BillNH Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 Hi, We are meeting with a lawyer on Monday to discuss BK as an option to get us out of the trouble we are in. We have about 30k in unsecured CC and Medical bills debts. We are behind on utilites and have been 30 days past due on mortgage for 3 months straight. It's time to do something !Our home was appraised for around 265k and we owe 210k. Have a suburban with 71k on it and owe 20k. It's worth about 14k on trade. We have a boat loan also that we owe about $14,500. Boat payment is 247 and car payment is 518 per month. During a prelininary talk with lawyer he said BK7 is best route for us. My concern is I dont want to lose house(Atty. said not an issue-dont worry). We also don't want to lose Suburban because we have 3 kids, dogs, etc.. and it meets our needs perfectly. The boat we know is a luxury, but it is the only thing we enjoy together as a family.My DW and I just put together a list of our monthly expenses and came up with about $4400 going out each month and about 4600 coming in more or less. This is WITHOUT the 30k in CC and medical bills !I'm afraid we will be told to turn in/sell the Suburban and boat. We would appreciate any input to our situation.ThanksBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingo Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 You'll be OK. The last thing a trustee wants to do is create yet another unsecured creditor by forcing you to part with items where there is negative equity.Just a personal opinion but, I'd let 'em have the boat. Those things depreciate horribly plus the expense of insurance and maintenace and operating cost. Just a huge moneypit. BK is about a fresh start. Dump the boat and start sticking money in the bank.Did your lawyer tell you how much equity in your home is exempt from creditor seizure in bk? If you're below that limit, your home is OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 Actually, your income to expense ratio is just about right. Your lawyer will help you tweak it.Yeah, he'll probably advise you to let the boat go...there's more expense to that than just the payment. And actually, you might consider NOT REAFFIRMING on either the boat and car. You can probably keep both if you just keep making the payments, but talk that over with the lawyer.And, as soon as your BK is discharged, you'll be inundated with dealers wanting to sell you a new car. You might actually be able to reduce the payment a bit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadynRed Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 What state are you in ?? Not all states allow you to keep secured property w/o reaffirming or redeeming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillNH Posted March 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 Good Morning,Thanks for the replies. I guess I might have to face the reality of losing the boat. The things that sucks is that it will be a long time before I can replace it.If we get rid of the boat then we really wont need a Suburban. We bought it because we need to tow the boat.BTW we are in NH and I believe the housing exemption is 50k. I know there are some good threads in here about getting car loans post BK, how long after BK do you think we would qualify ?Also, if we decide we don't want the boat, do we have to sell it on our own or what ?ThanksBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingo Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 You need to speak with your attorney again. Unless NH changed the law recently, it looks like only $30K is exempt from your home.http://www.thebankruptcysite.com/bankruptcy-exemptions/newhampshire.phpYou don't have to sell any property yourself. Just include it the bk and quit paying and let the lender come and get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 We started getting car offers within a week or two of filing, even before the 341 meeting. The interest rate they offered wasn't great, and you do need to be real careful about getting upside down on the loan, but it happens pretty quick.As for the boat, I'm pretty sure that just like a car loan. You hand it over to whoever financed it, and you're out from under it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillNH Posted March 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 Bingo, it seems there is some conflicting info out there on the house exemption. Thanks for linking that page to me. I found another sight that says it is 50k. I'll ask the lawyer when we meet with him.I had a thought. We have about 2-3 k in equity on the boat. What if we held onto it until after the discharge and sold iton our own. Would there be a problem doing that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 The NOLO PRESS book "How to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy" says $30k for the house.It also says there's a $1000 "wildcard" plus a $7000 catch-all for any unused portion of the other exempt expenses. You might be able to cover the boat that way, but, again, rely on what your lawyer says... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadynRed Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 Whoa folks, my source says the homestead exemption in NH is 100K !In general, a debtor may claim exemption of homestead and certain personal property from attachment or execution or forced sale for the payment of debts. * New Hampshire permits homestead exemption up to a value of $100,000. The homestead right may include manufactured housing, which is owned and occupied as a dwelling by the debtor but does not include the land upon which the manufactured housing is situated if the land is not also owned by the owner the manufactured housing. (§ 480:1.)I also looked it up in the NH Revised Statutes and found conflicting information. In Section 480 it says the following:CHAPTER 480THE HOMESTEAD RIGHTSection 480:1 480:1 Amount. – Every person is entitled to $100,000 worth of his or her homestead, or of his or her interest therein, as a homestead. The homestead right created by this chapter shall exist in manufactured housing, as defined by RSA 674:31, which is owned and occupied as a dwelling by the same person but shall not exist in the land upon which the manufactured housing is situated if that land is not also owned by the owner of the manufactured housing.In the section regarding levies and exemptions from judgments, the hometead exemption is 30K and can be doubled to 60K for married couples: IF YOU OR YOUR SPOUSE OWNS AND RESIDES IN THIS PROPERTY, YOU AND/OR YOUR SPOUSE MAY BE ENTITLED TO A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION PURSUANT TO RSA 480:1. THIS EXEMPTS $30,000 FOR A SINGLE PERSON AND $60,000 FOR A MARRIED COUPLE. (yes it was all in caps in the statutes).So, you REALLY DO need to ask a lawyer, you need to know which exemption applies in bankruptcy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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