Can I join the club................

[pamkev]

after meeting with our lawyer on Tuesday and after going over things and looking like we were headed to a 13 for three years I mentions to her about our huge fuel heating bills, the home we live in started out as a hotel/bar by my great great grandfather thought the years it stay that way they it became a 2 family home it's been in the family since the 1800's hubby brought it and we converted it to one home (which needs a lot of work done on it) all that to say I brought to our meeting on fuel cost and mention to her can we use this. She looked at that her eyes popped and said this changes everything instead of a car payment we have fuel payments and have proof so this put us in a Chapter 7 which was filed today. So can we join the club?

I'm still a little nervous that they will throw out the fuel bill although our lawyer felt everything was okay as we had a read out from the fuel company for the last 5 years.

Pam

[AngelinaCat]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I never thought I would be sending congrats over a huge heating bill.... I'm grousing about our electric bill for this summer. But it gets you into Ch7 territory. That is great!!

[pamkev]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I never thought I would be sending congrats over a huge heating bill.... I'm grousing about our electric bill for this summer. But it gets you into Ch7 territory. That is great!!

Thanks I can't believe it either get ready our fuel bill for the last heating season was over 6,000 dollars and it was a mild winter. It's a huge old house that needs to get overhaul and now we can do it little by little as everything has to be custom made or refitted to fit the sizes now.

[spidge]

I do hope it all goes seamless for you, but I feel compelled to open my big mouth. What if the bill exceeds the allowance within the schedule? Could it still be allowed because it has been a regular expense for so many years?

[ValleYum]

@ Spidge - those are shocking costs, huh?? Pennsylvania, Connecticut and other places in the NE have all those those gorgeous, yet (no offense) drafty, older homes that require fuel oil to heat them. I would hope the Trustees are used to the super high heating costs there. Even if the Trustee complained I can't imagine a judge declining it if it had to go to him/her due to the health and safety issues involved.

Congrats on filing pamkev!! I hope your case is utterly seamless for you!!

[pamkev]

@ Spidge - those are shocking costs, huh?? Pennsylvania, Connecticut and other places in the NE have all those those gorgeous, yet (no offense) drafty, older homes that require fuel oil to heat them. I would hope the Trustees are used to the super high heating costs there. Even if the Trustee complained I can't imagine a judge declining it if it had to go to him/her due to the health and safety issues involved.

Congrats on filing pamkev!! I hope your case is utterly seamless for you!!

Hope your right and you are right on the old drafty home that is ours.
On the means test there is a place to put the actual cost if you go over the allowance and you must provide documentation (which we have) that this is a necessary need. We even keep the heat at 65 and wear sweaters during the weather. Our lawyer said she was even going to write in there about this past winter being a mild winter and if we get a cold spell our cost will go up. We also have a realtor that did our market analysis that has it was a two family home converted into one so hope that helps. She didn't seem worried as we had all the figures hope she is right.

Pam

[daveinIL]

Wow! And I have kinniption fits about our old house and a $3600 oil budget for heating!

[Tater]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I never thought I would be sending congrats over a huge heating bill.... I'm grousing about our electric bill for this summer. But it gets you into Ch7 territory. That is great!!

I second this! We have fuel oil and the prices have tripled in the last few years. I never thought of that even though we put it on our schedules as well. Whatever works!!

[pamkev]

I emailed our lawyer about this again and the possibility of the TT objecting about the fuel oil and turning us in a 13 instead. She said she does not foresee that happening due to the fact we have prove since 2008. We have used less oil but the cost has gone up big time. I've told hubby we might really needed to think about selling this old house even though I'm emotionally tied to to it. He said who's gonna want it with those high fuel bills. He has a point.

Pam

[tobee43]

this is exactly why we came to florida!!!

in nj our heat bill was $600 monthly and our electric as $500 respectively. and!! our house was approx 35 years old and well maintained. it was just the costs were crazy. we had oil heat and it was so expensive it was ridiculous! now our total monthly expenses including mortgage are about the same as just our utility bills were in the northeast.

just another note about the oil bill, we kept our house at 63 NOT 75 during the winter months and worn a ton of clothing that didn't help that much. its so expensive to live there because of the cold in the winter and the terrible heat in the summer. i wish you the best pam, with it all!!

[SMinGA2]

This is why its important to think long & hard about what your regular bills/expenses are and go over that with your attorney. You know your budget won't allow a chapter 13 payment, but your attorney doesn't know your budget like you do.

I hope its smooth sailing for you from here!

(Ps-quite happy with my $51/mo average heating bill here in GA. And about $275/mo average AC & heating combined.)

[tobee43]

This is why its important to think long & hard about what your regular bills/expenses are and go over that with your attorney. You know your budget won't allow a chapter 13 payment, but your attorney doesn't know your budget like you do.

I hope its smooth sailing for you from here!

(Ps-quite happy with my $51/mo average heating bill here in GA. And about $275/mo average AC & heating combined.)

i don't know why that is SM. my daughter is in NC and her bill is like $70 monthly on a 3k sq foot home???? that INCLUDES her a/c??? we even have the same electric company? why is it so much cheaper?

we average appox $300 now with all utilities, water, sewer, garbage, electric (which is both our heat and cooling, cooking etc.). here is mostly the a/c and not the heating which is the expense.

[SMinGA2]

I imagine part of it is based on where you live, and the utility companies & how they are structured. $70/mo for heat & air sounds too good to be true, but I've lived in or around the metro-Atlanta area all my life and know nothing else. Here gas companies are deregulated, so perhaps that plays a roll. A large part of my $51/mo average are basic fees that go to the gas company itself.

I don't have sewer - pay about $25-30/mo for water only. But then there is the occasional septic maintenance.

[tobee43]

I imagine part of it is based on where you live, and the utility companies & how they are structured. $70/mo for heat & air sounds too good to be true, but I've lived in or around the metro-Atlanta area all my life and know nothing else. Here gas companies are deregulated, so perhaps that plays a roll. A large part of my $51/mo average are basic fees that go to the gas company itself.

I don't have sewer - pay about $25-30/mo for water only. But then there is the occasional septic maintenance.

we were so happy to have sewer after having septic and leech field problems for over 30 years at our last house. we didn't care what the monthly cost was

i have no idea how my daughter lucks out on the utilities? i know they keep it at 75 all the time, she's in the Raleigh are of NC in the wake forest area. it really gets me that i pay more than she does. although, we have a pool and i do keep our house at about 73.

our water and sewer are expensive as well. we were use to having our own well for water and never paid for it. last summer when we put the new lawn in the water bill was over $400 because we watered everyday and because it made our sewer bill double as they go by the amount of gallons of water usage. i tried to fight it, but no way. they get you coming and going. we certainly didn't want a lawn, but was forced by the HOA and then we pay all this money to keep it alive! and THEN you have to mow it on top of that LOL! water is most definitely expensive in florida, we were very spoiled with our own well. thankfully now we don't water it daily so the bill has dropped dramatically.

[pamkev]

This is why its important to think long & hard about what your regular bills/expenses are and go over that with your attorney. You know your budget won't allow a chapter 13 payment, but your attorney doesn't know your budget like you do.

I hope its smooth sailing for you from here!

(Ps-quite happy with my $51/mo average heating bill here in GA. And about $275/mo average AC & heating combined.)

I wish I could have your heating bill