Not sure where to start

[jlaughman22]

hopefully someone knows the answer

Divorce is about to be finalized(amicable), and 50% reduction in pay has forced me to get another job in California (currently living in Florida). I am paying not leasing a tundra and a motorcycle and own one other motorcycle and have a house. I cant afford the house any longer and its upside down 40k. What i would like to do is file chapter 7 and wipe just the house only, i am current on all the bills and have no unsecured debt and my credit is fine ~740, so rather then rack thousands of dollars in cc debt trying to manage it im moving. My new job pays alot more but not enough to live in CA and have a mortgage in FL

Questions are 1)where do i file most likely ill be living in CA when i do file but the house is in Florida

2) Since i want my truck and motorcycle can i continue to keep paying.

3) Will they see the motorcycle i own and try to take it? ie should i sell it to my dad/brother?

4) or do i let it foreclose, i am worried about this because florida is a recourse state and has 4 years to come after you for the difference of the sell/owe difference

Thank you for your time J

[keepmine]

You'd file in Ca. but, use Fl. exemptions if you've not lived in Ca. for 2 years.
How much equity in the car and cycle.
Do not sell the cycle to an insider unless, you get fair mkt value. In fact, I'd avoid the hassle all together and sell it to a 3rd party you have no connection too. Use the money for moving expenses.
I think I'd just wait and see if they sue you. In 2 years, you'll be able to use Ca. exemptions and they are far more generous than Fl.

[HHM]

1. You file where you have lived the longer of the previous 180 days. Thus, if you move to CA, and live there for 91 days, you file in CA. If you file in FL, then move to CA, you will have to fly back to FL for the meeting with the trustee.

2. Yes...caveat, note, you will be required to use FL exemptions which suck when it comes to vehicles which is $1000. Thus, if you have equity in anything other than your primary vehicle, the trustee is entitled to that equity.

3. You have 3 options with non-exempt vehicles. (1) Sell before filing BK...but you MUST sell it for fair market value, and spend the money, (2) keep it, and pay the equity value to the trustee, (3) allow the trustee to sieze the asset.

4. Since you don't have any other debt, you might consider simply letting the home go to foreclosure and only file BK "if" something happens. Plus, you may have an income problem, if the job pays well (despite your subjective opinion that it is not enough to live in CA...which begs the question, why did you take the job), you may be over the state median income requiring you to file BK.

[jlaughman22]

Thanks for the replys i lived in CA for 23 years so i know im ok as far as the new job is concerned but would probably be over the limit


Question about #3 you said i would pay the trustee for the truck/ motorcycle option 2 is that a restructuring of the contract for what i owe?

thank you J


im leaning more to just the foreclosure but am leary of the judgement of

[catleg]

I think he said he can't afford to live in CA plus have a house in Florida.

I think you need to talk to an attorney with experience in foreclosures and short sales in Florida so you have a realistic idea of what to expect from the house as far as fallout.

Question in my mind is, do you have a window of opportunity here for the 7 based on your current reduced income that you won't have in California?

There is something called Cash for Keys you might want to look into, I'm not quite sure how it works. You wouldn't want the lender to think you're leaving the state, cash for keys is apparently designed to shorten the eviction process after a foreclosure.

[debtmonster]

IMHO, I would not move to California unless you were making at least $80,000 to $100,000 per year. The cost of living in that state is like moving to another country. A good friend of mine left South Florida to get a job there. They were in major sticker shock for everything after they moved. The cost of groceries and every normal thing you buy in Florida was priced to the moon. They have high taxes on everything, unlike Florida. They eventually had to move again since things were just too expensive to live there.

I remember reading in the Washington Post about how a guy was making $80,000 per year and was living at a homeless shelter because he could not afford to rent anything. Another lady was working in Santa Clara and was commuting 3 hours EACH WAY to work.

You might be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fryer.

I would check this out and see how well your new salary in California compares from what you're making now and see how much you would need to earn to live the same:

http://www.homefair.com/real-estate/cost-of-living.asp

[catleg]

Your friend must have stumbled into a Safeway. I shop there when I visit Hawaii. I think their motto is "Everyday High Prices". Kind of like in the northeast if you shop at CVS, if it's not on sale then the prices are bust out retail. Like 1.89 for a 2 liter bottle of coke or pepsi.

[debtmonster]

Your friend must have stumbled into a Safeway. I shop there when I visit Hawaii. I think their motto is "Everyday High Prices". Kind of like in the northeast if you shop at CVS, if it's not on sale then the prices are bust out retail. Like 1.89 for a 2 liter bottle of coke or pepsi.

Yep... I don't understand why their prices all have to be so high. It's like double the cost for everything. Then you need double the salary to live the same. I know California is beautiful and there's lots of things to do, but to me, it's basically a rich person's paradise. I think if you're not rich, you should be living there.

Your lifestyle and everything would be much better off if you didn't spend 90% of your income on rent living in California.

Are you supposed to have roommates until you die or something?

Florida was starting to get just as bad until the housing crash. That's why I was planning on moving into the middle of the country to find a job. The northeast part of the country is just as bad. We had another friend move to NY and now they are dieing to come back to Florida. They are getting the same sticker shock. Paying for parking every where you go. Dealing with parking tickets. Outrageous rent for a tiny place. For a 1 bedroom studio in NY you could rent a whole 3 bedroom, 2 or 3 bath, 2 car garage house!!

All over Orlando there's beautiful homes for under $1200/mo. That's what some 1 or 2 bedroom apartments rent for around the country.

If California had homes for these prices, it would be a perfect place to live...

Check these out... scroll down to homes under $1500. They are decent places to live.

http://props.flarent.com/props.asp?stid=101

[HHM]

Thanks for the replys i lived in CA for 23 years so i know im ok as far as the new job is concerned but would probably be over the limit


Question about #3 you said i would pay the trustee for the truck/ motorcycle option 2 is that a restructuring of the contract for what i owe?

thank you J


im leaning more to just the foreclosure but am leary of the judgement of

No, it is not a restructuring of the contract. It is really more like you are buying the item twice. An example may help clarify.

Lets say you have 1 car and 1 motorcycle. The car is worth $10,000 and you owe $9000 but you own the motorcycle and you owe $1,500 but it is presently worth $4,000. Further, lets assume you have a $1000 vehicle exemption.

Result if you file BK-7.
The car is exempt, between the lenders lien and the state exemption, there is zero equity in the car. However, since there is no way to exempt the motorcycle, you have $2,500 of non-exempt equity. ($4000 - $1500). Thus, 3 things can happen:
1. You enter a payment plan with the trustee to pay the trustee the $2,500 you owe, these payment plans tend to be short, 6-8 months at the most.
2. You get a redemption loan which buys out the motorcycle, pays off the current lender ($1,500) and pays the trustee ($2,500). (however, redemption loans tend to have 25% or more interest rates).
3. You surrender the motorcycle to the trustee.

Options 1 and 2 allow you to keep the motorcycle, but you have to pay.

[OhioFiler]

Yep... I don't understand why their prices all have to be so high. It's like double the cost for everything. Then you need double the salary to live the same. I know California is beautiful and there's lots of things to do, but to me, it's basically a rich person's paradise. I think if you're not rich, you should be living there.

California is a good example of what's wrong with liberalism as a social solution. Much of the additional expenses associated with living there are directly traceable to liberal policies.

[debtmonster]

California is a good example of what's wrong with liberalism as a social solution. Much of the additional expenses associated with living there are directly traceable to liberal policies.

If everyone hates liberals so much (which I hear on the radio all the time and from people I know in person), then why don't we get rid of these people and send them all to some other country?

[Trixie007]

The cost of living in California is really only higher in some areas... the most televised/news worthy ones! We lived in CA for 15 years and just recently moved to Washington - we are still stunned over how much more expensive everything is here!

[debtmonster]

They need to outlaw expensive stuff and make things cheap so we can afford it. HA!

[OhioFiler]

If everyone hates liberals so much (which I hear on the radio all the time and from people I know in person), then why don't we get rid of these people and send them all to some other country?

In America we co-exist with others who have differing political ideals.
I don't hate liberals. I think their politics are misguided. My wife is even a liberal!

[debtmonster]

In America we co-exist with others who have differing political ideals.
I don't hate liberals. I think their politics are misguided. My wife is even a liberal!

What causes people to become liberal? Everyone I've spoken to hates liberals. Listen to the Rush show and other talk shows and all they do is bash liberals.