Assessed or Appraised for nonexempt property?

[ccmisery]

Which one does a trustee require? Lawyer told me to contact the tax collector for the "appraised value", but that number is unrealistically low over what the property is actually worth.

[TheBajan]

ccmisery,

Don't you mean to use the word "assessed" value? The tax collector would have the assessed value, not the appraised value.

[keepsmiling]

You may very well have to get an appraisal of the property.
You can try calling a realtor to get an idea first, to put you in the ballpark.
Assessed value is oftentimes quite meaningless.

[ccmisery]

Scenario, total debt is $30,000 in unsecured credit cards. Non-exempt property is appraised at $60,000 for my % owned. So, if I pay 100% of the money owed over 3 or 5 years it does not matter because my non-exempt property is worth more regardless.

Secondly, the trustee forces the other owner(s) to sell through this from another post I made and say it sells for $100,000, where does the difference go since it's $70,000 over my 100% payback including the fees? Seems like a windfall for creditors and the trustee and not much of a good scenario for the debtor. The creditors are getting their interest and then some if that's the case.

The Trustee’s Power to Sell

"What happens if you jointly own property with someone else and the property is not exempt? In Bankruptcy, the Trustee who is overseeing your case has the authority to force a sale of the entire asset, including the co-owner’s interest; even when the co-owner is not filing bankruptcy. See 11 U.S.C. 363(h).

However, the Trustee does not have the power to act independently and cannot simply sell the property. The Trustee must seek the Bankruptcy Court’s approval by filing a lawsuit in the Bankruptcy Court, known as an “adversary proceeding.” In this adversary proceeding, the co-owner will have the ability to present evidence to the court that the detriment that they will suffer is greater than the benefit to the creditors. Many times, the co-owner will be given the opportunity to purchase the debtor’s interest in the property at a discounted rate. If the property is sold, then the co-owner will be paid back their fraction of the ownership interest in the property after the Trustee’s expenses are paid."

[LadyInTheRed]

For exemption purposes, you need the market value of your interest in the proeprty. In some states, the assessed value is supposed to be the market value and is adjusted annually. In others, like California, the assessed valued is adjusted annually, but is not usually the current market value in years after the initial purcahse of the property.

If the trustee sells the the property and gets more, after the expenses of sale, than what what you owe to creditors, you will get what is left after paying the creditors and the trustee fees. The creditors will not get paid more than their allowed claim.

If you sell the property you may get a better price than the trustee will. The trustee is working to pay the creditors, not to get the best price for the property. In your other thread, you said that if you sell the property you will have to pay capital gains taxes. The tax needs to be taken into account in deciding whether it makes sense to sell the property to pay the creditors or file Chap 7 and risk that the trustee will try to sell it.