Retaining one car but not the other

[queenbeen]

I plan to file in a few months but was wondering if it would be possible to keep paying on one car, but surrender the other. They are both with the same credit union and I have a credit card with them as well. I am afraid that they'll come take both the cars and then we won't have any transportation. Neither has any equity in it, but the one we'd like to keep has a larger payment and is the more reliable of the two.

Also, is there a list anywhere of the banks that will let you keep paying on your house without reaffirming? Our mortgage is with Suntrust and I was wondering how that would play out. No equity there either. Thanks for your help! I am learning so much on this forum.

[lrprn]

I plan to file in a few months but was wondering if it would be possible to keep paying on one car, but surrender the other. They are both with the same credit union and I have a credit card with them as well. I am afraid that they'll come take both the cars and then we won't have any transportation. Neither has any equity in it, but the one we'd like to keep has a larger payment and is the more reliable of the two.

I'd be more worried if you also have any checking or savings account with the CU. If you do, move those accounts to another unaffiliated bank or CU as soon as possible because your checking/savings accounts very likely have cross-collateralization clauses that will allow the CU to take money directly from your checking or savings account to pay any overdue cc or car payments. You should prevent that by moving your checking/savings accounts asap, certainly before filing.

Now to your question about surrendering one car and keeping the other. If you've moved your checking/savings account, what can the CU do if you surrender one car and keep the other? They have no legal leverage over you.

Also, is there a list anywhere of the banks that will let you keep paying on your house without reaffirming? Our mortgage is with Suntrust and I was wondering how that would play out. No equity there either

Whether you can "ride through" on your mortgage (not reaffirming but keeping up regular payments after filing) depends on your state laws and the mortgage company involved. There's no consistency across the country regarding ride-throughs at the current time.

Having said that, most mortgage companies still allow ride-throughs as long as you are paying the mortgage on time after filing. They get more money back by allowing you to keep paying than by trying to sell the house themselves. If you are filing with a bk lawyer, he/she is likely to know how your particular mortgage company is handling ride-throughs right now.

[Brazzy]

Get the petition filed and they will not look to do any off-sets. You can keep one and not the other. they will probably push for you to reaf, but thats your call and there are ways around it. As for mortgages, what bank wants another house? For the most part every creditor is universal in the idea that if you stay current they wont say peep. You are typically on a shorter leash when it comes to falling behind, but its hard to get relief granted and.or foreclose when the debtor is keeping current on their payments.

[queenbeen]

Thanks so much for the advice. I will definitely be moving my bank account from the credit union in the next month. I was just afraid that they would take our SUV too if we gave the car back. We're current on all the payments for the cars and house, so it looks like we should be able to keep them. Thanks again!

[StartingOver08]

It depends upon the CU. You will probably have to put in your reaffirmation agreement language removing the cross collateralization that already exists between the accounts, including the two vehicles. Your attorney can do this for you or you can negotiate with the BK dept of the CU to make sure it is removed. You may want to consider putting in a specific time frame for the CU to send you the title once the note is paid on the reaffirmed vehicle. I had to specifically remove the cross collateralization in my reaffirmation agreement with my CU in a similar situation as I had a 2nd with the CU on my home I was surrendering and a car I was reaffirming.