If you surrendered your home with Ch 7

[kl030505]

How long from filing before the mortgage company filed a relief from stay? Was your attorney able to deter that at all by filing a motion?

We will file next week - and really and truly next week - paperwork is prepared we just have to go over it with the atty! After we file, I assume that the mortgage company will file the relief of stay... but does that typically take a week, 3 weeks?

We need to stay till the end of Feb. that's how long I need to save for a double deposit, 1st months rent and moving expenses. I'm confident we will have that time, but am now wondering if maybe we can squeeze march in as well just because of how long the process can take...I want to be out and settled somewhere soon, but don't want to pass up the opportunity to save $1000/month either. I am ready, budgeted and prepared to move at the end of Feb but am wondering if we should try to stay till the end of March because it never hurts to have another month rent free.

Thoughts? If you have been through this process, how did you decide when to finally vacate the property? Is the idea of getting somewhere settled worth more than the potential savings of living rent free? What about the risk of an eviction on your record? Our credit is bad enough and will be a serious uphill battle... I don't need more challenges.

[BassBoy]

If you're planning on moving within the next 2 months....squeezing the move until March.........you should be fine and having the stay lifted shouldn't matter. The lender will file the motion to lift the stay and the actual date that hearing happens may not be for another month. Then the lender can continue with the foreclosure. If you're not already in foreclosure, then your attorney should be able to give you a timeframe of how long you may actually have.

With regards to your last paragraph, when you find the right place that suits your needs and you know that you can be happy there is a very good reason to scoop up the place for yourself. Yes, the idea of having a place that you can settle into is worth more in the long run. You do not want to be scurrying about at the last minute to find a place and then have to settle for whatever is out there.

[TTATWORK]

I am surrendoring and already moved out...

I will be letting my home go in my Ch 7 -- have not filed yet. I just received my Notice of Default, have not made a mortgage payment since September of 2007. So, realistically I would have another 120 days at least to stay in the home -- maybe longer. But, I was worried about my quickly declining credit, we were terribly unhappy, and were eager to find a place and move on w/ our lives. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find a place, what w/ credit checks and all, so I started looking right after Christmas. Lo and behold, the first place we looked at was perfect. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats that I wanted to keep, and this home had all that we needed, no great big deposit, rent is $220 less than my mortgage, good neighborhood...too good to pass up. I am renting it directly from the owner, not a property management company -- have not even filed out an application at all, just signed a lease. We moved in last week, and I have a few more items at my old house to get, but I'm in no big hurry.
Realizing now that I could have saved several thousand dollars kind of hurts -- but my sanity is worth more than that, and I didn't freak yesterday when I went to the house and found the NOD tacked to my door...had I still been living there, it would have really sent me into a panic.
Good luck. The thought of moving out, surrendoring my home and finding a new place to live was one of my biggest fears in the BK process. Now, if I could just reassure myself it will be OK for me to let my car go, too....

[dp1969]

I will be letting my home go in my Ch 7 -- have not filed yet. I just received my Notice of Default, have not made a mortgage payment since September of 2007. So, realistically I would have another 120 days at least to stay in the home -- maybe longer. But, I was worried about my quickly declining credit, we were terribly unhappy, and were eager to find a place and move on w/ our lives. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find a place, what w/ credit checks and all, so I started looking right after Christmas. Lo and behold, the first place we looked at was perfect. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats that I wanted to keep, and this home had all that we needed, no great big deposit, rent is $220 less than my mortgage, good neighborhood...too good to pass up..

I'm relieved to read your reply! We are surrendering our home (haven't made Dec or Jan payment) and filling Ch.7 today. I, too, was worried about our declining credit score and "late payment" blemishes so decided to look before the foreclosure and BK appeared. Actually, got in with a property management company (don't know how) and they will keep our application for 4-6 months. My problem is that I can't wait until the last minute and settle for the slums. We have 1 dog (which is always a challenge) and 2 young children to think of. We could sit here and save for about 3 more months but I found a house (meeting the landlord tonight) and it's perfect. Has everything we have in our current home including a pool (bonus) and is $2600 less than what we would be paying our mortgage/HELOC . We can have a dog and it's in a terrific part of town. Being that we only have 2 missed payments and some "late" credit card payments, I'm hoping that the landlord will over look that. He's only asking for $15 for a application process fee and never mentioned a credit check. I suppose if he needs one, I can get the one I paid for from the property management company (I'm entitled, right?). I'm going crazy about having to move (the bankruptcy & foreclosure is the last thing on my mind). I'm more concerned with finding a place to rest my head at night. Did you mention to your current landlord your situation or did you wait for him to ask?

[TTATWORK]

I didn't mention my situation to my landlord -- just told him that I was divorcing, and he filled in the blanks.
It was such a relief to get out of the old house. If you are getting help moving, I would recommend going to emove.com. I hired 2 guys for a total of $50/hr to help me move, and it was soo worth it!! Good luck

[jrsmom]

Daughter filed BK 7 on 1/8. Mortgage company filed relief of stay on 1/17. Court date is set for 1/31. They didn't mess around.

[Lindsay]

Daughter filed BK 7 on 1/8. Mortgage company filed relief of stay on 1/17. Court date is set for 1/31. They didn't mess around.

Wow, that's fast! But it would probably take alot of time to actually get her out of the house, I think. Our lawyer told us that after BK is discharged, if we ever find ourselves short of money in any month, to make sure we pay the car loan first and the mortgage later. He says that it takes a long time to actually get someone out of their house (sometimes as long as 18 months), but a car repo can occur quickly. I had told him that we usually always pay our mortgage on time, but sometimes we pay the car 2 weeks late. He said after the BK, do it the other way.

[BKcrazy]

No one filed a motion to lift the stay on my property, but I'm guessing that the mortgage company is having problems of their own. I shouldn't think it's funny, but they have cut staff and are on the ailing lender list, so I have to chuckle that they maybe forgot about me other than the pending trustee sale. Guess maybe they are dodging calls themselves? Or too busy harassing people that haven't filed bk?

[tay666]

Does anyone know if there is any difference in the timeline if you are surrenduring a house with equity?
That is the reason we will be surenduring ours. Too much equity and not enough exemption here in Ohio.

I figure the trustee will want to sell it to distribute the profits to himself and the creditors.
I just didn't know if that changed the timeline of when you have to be out of the house.

[tay666]

Anyone?

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Tay, I guess that if there's a huge amount of equity and the lender is absolutely sure it will sell in today's market, then maybe it would make a difference, but right now so many properties are standing empty that I sincerely doubt it, equity or not.

I sat in a house through foreclosure all the way through eviction (oh lord that was horrible -- I do NOT recommend it) and I can tell you that the biggest variables in the timeline are 1) what state you live in, and 2) how fast your particular courthouse is on processing paperwork. I got several weeks of extra time just because it always took my local courthouse 2-3 weeks to file a piece of paper.

I can't answer more specifically because I have no information beyond my own local experience where I was living, but I hope this helps.

[tay666]

I was just curious.
I know there isn't 'really' much equity.
But on paper there will be.
I am in NE Ohio by the way.
We owe $18,000 on the house. Tax assesment says it's worth $45000.
A 2003 appraisal said around $60,000.
But in reality, I think someone would be very lucky to realize a $30000 sale for this house.

It is my understanding in a situation like this that the bank has no say in the matter.
The trustee is the one who is going to say it is an asset in the BK estate. And he is the one who is going to have it sold.
Not at auction either. From what I understand, they usually list through a realtor to maximize profits.
With the proceeds from the sale, he will pay off the motguage and and the selling costs. The remainder will be distributed to the creditors.

I have heard that asset cases can take more than a year to close because the trustee has to sell off the assets and such.
I just don't know if it affects how long you can stay in the house.
If it is going to be listed with a realtor, I'd think they would want the house vacant and not have to depend on the owners keeping it looking presentable.

I actually hope he gets a good price for it after we file.
Since we will not be using our homestead exemption of $10000 we will get up to that amount off the top of the profits before any distribution to the creditors.

[DontBother]

Does anyone know if there is any difference in the timeline if you are surrenduring a house with equity?
That is the reason we will be surenduring ours. Too much equity and not enough exemption here in Ohio.

I figure the trustee will want to sell it to distribute the profits to himself and the creditors.
I just didn't know if that changed the timeline of when you have to be out of the house.

If you have equity in the house, then that would be considered an "asset", and as such, your case would be an "asset case". The trustee would then handling the selling of your house, and distribute the proceeds to your creditors.

[dp1969]

I sat in a house through foreclosure all the way through eviction (oh lord that was horrible -- I do NOT recommend it) and I can tell you that the biggest variables in the timeline are 1) what state you live in, and 2) how fast your particular courthouse is on processing paperwork. I got several weeks of extra time just because it always took my local courthouse 2-3 weeks to file a piece of paper.

Good to know about not waiting until the eviction...we are going to "officially" default on February 1st but have put in an application for a rental home. I told my DH that I was not waiting until we were evicted. It's hard to convince him but rentals out here are far and few between (especially when you have a pet).

[tay666]

Well, we are hoping to stay in the house at least a few months while not having to make payments. That is why I was currious if there was a different timeline if it is an asset case like ours will be.
Rentals are easy to find around here. And most are private owner type situations. No real credit checks or even leases.
But you do have to have the securety deposit and such. Which is why we really need to stay in the house a bit to save some money.