My new attorney (long story) is very thorough. Much more so than my former attorney. But I am worried about one thing...
We bought our current house in 2005 and had quite a large down payment thanks to the INSANE appreciation of the house we sold when we moved to CO. Even with the ridiculous real estate market, we probably have a good bit of equity in our home.
Right now we owe $215,000 between our first and second mortgages. We are current and want to keep our home.
The exemption in CO is $60,000.
I had a home appraisal done in December when I thought I could refinance myself out of this mess and it came back at $309,000. I thought that was high, but at the time I wasn't complaining.
First lawyer took a look at that number and then took a look at our county property appraisal which is $295,000. He shrugged, took the $295,000, lopped off 10% for "quick sale" expenses, realtor fees, etc. and came out with $265,500. He said, "$265,500 minus the $215,000 you owe is well under the exemption. No worries."
My new attorney is a bit more cautious. He said it's tight, and Trustees are VERY shy about taking houses in this economy, but he's having me get a CMA from a realtor.
In Zillow (FWIW...) I'm at $268,000. On CyberHome I'm actually at $261,000. NOTHING in my neighborhood has sold for anywhere near $300,000 recently.
What seemed odd is that my new attorney is deducting the same 10% but only off the DIFFERENCE between a hypothetical "sell" price and what I owe.
For instance...
$300k minus $215k = $85k - 10% = $76,500 "profit" which means I'd either have to come up with $16,500 to pay the court or they'll sell my house. I've NEVER seen real estate costs handled that way. I've only ever seen them come off the actual sell price of the house.
With values all over the place, I am scared.
What is the generally accepted practice for valuing a home for a Chapter 7?
I can deal with $309k from the appraiser if I get to take 10% off the top for quick sale expenses. That puts me close -- within $3000 -- of my exemption.
OTOH - I doubt there's any way I'd actually sell my house for that - even in December when the appraisal was done. There's a house that is the same model as mine down the street except it's got an extra bedroom, fireplace in the master, bay window -- all the upgrades -- and it's LISTING at $295,000.
So I have a realtor coming tomorrow. He knows I have no interest in selling, but is willing to do a CMA as requested by my lawyer. I offered to pay him and he said he'd do it for free.
I don't want to lose my house. We can afford the payments. I'm afraid if I did have to move I'd actually have to pay MORE per month than I am now. I certainly couldn't qualify for a 5.9% mortgage like I have now.
If this CMA comes back high, what are my options? Would a Chapter 13 work? Lawyer just said, "Let's see what your CMA comes back at and we'll go form there..."
We bought our current house in 2005 and had quite a large down payment thanks to the INSANE appreciation of the house we sold when we moved to CO. Even with the ridiculous real estate market, we probably have a good bit of equity in our home.
Right now we owe $215,000 between our first and second mortgages. We are current and want to keep our home.
The exemption in CO is $60,000.
I had a home appraisal done in December when I thought I could refinance myself out of this mess and it came back at $309,000. I thought that was high, but at the time I wasn't complaining.
First lawyer took a look at that number and then took a look at our county property appraisal which is $295,000. He shrugged, took the $295,000, lopped off 10% for "quick sale" expenses, realtor fees, etc. and came out with $265,500. He said, "$265,500 minus the $215,000 you owe is well under the exemption. No worries."
My new attorney is a bit more cautious. He said it's tight, and Trustees are VERY shy about taking houses in this economy, but he's having me get a CMA from a realtor.
In Zillow (FWIW...) I'm at $268,000. On CyberHome I'm actually at $261,000. NOTHING in my neighborhood has sold for anywhere near $300,000 recently.
What seemed odd is that my new attorney is deducting the same 10% but only off the DIFFERENCE between a hypothetical "sell" price and what I owe.
For instance...
$300k minus $215k = $85k - 10% = $76,500 "profit" which means I'd either have to come up with $16,500 to pay the court or they'll sell my house. I've NEVER seen real estate costs handled that way. I've only ever seen them come off the actual sell price of the house.
With values all over the place, I am scared.
What is the generally accepted practice for valuing a home for a Chapter 7?
I can deal with $309k from the appraiser if I get to take 10% off the top for quick sale expenses. That puts me close -- within $3000 -- of my exemption.
OTOH - I doubt there's any way I'd actually sell my house for that - even in December when the appraisal was done. There's a house that is the same model as mine down the street except it's got an extra bedroom, fireplace in the master, bay window -- all the upgrades -- and it's LISTING at $295,000.
So I have a realtor coming tomorrow. He knows I have no interest in selling, but is willing to do a CMA as requested by my lawyer. I offered to pay him and he said he'd do it for free.
I don't want to lose my house. We can afford the payments. I'm afraid if I did have to move I'd actually have to pay MORE per month than I am now. I certainly couldn't qualify for a 5.9% mortgage like I have now.
If this CMA comes back high, what are my options? Would a Chapter 13 work? Lawyer just said, "Let's see what your CMA comes back at and we'll go form there..."
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