About to file Chapter 13

[dumass]

I am looking for some advice. Please help.

I am about to file BK chapter 13. I make $120k per year. I have a house with $160k mortgage. House might appraise about $200k or $210k. But realistically could sell for only $190K. I live in GA.

I have $120k CC debt.

Iam filing by myself. My wife doesn't work and she is not filing with me.

What are my chances for successful BK and what are my chances of keeping house. I really want to keep this house.

Thanks

[newbie2]

You can keep your home as long as any non-exempt equity in the home is paid in to your plan. For example: If you have $20,000 in equity that you can't exempt, then you have to pay that over a 5 year term. Check on your states exemptions for your home and you'll have a clearer idea of where you stand. Good luck to you.

[enginegirl]

Georgia Bankruptcy Exemptions

Homestead

44-13-100 - Real or personal property, including co-op, used as a residence, up to $10,000 (up to $20,000 if married whether the spouse is filing or not). Unused portion up to $5,000 may be applied to any other property.

talk to the apraiser and see if he can go as low as possible

[momofthree]

The appraisal needs to be based on what it could realistically sell for. If that is $190k, and you owe $160k, then you have $30k in equity. If you're the only one filing, then I"m thinking they will consider $15k of that equity as belonging to your wife (this is a guess b/c I filed jointly w/my spouse), so you'll only have $15k equity as it pertains to assets. If you can then exempt $20k, then you'll be fine. However, even if you did have more equity than that, you'd still be able to easily keep your home. It simply creates a min. that has to be paid into your plan. On your income, you'll easily meet the minimum.

[dumass]

Thanks a lot folks, you guys are good. I feel good now. Any good BK attorney in NE Atlanta, GA? Alpharetta, or Suwanee area?

[Cristo]

Yes, don't worry about the house. You will probably want to get an appraisal so you won't have issues with the Trustee over how much it's worth. A lawyer you get should be able to tell you how strict they are with valuations and what kind of proof they would need. If you can get an appraisal that comes in low enough you could then use the $5000 to apply to other property you want to keep like jewelry, cash, equity in your car etc. I got a recommendation from my lawyer for an appraiser that is familiar with BK and I told him I wanted the price I would get under a "quick sale" situation. I have found that most of us tend to overvalue our possessions, especially if you have to consider the "yard sale" or "quick sale" value. As an example, my boyfriend's mother went to assisted living recently and he held an estate sale to get rid of everything she had left at her house so they could sell the house. We are talking a large 3 bedroom house full of 40 years of stuff, furniture, pots pans, everything. Even with a professional conducting the sale, good advertising etc. they only got $8000 for everything and then had to give the estate sale people 30% of that. That made me feel better about what I put down for my stuff!

The point is, as others had said, the value of property that is not exempt has to be paid into your plan, so you want to stay under the exemptions if you reasonably can. Obviously, you don't want to be dishonest, but it really is a change in mindset when it comes to valuing your stuff. What you paid for it is not what it should be based on. The lawyer should know how things need to be valued in your area. Good luck. It's a long process and it is not wrong to plan it out and get an much benefit out of it as you can.

I am in your income range and am working my way through the system now. I filed on July 30 so my confirmation is still at least a month away, probably more since I'm trying to strip my second and cram down my car loan. Do a lot of reading on here and you will learn a lot. You should talk to several lawyers before you settle on one. Consultations are free and you will be suprised at how different their approaches and opinions are. I had one tell me that "the right thing for me to do was try to pay back 100% of my unsecured debt" and one that told me he thought he could do my case where I would pay back at most 10%. Which one do you think I went with?

good luck!