OK I need to file in Ohio

[weneedoutnow]

OK here is my story. I have a house I owe $277,000 on that is worth $245,000, I have $1140 a month in car payments, $30,000 in credit cards, a $25000 boat and a host of other bills I can not pay. However last year we had a good year and made almost $150,000 problem is we spent $175,000 there is no way we are going to make that kind of money this year. We seem to be falling behind fast. I would like to walk away from everything except the one thing we have a co signer on a truck. Think it's possible?

[lrprn]

At your income level looking back six months, you are not likely to qualify to file Ch 7 in Ohio, especially if you intend to surrender some of your secured assets like the house. However, Ch 13 can be very beneficial to folks in your situation, so that's worth investigating.

Set up free or low-cost initial consultation appointments with 3-4 experienced bankruptcy attorneys in your area. Bring in all of your financial figures (what you owe on secured loans, cc's, what you want to keep if you file, and your average living expenses) with you and see what the lawyers tell you is going to be possible in Ohio. You'll learn a lot plus know if bankruptcy is going to be your best long-term option to sort out your financial problems and help your family going forward.

[weneedoutnow]

Thanks

Thanks for your reply. I am hoping that with the decline in income and what bills we have to keep we will come out OK. I need a good attorney just north of Dayton if anyone knows any. Also I am paying for my daughters college because with our income she could not get any help. Will they allow me to keep paying for it or will they say she should pay?

[leftyf]

I think you can try to slide the college through on the means test. I slid daycare through and my spouse doesn't even work. Community college will probably get by, others probably not. I'm in OH also, So. OH district. Got ch. 7 through with $13K above median...try to wait as long as you can to file. Plan it right so you can qualify for the 7.
Make sure you let them foreclose on the house before you file, I think, so you can put any debt from the house in the filing.
Lefty

[weneedoutnow]

Thanks Lefty How long does it take to foreclose on the house? Guess I need one of those big flashy lawyers?

[keepmine]

You don't need to wait for an actual foreclosure to have the mortgage debt discharged.
Just add the lender on the creditors matrix and note you are surrendering the property.

[weneedoutnow]

Thanks keepmine. We are going to talk to an attorney on thursday anything else I need to know would be much appreciated. We got the paperwork today they are asking for all of our vehicle titles, do they keep them?

[weneedoutnow]

Another question. I know I can stop paying on the cc but what about the house?
i need the money for attorney fees

[leftyf]

I don't think they'll keep your vehicle titles. I gave them a memorandum title and they copied it. Cars are secured debt, so unless you owe significantly less on the car than the car is worth, you can probably keep it. I kept two cars...just keep making the payments. I'm pretty sure your boat is history, but you can always get another one. You probably already figured that.
I'd go ahead and stop paying on the house and cc (assuming you didn't make any purchases greater than $500.00 in the last six months i.e. flat screen tv, jet ski, etc.)
Make sure you can secure a place to live asap. Once you file, most places in OH I've found won't rent to you until discharge. And another thing they don't tell you is that they usually want credit scores above 600, which can be tough after filing bk. On the other hand, I got an apartment with scores in the 500's, so it's not that hard if you have stable employment. I had a big mortgage too, but luckily, I sold my house and used my last drops of credit to pay the realtor. The trustee just shook his head when I explained how I closed my "short sale."
Can I ask a personal question? Why the sudden drop in income? Job loss, economy?
Lefty

[leftyf]

Oh, and as I said before, drag this thing out as long as you can. It can be painful at times, but time is your friend here. Don't use the credit cards anymore either unless you absolutely have to.

By the way, lrprn and keepmine give great advice. Trust them more than me, since I'm not a bk guru. I have filed in OH though and my situation seems pretty close to yours, except I wasn't living quite as well. No assets, except a tax refund when I filed. Two cars I have are worth less than the debt on them...I didn't even reaffirm them, just kept paying on them. I'm just throwing in my two cents....could be dead wrong on some of this advice, but most likely, someone will call me on it.
Lefty

[weneedoutnow]

I am thankfull for all of your advice. I have decided to go to a couple of attorneys and stick with the one who can help me the most. I will try to update as I go along. Just talking to one on the phone it looks like the law here will change in September and allow us to have a more expensive vehicle so I do know that nothing will happen before then

[leftyf]

The question, of course, is do you really want a more expensive vehicle? I hate to get all "holier than thou" Dave Ramsey-like, but you might get more comfort from the cash in the bank after filing/discharge. I know I do, but that's just me.
Good luck with picking your attorney and filing.

[weneedoutnow]

Everyday I drive a $1200 car right past my $30000 truck and I am OK with it now but the only thing I am worried about losing is my motorcycle. with gas prices being as high as they are I can save money by riding the bike. i am hoping to keep it after Sept it should fall below the 3500 dollar limit.

[leftyf]

Yes, the motorcycle probably won't work as your primary transport all year around here either. I have two cars that never came up at all in the bk...one of them I didn't even reaffirm, but I'm still paying it. Both were probably worth less than the secured debt on them.
Lefty

[dragonnfly]

Hello, I also filed in over the median in Ohio. We went to one attorney and they said we could only do a 13. We were going with them, they did something stupid and scared us away. Which was a good thing, we filed 7 with another attorney and were discharged on 08/13/08. The advise someone gave above about dragging it out. We sucked at that and now regret it. We rushed to make the stressing phone calls stop. We should have saved up the $$ for the lawyer and all that before we filed. Im so glad we got into a 7 I have no idea how we would have made a 13 payment. Its like going through Georgia when you drive to Florida. Seems like your never going to get out of it and then when its over it was pretty fast.