Major repairs while in FC?

[seriously]

hi all,

I included my house in my Chapter 7, which has been discharged. I have received my NOD/intent to foreclose, and am now just waiting for the sale. Regardless of when that actually happens, I am (or was) planning to move out of state in about 10 weeks (currently in NY state).

Now I'm facing a problem with the water system in my house which may wind up being very expensive to fix. As far as my personal comfort goes, I could muddle through without the fix until I leave, but it's a problem that must be repaired for the water system to work normally.

I'm assuming since I still technically own the house, I will have to make this repair and be fully responsible for all costs. I'm guessing that the bank would take issue with me handing the house back to them with a major system not working properly. However, I'm terrified that this is going to wipe out my "new life" savings I have been busting my butt to accumulate over the past 6 months.

Has anyone else faced a similar conundrum? Do I have any options or do I have to just suck it up?

thanks for listening.

[DeadManCrawling]

The bank does not care.

Bring in bottled water and so on.

The bank will, when they take possession, send someone to ascertain the value of the home. They will account for this and reduce their sale price accordingly.

Not your concern.

Legally, they could come after you for the difference, but this is unheard of. It would also mean keeping the property off the market until the legal case was resolved.

This will almost certainly not occur.

I am no lawyer, and you should ask one, but in my research of literally thousands of foreclosures, I have never seen this come up. And I am in Florida. Houses here are gutted to the wooden studs, air conditioning removed and sold for the copper, and toilets filled with concrete.

No suits.

Best,

-dmc

[StartingOver08]

Don't throw away money on a house repair UNLESS you want to be more comfortable. Its up to you. When the bank sells it after the foreclosure, it is sold AS IS anyway for the new buyer to make repairs. Why throw away $$ that you could use?

[seriously]

thanks, everyone, for the replies! I have new hope that it may not cost as much as I had originally thought, in which case I'll probably do it just to be more comfortable as StartingOver mentioned. But if it's major... I will make do.

[HakunaMatata]

Keep your "new life" savings! If you're leaving the house in ten weeks, I wouldn't invest a penny into it. You haven't deliberately created the problem. It surfaced naturally. Let the bank own the problem. If you're terribly concerned, you may be able to communicate the repair need to a bank representative. This may fall on deaf ears; however, you can walk away knowing you attempted to convey your concerns.

[BCA2009]

Legally, they could come after you for the difference, but this is unheard of. It would also mean keeping the property off the market until the legal case was resolved.

What legal right would they have to come after you? If you have been discharged, your are no longer obligated to pay them anything, correct? Maybe if you purposefully damaged the property, but even then, you would just be damaging YOUR HOUSE, if they haven't foreclosed yet.

[frogger]

Don't spend a single penny that is not necessary for you to live there.

[seriously]

an update: my lawyer has told me to get an estimate for the repair, call the mortgage co and tell them that I am planning on vacating the property (& that I will tell them when exactly as it gets closer), and here is a repair that's needed and the estimate. Sounds good to me.

[frogger]

an update: my lawyer has told me to get an estimate for the repair, call the mortgage co and tell them that I am planning on vacating the property (& that I will tell them when exactly as it gets closer), and here is a repair that's needed and the estimate. Sounds good to me.

Your lawyer may have a reason for this, but I would consider it to be a total waste of your time and those doing the estimates.

[jlmaca]

I am in the exact same situation with my furnace. It's leaking and cost $1500 to repair. So I only use it for hot water and heat the home with wood. If the furnace brakes down for good before April (when I move out) I'll just be without hot water. Oh, well.