effect of non-reaffirming mortgage debt

[ben1381]

I am interested to know if anyone has information on the statutes (other than bankruptcy code 524 which I am already aware of),bankruptcy rules or court decisions that deal with the non-reaffirmation of primary residence first mortgage debt in my Chapter 7 case. Specifically I am interested in knowing how it interacts with the the fair credit reporting act and/or related federal or state statutes in regards to the following issues:
1. Is the lender permitted,required or prohibited in reporting post-discharge payment history to the credit bureaus? What is the source you have for this information? Does it matter whether the payment history is positive or negative?
2. Is the lender permitted,required or prohibited in reporting post-discharge legal proceedings such as foreclose actions to the credit bureaus? What is the source for this information(e.g. statutes,regulations,court decisions)?
3.If I don't reaffirm will the lender's pre-petition loan modification reported to one of the credit bureaus as "paying under a partial payment agreement" stay on my reports? If so for how long? What about if I do reaffirm? Sources would also be helpful.

4. Can the bank stop sending me monthly statements or take away online access to my account? Again sources would be helpful

5. Does anyone know of any other implications of reaffirming or not reaffirming this debt?

I am finding reaffirming or not reaffirming one of the most confusing and complicated aspects of the entire bankruptcy process and I have been having a dispute with my lender about the value of my property on the reaffirmation agreement and my desire not to have that publicly disclosed on court documents as I negotiate settlement or other disposition with my HELOC lender?

Any information on this subject would be extremely helpful.

[tcreegan]

[ben1381]

Thanks for your help Tom! I really appreciate it! I decided this morning to sign the reaffirmation agreement the way the bank wants it but I'm really not sure what is going to happen. I am scheduled for discharge any day now and once the discharge occurs I don't know if a reaffirmation is allowed. The main reason I am doing the reaffirm is because I don't want post-bk squabbles on having online access to my account or possibly because of credit reporting. We'll see what happens! It's probably not that big a deal either way because for now I intend to keep the property and pay the loan and there is no language in the loan documents that the mere filing of BK itself is considered a default.

[tcreegan]

credit reporting voluntary

Hi ben1381,

I think that reaffirmations can be entered post-discharge, pre-case closed.
But...in the event they are not, you can do the loan modification outside the scope of the BK. Nothing in the law stops you from signing a new contract w/ the loan company.

I wanted to answer some of your credit reporting questions, but it has been awhile since I was in business. In the 'good ol' days, credit reporting was strictly voluntary for the business. I scanned over the new Fair Credit Reporting Act and did not see anything that changed that. Lots of new rules for companies that do chose to report, but no requirement that says you have to report.

That said, back in the day you could simply ask a company to report and they would. Maybe if the lender quits reporting b/c of the BK, after your case closes you can ask them to start reporting again. Worth a try.

Best of luck in everything!

Tom in Colo