Not sure what to do about the house.

[AnotherBK]

We finally will have the money to pay and file ch7 on thursday..and of course something has come up. We have a house that we have been trying to sell but had no takers. Last night i get an email from my realitor saying there is a couple talking with a mortgage company to get a loan for our house, if approved they will make an offer. The house is up for sale for roughly $10,000 more than we owe. After realty fees we would get about $6000 give or take depending on the offer.
Question is now what? Even if we sell the house we still have to file because of other debts. So what do i do with the money? We would like to buy a used truck for my husband to use for work because we are surrendering his car. Will this sale/money get us in trouble so close to filing? Will we even get to keep the money? OR should we tell the people to talk with OUR mortgage company about purchasing the house because we are filing BK?
Im so confused. So much for a cut and dry ch7!

[AnotherBK]

Also i dont know if if makes a differance but we do have another truck (mine)that we will reaffirm.

[Trixie007]

6k isn't really that much to spend down before filing. We had 11k+ in tax returns that we spent on auto repairs, medical, stocking up groceries, clothing, etc. Of course, check with your attorney and watch the exemptions on any vehicle you buy, but the trustee knows you need to drive something!

[AnotherBK]

Well we have been stressing trying to come up with the money to file and finally will have it in hand on thursday. Toyota will be comming to get the car any day, we called them back and told then to come get it because insurance is due and we cant pay it, we are 3 months behind with them anyway. So we want to file as soon as we can but now with possilble purchasers for the house we just dont know what to do.
I guess i will pay the lawyer and ask him what he thinks. We sure could use the money we would get from the house right now.

[moneytrouble]

I believe if you reaffirm and sell after your bankruptcy is discharged, you should be able to keep the money. I believe you have to report the profit to the court, but after the bankruptcy you most likely will get to keep it. If you sell it before your discharge, then that is where you may lose the money. If you filed today, it would be a month before your 341 meeting, and at minimum 60 days after that for your discharge, so 3 months total before a bankruptcy discharge.

[AnotherBK]

Another question, If we dont include the house in the bankruptcy we will still be able to file.
We are a family of 5 in Alabama
$14,500 in cc debt
$28,000 owed on truck we want to reaffirm
$17,000 owed on car we will surrender
$79,000 owed on the house in question
Not to mention the rent we pay ($315) where we live now and utilities.
After taxes husband makes $727 per week.
If i wasnt afraid of forclosure, because house is almost 3 months behind, repo, judjments and such i would consider not filing till after house sells i f it wont affect ch7 filing.

[StartingOver08]

My opinion, just based on what you have posted, is to sell the house and then file. Don't be too anxious to file right away. You should be able to sell and close the house within a short period of time (30 to 45 days) if your Realtor has someone that is qualified writing an offer soon.

However, if the offer/sale does not pan out ...if you are ready, then file. I know this does not help make your decision easier, just don't rush if you do not have too rush. 90 days behind in your mortgage is close to the Notice of Default date, but it is taking quite a while for the lenders to foreclose. Check with your attorney in your specific area to make sure you know the foreclosure timeline. Also, if you have equity the lenders move faster to foreclosure in my experience. If you are upside down they take a loooonnnnggg time to foreclose.