assets

[sheryl214]

ive been lurking for awhile now. i have found so much information on the forum! live in idaho, own a business and contractors have stopped paying. we are closing the business and filing chapter 7 due to personal guarantees on loans. we currently have a cabin and are trying to sell it before we have to file. if we aren't able to get rid of it, how will this drag out the bankruptcy process once we file? i know the trustee will want to take the asset to pay off creditors...just dreading this process being drug out any longer then necessary. any info would be appreciated!

[mtbc]

I wouldn't expect it to affect or delay your discharge, which is probably the important thing to you, just that the case might stay open longer if the trustee does decide to try to take and sell it. If you're an asset case, be doubly sure you list all your creditors, though, don't forget any.

[BKDefender]

sheryl214:
BEFORE you sell the cabin, you need to get a full-blown formal appraisal - similar to what you would get if you were selling it through normal channels.
Then when you sell it, don't sell it for less than 15-20% of that appraised value if possible. If the appraisal says it's worth $50k and you sell it for $25k and protect $20k of it in a Roth IRA and spend the other $5k on food, car payments, extra month rent, utility bills, etc, the trustee could reverse the whole thing, take the house and sell it and not give you anything from it and you would then owe $25k to the person that bought the house from you.

If you're going to sell it to someone you've known for a long time, or a family member, you need to sell it very close to the appraised value because those transactions get much more scrutiny.

--William

[sheryl214]

thank you so much. we don't plan on selling it to anybody we know. unfortunately nothing is selling right now, so we really don't think we will be able to sell it before we have to file. we are going to keep trying though!