Had a meeting with Attorney today

[helpmeout]

It looks like I won't be an asset case and that my tax refund may be exempt. Apparently, the Trustee would use a 10% real estate agent commission fee. Which would put the equity under the Federal exemption amount, so theoretically I would get the entire amount plus enough left over to exempt my tax refund.

She also told me to stop paying my mortgage. Apparently, even with rent, I would be in the negative (the expenses they put in were on the high side, but not unreasonable given where I live). I am now going to answer phone calls and tell the collector's to call my attorney. I will be filing within 30 days.

Today, I got a UPS letter from Chase about opening a new account with them. And 2 collection letters (one for each account with them) saying that the balance was now due in its entirety.

I am still scared and nervous. But do feel a little better now.

[JRScott]

It'll be okay, it'll get better from here

Your on your way

[liz417]

Don't worry so much. Did you retain this attorney? If not, make a few more appts with some other local BK attorneys. You are on your way...

[helpmeout]

Don't worry so much. Did you retain this attorney? If not, make a few more appts with some other local BK attorneys. You are on your way...

This is my attorney. The meeting was to go over the paperwork that I filled out. The next one is going to be to sign the paperwork and file. I will be filing by the end of February.

It's getting more real. I also told the creditors that were calling to contact my attorney (I will file before they can get a court date).

I can't help but be scared. It doesn't help that my cousin keeps telling me that it isn't going to be that easy to find a place to rent (not because of the bk, but because there aren't many available) and that I need to get a time frame of how long I have and she wants me to start looking now. Which is pointless because if I find something I like now that doesn't mean it will be available when I have to move nor do I have the security deposit yet. But I don't think anyone, even the attorney, is going to be able to give me a specific time frame and I don't want to move to soon as I need to save up money (not paying the mortgage) for a security deposit (and, hopefully, an emergency fund).

BTW, I tend to ramble when I am nervous and scared. Sorry about that.

[mtbc]

Of course, it depends on where you live, and a bit of luck, but oftentimes the time between not paying your mortgage, and actual eviction, is very many months, and possibly slows down more if you actually try to contest anything. I was positively trying to give my house to my mortgage company or sell it for them (in return for some generous settlement offer for the outstanding deficiency, of course) from February 2008 and it finally sold at auction last summer after foreclosure, if I recall correctly. Many places in the country have plenty of desperate landlords, though; we didn't have a hard time finding private landlords who were okay with bad credit so long as we could still provide good previous-landlord references. The vacancy rate is not good right now. Of course, some areas will still be tough to find something in, but it might at least be worth checking around yourself a bit before worrying too much, at least to get an idea of what the market can stand.

[helpmeout]

Many places in the country have plenty of desperate landlords, though; we didn't have a hard time finding private landlords who were okay with bad credit so long as we could still provide good previous-landlord references.

I don't really have that. I will have lived in this house for 12 years this April. Before that, my ex and I rented an apartment for one year. Before that I was a live-in nanny. I have no landlord references or history. Just how important is that?

[mtbc]

Good question, I don't know -- I've not been in that situation. If you can show a steady income -- e.g., you've been in your job for a while and your salary makes the apartment well within your means, that might help. Also, one thing we took some pains to show landlords was that our bad credit is due solely to consumer credit, and that, apart from that and medical bills, the regular non-credit things, like utilities, insurance, etc., we have always paid in full. In short: we tried to demonstrate that (a) we'll have the money to pay rent, and, (b) regular monthly living stuff we've always done a good job of paying on. We were also able to give personal references that were actually people who had loaned us money and been paid back, so they were credit references too! How much harder it is to make a convincing case without landlord references, I don't know, though -- I have a string of satisfied landlords going back to 1993, so I've not had to find out. What you need to sell the landlord on, basically, is that you'll pay your rent. Offering a double security deposit can help a lot with that reassurance, if you can scratch the cash together -- not many private landlords will turn down the prospect of more money right now, and it helps to show them that you really will have the ready cash to pay them.

Of course, of the acceptable apartments, you only need one to say yes. It's more a matter of how much pounding-the-pavement you have to do to find them!