how long do they have to file???

[julsmom]

So we filed on 6/14 & i am checking Pacer & there are only 2 Creditors that filed claims...I remember there were a # of days they have??? is it 180?
Also the 2nd mortgage (GMAC who is now i guess in with Citibank) has filed a claim & is trying to show proof of claim for being secured...which DUH that is why we are filing lien strip. So i still dont know how exactly that works. We turned in all documentation with a CMA that was done plus the appriasal which we paid for that supports our case.
We had to file a new plan showing where the 2nd mortgage money was going since we aren't paying it since we are looking to strip the lien. Now we wait. That is driving me nuts!
Confirmation date is set for 11/12, so in the mean time, will we find out something on lien strip?? How long will that take? I know that has to happen first. And i of course worry about what exactly will happen if that doesn't go our way? What if judge rules against us. I worry that we will then lose our home & now not be able to rent since i have messed up credit with filing & will be homeless! Isnt' this why i filed to not worry so darn much?

Add to that car bills, medical bills....it is just too much to bear! How are we supposed to do this? Tryiing to budget where I can & taking the medical & paying what I can, that's all i can do.

[newbie2]

Take a deep breath, you've already done the hardest part (making the decision to file). I'm not sure about the timelines for the lien strip because we didn't do one, but from what you've stated you did a fantastic job of documenting that the second should be fully unsecured.

Hang in there, don't make yourself sick over what could be a lengthy process. Just keep the end goal in sight and keep telling yourself that you are doing the best that you can.

[sheilaE]

Julesmom I have a question. How long have you not been making your 2nd payment? I only ask because we recently stopped making ours. Stopped all CC pymts around March but always made the 2nd pymt until just recently. Your worries are the exact same as mine, but you are much further along in this process then we are-we haven't even filed yet. We could do it at any time and probably should, but after reading so many ugly posts regarding 13's, we're holding off and trying to build a small savings for as long as we can. The horror stories on here are frightening. Once we actually file, I worry that we, a family of 5, will also end up homeless or shoeless or one of the kids will need to go see a Doctor and need meds or we'll have an empty food pantry.
I really don't understand how the lien strip works. Do some get denied? Our atty told us we could strip it, but who actually makes that decision? So scary now that we've missed 2 pymts. Should I have kept paying it?

[needanswers]

Hi Julsmom,
About the lien strip, our lawyer told us we could stop paying that as soon as our appraisal was done. But we paid our 2nd up until the day of our 341 because we were so nervous so I know how you feel. Our 2nd mortgage was made unsecured by the time of our 341 so I think our lawyer filed that the same day as our BK. We didn't go have to go to the lien strip hearing, the attorney took care of that.
The stress of it all can be unbearable at times but you have to keep your focus on your end game.

[julsmom]

thanks for the answers...

heard back from atty, he says all seems to be well, they have filed lien strip & are hoping to hear something this week on day/time for hearing on that. Doesn't sound like I may need to go but not sure, will keep you posted.

I stopped paying my 2nd mor i think it was 2 months before filing, as we were told...since we were lien stripping, it was basically throwing away 500 a month so we stopped. it was very nerve racking but at the same time paying all these minimums were killing us which is a lot of why we were relying on the cards just to buy groceries, gas, tires, you name it, we had to charge it. I even had it down to a science, it was so bad and pathetic, i could pay 300 to discover, deduct the 76 i would owe for interest, then knew what i could go spend at the grocery store! how sad is that!

so...for the question about stopping the 2nd, that was when we stopped ours & so far nothing happened, since we filed we now have our stay so we move forward from here. We do have to stay current on the 1st and continue to pay that.

[sheilaE]

We've skipped 2 and would like to skip 2 more before filing. We could get our small savings just a bit larger (Christmas is coming and we have hardly anything for it) and then the next month I'm thinking we'd need it to pay for the appraisal fee. I had to nod my head in agreement when I read how you'd pay a bill-deduct the interest and then know you had the extra to be able to use on gas and groceries. I was doing the exact same thing for years!

[Pandora]

.... but after reading so many ugly posts regarding 13's, we're holding off and trying to build a small savings for as long as we can. The horror stories on here are frightening. Once we actually file, I worry that we, a family of 5, will also end up homeless or shoeless or one of the kids will need to go see a Doctor and need meds or we'll have an empty food pantry.
I really don't understand how the lien strip works. Do some get denied? Our atty told us we could strip it, but who actually makes that decision? So scary now that we've missed 2 pymts. Should I have kept paying it?

SheilaE

We went 7 months without paying our 2nd before we filed (still havent paid it even now - been over a year) - and we're still in our home. We just got confirmed - successfully stripped the 2nd - and it will be discharged upon completion of our plan. You will get notices of default and intent to foreclose more than likely - and yes, the 2nd has the right to do so, but in reality, if you are 100% certain you are underwater from value to 1st - and/or dont owe more on the 2nd than the 1st - you're okay more than likely. You wont end up homeless and on the street if you continue to pay your 1st, and even then it takes quite a while for foreclosure to eviction.

As far as once you file and worrying about bills and how to pay for things - you need to ensure that you account for EVERYTHING in your schedules. If you dont have enough money now and you've stopped paying alot of your bills you're going to put in your BK - then you need to look at your income vs. outgoing. If its not feasible the Trustee wont approve the plan, so make sure your DMI is accurate and not giving too much. Ch. 13 is not meant to be a punishment to the debtor and your plan should allow for all the expenses you have with a bit of wiggle room in certain areas.

I would be careful about saving all that money as you will have to declare it when you file. Make sure you have the exemptions to do so or you'll be paying it to the Trustee one way or another (either handing it over or through your plan if you want to keep it). If you use it for paying bills, groceries, attorney fees - then thats fine, but you may be asked "where did the money go".

There's a whole section on how lien strips work, search around and read through them.

Good luck to you!

[sheilaE]

Thank you Pandora for your response. We are now 3 months past due and just like you said it would-a letter of default came in the mail-yesterday in fact. My first reaction was SHEER PANIC! I told my husband that we need to HURRY and get the appraisal done and file this month or they're take the house, but after sleeping on it, I feel less panicked today, but at the same time I don't want to fall too far behind because what if it can't be stripped? I know we owe more then it's worth, but is there a certain dollar amount of being under that is a cutoff or what about if the 2nd and 1st are the same mortgage company-can it still be stripped?

We've been pretty careful about saving what little money we can for an emergency-it's not sitting in our checking to be seen and we've been picking up xmas gifts for the kids for the last 4 months-just 1 or 2 small items here and there. It looks like we'll be filing at the end of this month or maybe next month-which is going to put us going in right during the holidays and I'll be d@#*ed if our 3 kids get nothing fro Christmas because of this