Respond to motion for relief from auto stay?

[PDXbk]

We just received a motion for relief from our mortgage company. We already put the condo up for sale and didn't claim it in the BK. Does anyone know if we need to respond to this motion or should we just let them have it?

Thanks!

[LostinMi]

You didn't list it on the BK? If it was a debt, you should have. If it wasn't listed, it would be considered a debt that isn't discharged in BK and if it is foreclosed & sold (for less that what you owe) you may still be liable for the difference. Why didn't you list it?

[StaciMM]

Some thoughts: if you're not 200% sure you can sell it & not have a loss on it, list it in the BK so you can't be held liable for any deficiency.

Regarding the motion, your options are to catch the house up or the motion will be granted I believe. It will still take a while to complete the process, which is why the mortgage company wants to start sooner rather than later.

[Minnymouth]

You said you did not list condo in the bankruptcy....??? Why not, especially since you aren't planning on keeping it??
Best get it included and quickly.... otherwise as others have said you will be paying the difference of what you sell it for and what is owed on it......
Are you planning on selling it and making a big profit....??
List it anyways, then sell it..... Of course any money from the sale becomes an asset to your case.. (unless part of it is exempt.)

Did you file pro se??

Minny

[PDXbk]

Sorry for the lack of clarity. Of course we listed the condo and the mortgage. What I meant is that we aren't claiming it as a dischargeable debt (but then I suppose that's obvious, since it's secured).

We can definitely sell it for more than we bought it for, and will even make a little money (covered by our homestead). My question is, since we plan on selling, is there really a need to respond to the motion? We won't be able to prevent them from getting relief from the auto-stay anyway, so why bother? In a month they'll move to foreclose but I believe I'll have a total of up to four months to sell before the foreclosure can take place.

Thanks!

[AAAArt]

One reason to respond would be to buy more time. If you wrote back disputing anything (like I thought the balance was $26.00 less) then, I think that buys you another month.
I'm concerned for you though if you sell it during BK, then you "should" list the profit as an asset and that would be taken. Are you planning on waiting until afer discharge? Or, (I really this ignorant of what "fresh start" means), can you sell it any time after yoou file and keep the profit. Would you have to amend your petition to show the value, if very different from what you listed?
Obviously, I don't know the answers and am feeling kind of stupid today, but one of the lawyers I interviewed said something that has stuck with me..."It's always better not to turn a financial problem into a legal one."

[PDXbk]

Thanks, AAAArt. We can keep up to $33,000 in profit under Oregon's homestead exemption ($17k per spouse). Every state has a homestead exemption but they vary. Washington DC has the best of all - ALL of your sale profit is exempt. Anyway, we won't come close to $33k, unfortunately, so shouldn't be a problem. However, we may have to ammend our filing to report the change. Not sure.