Do I tell my attorney?

[momtoroxy]

I have had a few threads of questions in the past day and I appreciate all the responses.

I think we've decided that letting the house go is for the best. I live in NV. On our initial paperwork, we said we intended to keep our house. If we ammend our filing BEFORE our 341 will the affect us negatively? I mean, will they say...well if you aren't paying this mortgage...you can afford to payback your debts in a ch. 13??

Or, do we wait until after the 341 to tell our attorney that we don't want to keep the house?

The letter we got from Chase said that if we did not reaffirm, the debt would be considered discharged upon discharge of the chapter 7.

Do we just stop paying, not sign the reaffirmation, and not say anything until AFTER the 341??

Or, do we tell the lawyer now and get her advice?

Our November payment will be considered late after Nov 15th. We cannot make that payment. Our 341 is Nov 18th.

Anyone have experience with Chase Mortgage in Nevada? If we just don't sign the reaffirmation and stop paying the mortgage, when will be have to be out?

[aljohnson007]

I don't know NV law but common law says you cannot be evicted by anyone other than the legal owner of the property. Until Chase forcloses and has the title changed out of your name, I believe you can stay there without any fear of being evicted. JMO

[Bell30656]

If you leave prior to the title being transferred the mortgage holder may not transfer the title leaving you responsible for taxes and HOA fees (if you have any). As for telling your attorney? Someone many years ago told me the two people you don't lie to are your attorney and accountant. They are unable to advise you on how to best protect yourself without accurate information.

[MSbklawyer]

Yes, tell your attorney. Even if you give up this house, you are still going to have a mortgage payment or rent somewhere. Your attorney may advise you to wait a bit longer before filing.

And good job on naming your kid Roxy. That is the coolest girl name.

[momtoroxy]

MSbklawyer: We love the name Roxy too. She is a girl...but she's also a dog! We can't have kids so she is our baby!

We have already filed; our 341 is on Nov 18th. I guess I was worried that the lawyer will tell us we have to go into a ch 13 because we can't keep the house. I don't want to affect us being able to do a chapter 7. But, we'll tell her and see what she says.

[momtoroxy]

Ok, so I spoke with the paralegal. We are meeting with our attorney to do the reaffirmation agreement for one of our cars tomorrow. We will discuss this house situation tomorrow. The paralegal said that there is an option built into our bk that allows us to walk away if we want/need to? I dont know what that means, but we'll find out tomorrow.

[MSbklawyer]

MSbklawyer: We love the name Roxy too. She is a girl...but she's also a dog! We can't have kids so she is our baby!

Well, pretty cool name for a dog too. Not as cool as "Rebel", but still cool.

[momtoroxy]

Awww Rebel is so cute!

[Kingxray]

Ok, so I spoke with the paralegal. We are meeting with our attorney to do the reaffirmation agreement for one of our cars tomorrow. We will discuss this house situation tomorrow. The paralegal said that there is an option built into our bk that allows us to walk away if we want/need to? I dont know what that means, but we'll find out tomorrow.

I'm interested in hearing what your lawyer has to say regarding this "built-in option" of your BK. We plan on keeping our house and reaffirmed it. We are current with the payments. The UST filed a motion to dismiss stating we are surrendering our house and therefore will not allow our housing expenses on our schedule J. She says we can now fund a 13. Of course we are going to court to fight this. So, make sure you tell your lawyer of your plans. You don't want to end up like us. Let us know what he advises.

BTW: Our "babies" are all grown up and moved out but we have one at home named Sadie (our golden retriever) Sic the UST Sadie!

[Bell30656]

Just because you opt to surrender the house doesn't mean that you won't have a rent payment that may be equal to or higher than the house payment.

[momtoroxy]

That is what I keep thinking! You have to pay to live somewhere eventually. I am meeting with my attorney this afternoon and will let you all know what she says.

[Kingxray]

You are allowed housing expense but only in the amount set by the IRS standards on the means test. Schedule J shows your actual housing expense.

[momtoroxy]

Update on my meeting with the attorney. She said we could stop paying the mortgage and suggested we call Chase to see if they are willing to modify the loan...she does not think they will, but it's worth a try. We can also stop paying the HOA (which wouldn't be a big deal, but it's $120 month); they cannot come after us later for payment.

She said that the trustee probably won't ask about if we are keeping the house...but if he does, we will just say that our intention is to keep the house and we are working with Chase on it. Then we'll just let it go. She thinks we have at least 6 months before we have to be officially out of the house.

I was worried since our taxes and insurance are wrapped up in the mortgage payment. She said we don't worry about the taxes, but if our insurance is up for renewal soon, we can pay it directly to the insurance company, which we will do to be safe.

Kingxray- I totally forgot to ask her about the mortgage being "built-in" to the bk. The paralegal was the one who mentioned it. When I told the lawyer today that we were going to let the house go, she said that was fine. I did mention/ask about if it would mess up our schedules...she said it could, but brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal. So, I'm not worried. I only worry when she worries!

[Kingxray]

Update on my meeting with the attorney. She said we could stop paying the mortgage and suggested we call Chase to see if they are willing to modify the loan...she does not think they will, but it's worth a try. We can also stop paying the HOA (which wouldn't be a big deal, but it's $120 month); they cannot come after us later for payment.

She said that the trustee probably won't ask about if we are keeping the house...but if he does, we will just say that our intention is to keep the house and we are working with Chase on it. Then we'll just let it go. She thinks we have at least 6 months before we have to be officially out of the house.

I was worried since our taxes and insurance are wrapped up in the mortgage payment. She said we don't worry about the taxes, but if our insurance is up for renewal soon, we can pay it directly to the insurance company, which we will do to be safe.

Kingxray- I totally forgot to ask her about the mortgage being "built-in" to the bk. The paralegal was the one who mentioned it. When I told the lawyer today that we were going to let the house go, she said that was fine. I did mention/ask about if it would mess up our schedules...she said it could, but brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal. So, I'm not worried. I only worry when she worries!

Obviously follow the advice of your attorney. After all that is what you are paying her for. I can only speak as to what happened to us. As I said we do intend to keep our house and reaffirmed. We were not asked about it at our 341 yet the UST still feels we are surrendering.

Regarding that so called "built-in" option of your BK, no big deal. I was just curious. In reality anyone can walk away from their house regardless of BK. Most people are afraid because if they reaffirm their mortgage and cannot pay they are suseptible to a defiency judgement.

Good luck on your BK journey. Keep us informed of your progress.