Just Filed

[kristineco]

Sweet

Aw that's sweeeeeeeeeeet

Finally some good news!

[SleeplessInPA]

I filed back in 8/05 and, even after a meeting of creditors where no one showed up but me and my atty, the trustee has been delaying my discharge. Turns out he decided to sue the SBA over a $10,000 check I returned to them unused in order to repair hurricane damage. (I gave the house back to the mortgage lenders...) Can he do this? I need to find an apt. SOON and need to file my taxes ASAP to have $$ to make the move but am worried he could come after this too. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[rst6pac]

we hired a paralegal to fill our paperwork out he has the knowledge of an atty, but much cheaper. $275 instead of $1000 . the only thing is that you don't have anyone next to you at your meetings

[SinkingFast]

I filed back in 8/05 and, even after a meeting of creditors where no one showed up but me and my atty, the trustee has been delaying my discharge. Turns out he decided to sue the SBA over a $10,000 check I returned to them unused in order to repair hurricane damage. (I gave the house back to the mortgage lenders...) Can he do this? I need to find an apt. SOON and need to file my taxes ASAP to have $$ to make the move but am worried he could come after this too. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

He's looking for his cut of the $10K check. Plus, most likely, the Trustee hired himself to represent himself as the Trustee. So there's billable hours he'll get to pocket as well. If he can get a judgement in his favor.

Think the Trustee stands a chance of getting a Judge to side with him??!!

Probably.

So now, your 6%, or 8% Trustee's fee just shot up to some hugely inflated amount because the Trustee will also pocket $200/hour, or more in "attny's fees" on the billable hours of the case.

The Trustee could wind up pocketing a third to half that $10K, easy.

[SleeplessInPA]

Getting Desperate

I had no idea a trustee could do that! What do you mean by a 6% to 8% fee? My attorney has explained very little to me. Where do I come up with this money? I am in very, VERY dire straits right now...my current landlord, after being notified of my filing, made the decision that I'm not "his kind" of tenant and has made my life so miserable that I have no choice but to find another place to live. (He has always been paid on time, BTW...) I have no idea how I am going to find another place to live with this bankruptcy hanging over my head. I want to rebuild my credit, which was very good until I bought the "fixer-upper" I gave back to the mortgage company. Where do I start? Is it likely he will come after my tax refund, assuming I get one? Should I wait until the last minute and file for an extension or go ahead and get the refund I deserve? Who will rent to someone in my shoes?

[SinkingFast]

Trustees are "paid" based on a percentage of asset recovery.

Ch 13 Trustees have a set percent based on where you live. It's 8.8% here where I live. It was 8.5%, but recently they got a slight boost.

http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/mt/ch13_exp_mult.htm

I don't quite know how Ch 7 Trustees are paid, but they get some percent of all assets recovered as well.

If a Trustee is also an attny by profession, they can hire themselves to represent themselves when they persue assets. Rarely does a Trustee hire outside counsel to represent them.

[SleeplessInPA]

Thanks for the info. It's amazing how much I didn't know I'd need to know when I filed...

[kristineco]

Renting during bk

Sleepless,

I hear ya about wondering who will rent to ya but if you have 6 months verified rental and employment history even with BK not even discharged yet you should be able to rent an apartment. I was worried about this too (among one thousand other things) and it worked out OK.

kristine

[SleeplessInPA]

Thanks Kristine. That's good to know. I figured I can't be the only one in this situation... It's a shame because I have a long history of paying my bills on time and always had a credit score at least in the high 600s until the hurricane hit in '04, my newly purchased house was exposed for the money pit it is, and my health went down the toilet. How did you go about finding a place? Did you have to come up with 6 months' rent in advance, a letter from a lawyer promising not to go belly up on the new landlord, or what?

[kristineco]

Apartment

Sleepless I called two apartment complexes in my area and asked them if i could rent with a BK. They have their own approval standards based on a combination of credit, rental/mortgage history and employment history. So it was the combination of past rental and employment that helped me.

Kristineco