Got an offer on my house. Don't know what to do?

[overthedebt]

Just got an offer on my house.. it would leave about $20K in my pocket after settlement. Confused though. I haven't filed yet and still waiting for my initial consult with an atty. Is it better to just stay in the house? What if I waited and two years down the line I sold and got a better return? Does the court get that after BK? I guess it depends on whether you reaffirm or not? I'm just thinking that maybe it's better to stay in my house. If I sell, it's still nowhere going to cover paying off my unsecured debt. Any opinions? Thanks to all of you. These boards have been such a help. Here's a snapshot of my debt:

Credit card debt: 65K
Mortgage: $280K
Car: 2003 Audi with 85K miles, owe a few thousand on it.
Current Job: $14/hr, 40 hr temporary ending in October.
IRA: $22K left at this point.

[keepmine]

Depends on how much equity your state exempts.
Once your bk is discharged and closed, you can do anything you please with your property.
I'd not reaffirm anything since according to your tag your job ends in Oct.
Why the rush to file if you're soon to be unemployed?

[Flamingo]

Life is full of what if's and decisions. You have to decide what your status will be in the long-term to figure out whether or not you will be able to afford and keep your house if you will be unemployed in the fall. How much equity do you have in the house? How will you be able to pay for the house and bills when unemployed? Will you be able to be gainfully employed again quickly? Are you taking funds out of your IRA now to survive? You state "left at this point." You yourself can see your situation. If you file and are unemployed, how are you going to survive afterwards? I would get some good legal advice and get it quickly and not do anything until you speak with an attorney.

[overthedebt]

I'd not reaffirm anything since according to your tag your job ends in Oct.
Why the rush to file if you're soon to be unemployed?

I'm confused. Should you only file if you have stable employment? I actually got a job offer recently. However, it was in a different state and I couldn't up and relocate and leave my house. $14/hr job I took in the meantime just to bring in something. Previously self employed running my own business and have a ton of successful sales/management experience. Maybe I'm too optimistic but I think I'll find something else after this temp job ends in October. What is draining me is the $1500 in monthly minimums that never seem to touch the principal of the cc debt.

Life is full of what if's and decisions. You have to decide what your status will be in the long-term to figure out whether or not you will be able to afford and keep your house if you will be unemployed in the fall. How much equity do you have in the house? How will you be able to pay for the house and bills when unemployed? Will you be able to be gainfully employed again quickly? Are you taking funds out of your IRA now to survive? You state "left at this point." You yourself can see your situation. If you file and are unemployed, how are you going to survive afterwards? I would get some good legal advice and get it quickly and not do anything until you speak with an attorney.

Equity=about $55k. After real estate commission and closing costs that gets knocked down though.

Have the option to add two friends as roommates (I have a large house). Both are teachers with stable income and the rent they would pay would cover about 2/3 of my mortgage.

Yes, I'm taking about $500 a month out of my IRA to cover expenses not covered by my current job. The $1500 in minimums is what is really draining me. I wish I could speak to an atty sooner. Unfortunately, I have to let the buyers know if I will accept their offer by tomorrow. Meeting with atty isn't set up for another 5 weeks. Apparently he is busy these days. :/

Thanks for your responses and advice. It's really appreciated. I feel so alone with this because I don't want to tell people I'm actually contemplating BK. I'm so ashamed I let this happen. If you only knew what good shape I was in as little as 4 years ago. :/

[overthedebt]

I looked up the equity exemption for my state and it's $12K. Since my equity is much more than that, what happens in a Chapter 7? Am I not allowed to stay in my house? This is all so confusing. I wish my consult was sooner. Meanwhile the clock is ticking on responding on the offer on my house.

I can't remember the last time I got a good night's sleep over this whole situation. Still current on everything but can only imagine what it's going to be like when I stop paying.

[Flamingo]

No one really on here can tell you what to do and especially not give legal advice. Personal decisions are hard plus your entire financial picture and long-term prospects need to be reviewed. The only thing I can advise is to think long-term and you also need to stop taking money out of your IRA or you will end up retiring in poverty...again, think long-term.