Surrending House/Obligations

[bknflorida]

I had my 321 mtg last week & was told by the trustee I had 30 days to get out of my house. I have already found a new place but my question is, what is my obligation to the house I am leaving? I plan to clean as much as possible but I have tons of stuff in my garage that needs to be taken to the dump, however, they charge by the pound & I don't have the money to pay for that with everything else I'm paying for to move (especially since they are not letting me keep my income tax which I was counting on to pay my deposits, etc). Can I just leave the stuff in the garage & let them deal with it or will they send me a bill for any costs to remove?

[Trixie007]

Everything I've read here on this forum says that you can leave your stuff - and don't even have to clean the house!

[mindy0795]

I used to work for a foreclosure company and no you do not have to do anything to the house. The bank can't do anything, we even had a guy rip out the carpeting prior to leaving and taking all of the copper pipes.

[bknflorida]

That's a huge relief. I feel obligated to do what I can but its just not feasible since it's just me trying to prepare everything for this move & there's just not enough time or money. I was blindsided by the 30 day order from the trustee, thought I'd still have around 90 days before I had to be out but I was told once you have your 321 meeting & surrender the property it is no longer yours and you need to be out immediately or can be held responsible for anything that happens to the property after that day. At this point, I'll just be glad to get out and be able to sleep at night without worrying when the sheriff will show up at my door!

This forum has been a tremendous help...thank you!!

[heyu]

That's a huge relief. I feel obligated to do what I can but its just not feasible since it's just me trying to prepare everything for this move & there's just not enough time or money. I was blindsided by the 30 day order from the trustee, thought I'd still have around 90 days before I had to be out but I was told once you have your 321 meeting & surrender the property it is no longer yours and you need to be out immediately or can be held responsible for anything that happens to the property after that day. At this point, I'll just be glad to get out and be able to sleep at night without worrying when the sheriff will show up at my door!

This forum has been a tremendous help...thank you!!

I surrendered my Home and the US Trustee sent a letter to everyone concerned that a Motion for the Abandonment of the property was approved, my water was turned off as that Utility was told that I would no longer be the responsibly party for that bill, my Mortgage Company when I called told me the house was still in my name, (I have stopped paying the Mortgage from last March as the house is about $80,000.00 under) and they did not want me leaving the property vacant also I was told that I would be informed when I had to leave, I have tried workouts but if they do not want to reduce the Principle Balance I am just not interested. I am still living in the house to date with a hose connecting my house to my neighbors house for water and paying him the difference which works out for us quite well as the bill is a lot less.
Anyway, my point is, you can check with your County records, which you can find online and it will show you whose name the house is still listed under,
even if you surrendered your home it still has to be foreclosed on to revert back to the bank ownership, until that time its still yours and you can still live there and save your money, call it an equity withdrawal, the money you will save, you will need it as time are hard and the outlook is it's only going to get harder, all the best.

[bknflorida]

My Trustee stated "the court needs to see a new address for you before 30 days" and that I didn't have a minute past that to move out. My mortgage company has just begun the foreclosure process so that is why I thought I would still have at least 90 days, they do not seem to be in a hurry for me to move out and leave the property vacant but my Trustee is not giving me that option.

[StartingOver08]

My Trustee stated "the court needs to see a new address for you before 30 days" and that I didn't have a minute past that to move out. My mortgage company has just begun the foreclosure process so that is why I thought I would still have at least 90 days, they do not seem to be in a hurry for me to move out and leave the property vacant but my Trustee is not giving me that option.

According to my attorney there is no case law to support the position your Trustee has taken regarding the house.

I am in Fl too - Southern District. I am still in my house and my attorney advised me to wait until the final judgment is issued by the bank - then I have 30 to 45 days to move. The attorney also said the Trustee's are just "trying" this to see if they can get the debtor out early. The attorney's that don't fight it have their clients move within 30 days.

[heyu]

Actually if the foreclosure process is just starting, that property will not be foreclosed till the end of this year as there is such a large backlog of foreclosures going through the courts, I would have a talk with the Lawyer to find out why you have to be moving, If the Trustee is not getting the house to sell then I really do not see how this can be.
Just for the record I am in middle Florida.

[bknflorida]

I am in North Florida. The Trustee was adament & my attorney agreed with her that I would supply a new address within the 30 days. She also said this to a few other people ahead of me & even stated that she was frustrated with one lady who waited until day 30 to move out, to make a point to everyone. I have so many questions for my attorney but everytime I ask him something he acts like I'm bothering him. I've found MUCH more info on here than I have through him!

[StartingOver08]

I am in North Florida. The Trustee was adament & my attorney agreed with her that I would supply a new address within the 30 days. She also said this to a few other people ahead of me & even stated that she was frustrated with one lady who waited until day 30 to move out, to make a point to everyone. I have so many questions for my attorney but everytime I ask him something he acts like I'm bothering him. I've found MUCH more info on here than I have through him!

Sounds like your attorney is also a Trustee in the district.

[heyu]

If you do not supply a new address what will they do, ask your Attorney,send you to Jail, maybe, dismiss your BK. I do not think so.

[debtmonster]

So if we file Ch. 7 and surrender our house, how long do we have to live in the house? We also live in N. Fla.

There's no way we can move out in 30 days. I'll need at least $5,000 to $6,000 in the bank to pull that off to find another house between the cost of first, last and security and the cost of a movers and stuff. The thing is that we live way out in the boonies and moving hours away in any direction is not going to be cheap. We need to stay in the house for at least 4 to 7 months after the BK in order to stock pile the cash we will need to move.

I thought you have to wait until the sheriff comes and throws you out? Will a trustee do it sooner? I talked to somebody who is in this process and she told me that she's been in her house over 12 months so far and has not paid a dime to the mortgage, taxes or insurance.

[justbroke]

I absolutely cannot believe the Trustee in the Northern District of Florida. This is absolutely absurd. There is absolutely nothing in the Bankruptcy Code (BK) or Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure even mentioning anything like that.

Some attorney needs to step up to the plate and file a complaint on the Trustee.

There is nothing that states you can't stay in your home until it is actually foreclosed upon. While you may not be responsible for the debt, you are the one legally responsible for that property until the deed changes hand. If anyone were to get hurt on that property, who pays? The Trustee? No... it will be you and since it's post filing, you can't include it in your petition.

So, tell the Trustee to go fly a kite.

Also, notice that in the example provided, the Trustee only stated that "she was frustrated". She didn't mention any any motion or other action. I wish I was in that District and Trustee. I would have fought it. It would have been fun. I can't find one case or any case history or any rule or any part of the Code supporting the Trustee's "position" on this.

However, in my layman's view, I can see where you could be compelled to abandon the property if it has equity and the Trustee is trying to sell it. Even having said that, there is a process, by motion, to compel abandonment of any property.