I don"t want to do anything illegal...

[StrawberrySu]

keepmine, thanks for the link will check it out right away...sorry if I seem scattered, this is all causing such a major upheaval in our life I am getting almost no sleep and spend most waking hours in front of the computer researching.

about the wage garnishment in NC, I thought I had read somewhere that out of state debts could allow garnishment, just not debts incurred in NC. Maybe I have that all wrong.

[StrawberrySu]

based on the means test, using our $3100 income, and the standard deductions it provides for my area, including our car loan of $235 a month we are at -$1030 for DMI.

[tcreegan]

Did you mean a good bk attorney could help us figure out how to do this, or did you mean a good bk atty could keep us from doing something really stupid? lol

Both!!

You need a BK attorney to find out if Hubbys military retirement qualifies as a "veterans benefit" under the BK code.

Another tidbit for you: if you move to NC and end up using federal exemptions, if you don't use the homestead (having no equity) you get to use a ~10K wildcard. Questions for attorney: is this doubled for a joint filing? Can this be used to exempt cash in a bank account?

And, but only with a good BK attorney, no fast-talking, fly-by-night, shady lawyers, BK preplanning (such as moving assets around) is not expressly illegal. With care and a good BK attorney at your back, some borderline issues can tilt in your favor.

Keep us posted StrawberrySu,

Tom in Colo

[StrawberrySu]

thanks again Tom! The only other idea I can think of is if we bought a house now then waited until the Ohio properties were foreclosed on, possibly two years or more, (since it was mentioned earlier about NCs wage garnishment rules), then filed BK7 .... would the time factor legitimize it?

if we could file a non-consumer BK7, our means test wouldn't matter, right? I just think the concern with that is one rental property was our former home, and I have read that may preclude it from being classified as a business debt. If both rentals can be classified business, the business loss would be around $293k vs. personal of $145k.

[tcreegan]

Hi again StrawberrySu,

Yup, in a non-consumer you don't mess with the means-test at all, a whole bunch of reasons for the UST to dismiss your case don't apply, its tough for a non-consumer to get dismissed.

Not sure, but I think classifying the debt as business or personal depends on the original purpose of the debt. If you bought a home for a rental it is business, if you move in to it later I think the debt stays business. Be sure to check this out...not sure where I read it, just something rattling around the cranium...

Tom in Colo

[StrawberrySu]

Hi again StrawberrySu,

Yup, in a non-consumer you don't mess with the means-test at all, a whole bunch of reasons for the UST to dismiss your case don't apply, its tough for a non-consumer to get dismissed.

Not sure, but I think classifying the debt as business or personal depends on the original purpose of the debt. If you bought a home for a rental it is business, if you move in to it later I think the debt stays business. Be sure to check this out...not sure where I read it, just something rattling around the cranium...

Tom in Colo

Yes, that is my understanding as well, Tom. Here is what I am hanging my hat on: Before we rented out our former residence we did a VA refi, because it was the only way to refi, then rent the property out, otherwise you had to live in the property for a specified time period. We did the refi because our payment was $1550 and we couldn't get any decent renters (just had dicey types who wanted to pay in cash and had no verifiable income). So by refinancing, we lowered the payment and got a great renter. His rental application is dated 5/27/09, refinance is dated 6/8/09, his lease agreement is dated 6/11/09. We did not want to sign a lease until our refi was in place.

Anyhow, the point of this is that I read the test to determine whether a former home now rented would be a business debt is the "intent" of the mortgage. Since the current mortgage is the one from 6/8/09, and we can demonstrate we were seeking renters via the rent appy, and that we rented it immediately after closing our refi, it should qualify. Will ask when I visit with attorneys this week. It sure doesn't seem fair that the government requires (allows?) me to treat this property as a business for tax purposes, but then turns around and says I can't do it that way for BK.

Very relieved about your info re non-consumer. My only concern is I have heard wildly fluctuating amounts of DMI for this. Some people on here say their lawyer wanted no more than $200 a month, someone said they had $4000 a month and trustee didn't blink, I pulled up in a google search "Yes, you can be a millionaire and file BK7 non-consumer" ... it's all over the map!