My "homes" and bankruptcy

[gunnagtthr]

I have a call in to a realtor, and to my attorney, but I want to be prepared and thank you so much for your help...this really is stressful and I can't wait for the knot in my stomach to go away.
It appears that so much depends on the trustee...and that scares me. Is it a crapshoot to hope you get a "nice" and "understanding" one?

so, will many trustees accept a CMA for a homes value? I assume you attach it to the papers you submit to the attorney for filing? And maybe a letter to the trustee explaining the situation? I have to stay in my house once a month for work...if the house is sold, I am really screwed. If I had money to pay for a hotel when I am there working, I sure wouldn't be declaring bankruptcy.
This just gets worse and worse....

[keepsmiling]

Unless there is some reason not to accept the CMA (it's bizarrely low perhaps) it should be ok. Remember it needs to be priced for quick sale. Mention that to the appraiser and point out any unmade repairs plus age of furnace, roof etc.

You can certainly try writing your situation, but I doubt the tt will care about it. It's not their job to be caring and understanding about us. It's their job to find cash for creditors. We have to all hope that Washington's new crazy carve out policies don't make their way past the state lines.

Somehow everything will eventually work out. Good luck and ((hugs)))

[btbeme]

It appears that so much depends on the trustee...and that scares me. Is it a crapshoot to hope you get a "nice" and "understanding" one?

Trustees have a job to do, and they also have someone watching over their shoulder to ensure that it is done properly. Bankruptcy is tough, as it should be, but that doesn't mean that it is the end of the world. It is designed to be a new start. Trustees are bound by law to look over your estate, measure what is allowable as exempt, and then consider all options to recover anything that is not exempt in order to distribute it to creditors. They have wide-ranging powers to do so.

Usually, they will look objectively at the situation as a whole. For instance, a home with someone else living in it means that the Trustee might be more willing to consider alternate offers to extract the equity, rather than go through the trouble and expense of seizing the property, evicting the occupant, and all the contortions of selling the house. But that doesn't mean that any alternatives are any fun or any less painful than the "worst case" scenario. Trustees are human, and they have to be somewhat practical in their practices, so a shorter answer to your question is "yes" - a well-traveled Trustee will be more likely to find practical solutions to sticky situations, but that doesn't mean that you will like any of the solutions they come up with.

As far as the home value, it certainly works to your advantage to have it as low as possible, and the Trustee will certainly get their own opinion as to the value. Some will simply look at Zillow to see if your valuation is reasonable; others will (if they see cause) will have it appraised. Of course, there is a cost involved in seizing and selling the property, which they might estimate at about, say, 8% of the sale price, so they may back that amount out of the valuation. It all depends on the Trustee, really. Doing a CMA would help you and your attorney make plans; it may or may not be all the Trustee wants to see.

Sorry to say, but there usually isn't any particular way for you to "get" a particular Trustee. I have seen some attorneys time their submissions in order to get certain Trustees as they rotate through a predictable schedule, but Trustees are assigned files in many different ways in every different place.

When all is said and done, the very best thing you or anyone can do is to make your file as clean and "wart-free" as possible. Don't count on a Trustee turning a blind eye to something they have every right to question. Spend the time before filing with a good attorney (and plenty of time) making whatever adjustments are legally allowed to make your file as clean as possible.

[gunnagtthr]

Thank you so much for all of your answers...you all are some of the most educated people I have seen on any boards. I now know that my interest in the house is non-exempt because I don't occupy it. That has brought up new questions. I am going to ask the questions in a new thread...thanks so much. All of this information and good will does sprinkle sanity into my mind and heart!
((hugs))