month?), personal care (.e.haircuts, permenant, ect.), newspapers/magazines, home maintenance, dental care, doctor expenses, hospital &/or diagnostics, prescriptions, over the counter meds (incl. asperins, gauze, bandages, vitamins, shoe insoles, cough drops/syrup, chicken broth throughout the flue, ect., ect.) mileage cost to and from medical facilities incl. pickup of prescriptions (& double trips when pharmacist does not have the full amount of promised meds), routine replacement of worn towels, washcloths, pillow cases, slip resistant throw rugs, ect., tolls 7 parking, vehicle & license registrations, cost of roadside assistance plan, aarp membership (questionable as they are on my %$#^ list), laundry supplies & occasional dry cleaning, misc. incl. rug shampoo (or service), and other cleaning items, tree trimming, cost of furtilizers and pest control, P.O. Box rental, Samsclub membership cost ( the upgraded one as it gives discounts for dentists, ect.), cost of tax preperation, other misc. ...i.e. cost for 'rolling through red light traffic ticket' ($ 125 a 'wack'), replacement of outdated equipment (i.e. aircondioner/heatpump, you name it), realestate taxes...

Don't know what you mean by 'land payments'

[LimpDisc]

Family size and what state do you live in?

Don't understand the land payment either.

[Shelly3630]

We owe on 15 acres of land. Its 730 bucks a month. We bring home enough money barely to pay bills, but none what so ever to live on. No joke. We live in GA, with two girls, one fixin to get braces, and my husband and her possilby are going to have surgery soon for health problems. We have NO money for anything else at all. Dr. visits, eating out, clothes, car maitanance, school needs, I mean nothing, emergencies. No lie. Right now, we are going over budget between 500 and 1500 bucks a month. Something has got to give.

[forgotten]

Right now, we are going over budget between 500 and 1500 bucks a month. Something has got to give.

What are you attempting to acomplish via bankruptcy?
From your numbers you may be able to eliminate the $190 credit card payment and the $256 furniture payment. That still places you over budget.
If you list your debt balances we can provide better advise.

[momofthree]

We owe on 15 acres of land. Its 730 bucks a month. We bring home enough money barely to pay bills, but none what so ever to live on. No joke. We live in GA, with two girls, one fixin to get braces, and my husband and her possilby are going to have surgery soon for health problems. We have NO money for anything else at all. Dr. visits, eating out, clothes, car maitanance, school needs, I mean nothing, emergencies. No lie. Right now, we are going over budget between 500 and 1500 bucks a month. Something has got to give.

I'm sorry, still confused. You said your land/home was paid for, but you're also saying that you owe $730 a month? Do you mean that you have $200k in equity on it? What is your property worth and how much do you owe (total balance)? Does it include taxes & insurance? How much do you owe on the credit card and the furniture? Have you had an attny consultation to figure out how much he'd charge? Average fee for ch. 13 around here runs about $3500.

Like a pp mentioned, your debt payment alone right now is only $446, and if you're going $500 - $1500 over budget each month, then a ch. 13 isn't going to help too much, you'll still have a payment for the next 3-5 years. Chapter 7 might be a better option if you have exemptions to cover your assets.

Do you have way to increase income at this point? Are you both working full time?

[lrprn]

We also have a home on 15 acres of land that is paid for. Worth like 200,000. Could we file chapter 13? Or would this house and land that is paid for knock us out of that?

Welcome to the forum, Shelly - glad you found us!

Having paid-off land worth $200,000 and trying to file bankruptcy (7 or 13) could be a huge problem for you. Most state bk exemptions won't cover anything near this amount.

A few questions for you first - it would help us sort things out better if you can share the answers.

Do you farm this land, or is it regular land around your home?

Are both the home and the land paid off, or just the land? If the house is not paid for, how much equity (if any) do you have in the house?

Which state do you live in?

What's your family size? (Adults, children, and other adults you may be supporting)

You said you bring home about $3200/month. Looking back over the last six months and adding up all sources of income, what's your total gross income?

One last question (and others have already asked it) - what is the $730 land payment? I thought you said the land was paid off?

If you can share a bit more about your situation, that will help us help you sort things out better.

[Shelly3630]

Thank you for all your responses, I will post more back a little later tonight, I do not have time right now, I have to get ready for church. But I will be back this evening and thank you so much for all you have said so far. I will try to be more clearer this evening.

[Shelly3630]

Ok, we live in Ga, two girls. About the land and house. We own 30 acres of land and a new home on it. 15 acres of land and the house that is on it is not owed upon. We have 15 mores acres of land to the side and back of it that is owed upon. In other words, if we lost that 15 acres of land, we would still have 15 more acres and a nice home that would not be in jeopardy.
We owe on a truck that I did'nt put into the above list as the payment is taken out of my husbands check before he even gets it, I think its around 10 grand. We owe 10 grand on credit card. About 5 grand on a furniture payment, and of course 80 grand on the land. My husband will probably not even consider bankrupcty. Its really a no go for him. But I am telling you we have NO money for anything if we were to really get on a strict budget. We both work full time, me 14.15 an hour, and him 23.00 an hour. I just have a feeling that we would not be eligilable for bankrupcty anyway. Oh, not to mention that crapload of stuff he has that is paid for. A boat, camper, 4-wheeler, chuckwagon, tractor, bobcat, and other stuff I just can't remember right now.

[NoTomatoCan]

Just out of curiosity, wouldn't you immediately have $730/month if you got rid of the additional land? Seems like that is what is dragging you down.

If you are struggling with necessities, then ditch the land. It is definitly not a necessity.

[forgotten]

I wouldn't say you are a canidate for bankruptcy unless you owe way more on the extra land than its worth and need BK to get rid of it. If so, a chapter 13 may be able to assist.

You are only talking about $15k worth of unsecured debt and a ton of high value paid for assets.

[momofthree]

I agree, with the pps. You're not really a candidate for bankruptcy. It wouldn't really help you at this point. Sell the land, that will free up an extra $730 in your budget. And if you really need to, sell some of the extras that you have mentioned. $10k in unsecured debt is really not that big of a deal. If you put that $730 towards it each month, it'll be gone within about 1 year (added onto the $190 you already pay).

[Shelly3630]

Thats the thing, my husband will not even consider selling any land or any of his possesions. I thought maybe Ch 13 may help us and left him keep that extra land. But I really did doubt we would qualify for it. He once told me a bankrupcty lawyer would laugh us out of his office. I have our end of the year financial papers almost done, we are around 4500-5000 in the hole. We will be able to make this up with taxes, but we still won't have any extra money each month to LIVE on after every "regular" bill. I just don't know what else to do.