House and Car exemption question

[rooster0330]

I am just wondering, if your equity if only a few thousand over the exemption will the trustee take it? We owe about 250k on our home and I am getting conflicting pricing of what it is worth -- anywhere from 260k-297k the 297 would be a problem because because if we use the federal exemption (I live in NJ) (which is about 40k) that would bring it to 290k would the trustee go after the addition 7k? Also I saw the federal exemption for an auto was 3k+ is that doubled for filing married? thanks!!!!

[justbroke]

You need to get a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from a Realtor. Guessing at the price is probably not a good thing. Don't use Zillow.

If the value of the real property yields a small amount of equity (< 10%), the Trustee usually won't be interested, because the cost of selling it will be easily more than 15% (6% for commissions, 2%-5% for closing costs, and Trustee commission). In these cases, the Trustee "abandons" the property from the Bankruptcy Estate.

Oh yeah, married couples filing jointly can double that automobile exemption.

[rooster0330]

[QUOTE=justbroke;360272]You need to get a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from a Realtor. Guessing at the price is probably not a good thing. Don't use Zillow.

Is Zillow usually more than the true value or less?

[justbroke]

Is Zillow usually more than the true value or less?

Yes.