Surrending the house..how does that work?

[billjacobs]

Hello,
It's been a little while, I hope everyone is well out there..
So, In Dec 2011 we filed Ch13. At the time we were one month late on the primary mortgage, current on the second. In May 12, we petitioned to dismiss the 13 with the intent to file Ch7 in July. Almost immediately we got a few letters from the mortgage lenders. Then we filed the Ch7 on July 26 and haven't heard a peep since. Filed as no asset, annotated we intend to surrender the home and reaffirm the car. Went to our 341, no issues, and now are about two weeks out from the 60 day post 341 (presumeably close to discharge as well) and I am wondering what do I do with the house? How long might I be able to stay? The last three months we have been able to save some money and I would like to continue for a little while. Truthfully, I want to move next June, but don't know if that is realistic. Also, is there a formal process to literally give them the house back?
One other question, We checked that we watned to reaffirm the car note and have made all payments since coming out of the 13 and we are current, but we have never heard anything or signed any agreement other than the orignal contract. Are we suppose to sign an actual reaffirmation or is it good enough that we said that in the Ch7 petition?


Thanks for any answers/feedback!
Have a great day!

Bill

[TheBajan]

Hi Bill,

Based on other threads that I've read here, you have to actually sign a reaffirmation agreement. However, you don't have to reaffirm in order to keep the car. You could just keep making the payments like you have been doing. I'm pretty sure that most people here don't like reaffirmation agreements and unless your car company or your trustee is really pushing it (it doesn't sound like that's the case), it's not really recommended.

Best wishes,
The Bajan

[btbeme]

You won't hear anything from the mortgage banks until about 5 minutes after discharge. At about that time - maybe a minute or two before - you will get an avalanche of calls and mail, ranging from companies willing to help you short sale to the bank offering you the opportunity to modify to a notice of intention to accelerate (foreclose) your house.

But the simple answer to your question about "when" is not that easy. I can tell you that you will get plenty of notice before then, as the bank is obligated to notify you in accordance with whatever your state laws provide. In the meantime, you can decide whether to fight a delaying action (via short sale, applying for a modification, etc) or simply wait it out. In most non-judicial states (like WA) it is taking about 3-4 months or slightly more to move through the foreclosure process. What you may not realize is that clock has been ticking during your Ch 7 process.

If you can, I'd locate a few good rentals that have a flexible move-in timeline and ensure that you will be able to be nimble on your feet and move quickly when the time come. Best guess is that will be 60-90 days post-discharge. Anything more than that is a gift. But you never know, until you get the actual notice of foreclosure auction (and even then that could get postponed).

As far as the car, many states and jurisdictions are considering the FILING of the reaffirmation to be the armor against repossession, so long as you make your timely payments. Stay in contact with the lender on the car, especially in the 72 hours post-discharge. Confirm with them that you intend to keep making payments. Unless they are one of the famous few that repossess no matter what (Ford Credit comes to mind) you will likely be OK.

[basketsbears]

Hi,

Just my two cents on reaffirmation of the car. We did reaffirm our Jeep, as our attorney could not get an answer from Ally (even tho' people here said they would not repossess) that we could just keep paying and keep vehicle. We almost recinded the agreement, but my husband does not want any surprises. So, if you are like my husband and want to make sure then reaffirm, if you are like me and willing to chance that they could repossess the vehicle even while being current, then don't.

[tobee43]

washington state is a non-juridical state. i would check your county to see how fast they can move on getting you out. when you hear stories about people staying for years it's because they live in what is referred to as juridical states, whereas the process must go through the court systems. unfortunately, those that don't live in states that use the court systems usually find themselves out anywhere from 30-90 days after rec'ing their notice. i would check your area to see how fast they are moving down the list.

what we did, and we lived in a juridical state was prior to leaving we secured a rental in another state. i was still in the process (over 18 months of ups and downs with a loan mod with the bank) when we got our summons for foreclosure. we had 30 days to answer and fight in court (i know someone that did that 4 times and 5 years later she's still in her home), but we chose to leave.

i did email the loan officer we had been working with over a year, he tried to tell me the summons was a mistake. right? he explained while in loan modification the bank wasn't suppose to move on any foreclosures..now their sneaky trick was, we were never behind in our payment but were told to qualify we MUST be AT LEAST 3 months behind or we can't get a mod. so we did that and they begin to foreclose. we said keep the house and after over 30 plus years packed it up and left the state. but we took a ride first and secured a rental, turned on all the utilities etc. and then planned our escape. stayed underground literary for 2 years to be able to establish florida wildcard exemption since one must establish 2 years residency to file. no one knew where we were, so no more noticed from the bank on the house.

by the way it's hitting 4 and 1/2 years now and still Chase has done nothing with the house....never foreclosed, not a thing. we cleaned out the house, it was spotless and we took pictures, since it was winter we winterized it, and left the keys in the kitchen. good bye!

[billjacobs]

Thanks everyone for your input, It's very much apprecitated!
Best wishes,

Bill