I live in West Virginia and have approximately $24,000.00 in credit
card debt. I'm considering bankruptcy because I see no way I can ever
pay this amount back. Here's what I want to know. I have a mortgage
of approximately $76,000.00 on a house appraised for $79,000.00. I
have a 1995 car worth about $2500.00 and that's paid for. I want to
keep my house and car. Can I keep my house and car by re-affirming my
mortgage. I don't want to lose my house as then I'll have to start
renting. I know that with the money that I'm spending on credit card
payments will be more than enough to cover my mortgage and
necessities. My day to day living expense are being charged as there
is no money left over after the monthly payments to them. Does anyone
have any advice as to whether this is possible?. Thank you.

In article <tuj1l0drbisuqfvvvglag7jrv0gd7ndij3@4ax.com>, Steve
<lighthouselover1967@yahoo.com> wrote:
I live in West Virginia and have approximately $24,000.00 in credit card debt. I'm considering bankruptcy because I see no way I can ever pay this amount back. Here's what I want to know. I have a mortgage of approximately $76,000.00 on a house appraised for $79,000.00. I have a 1995 car worth about $2500.00 and that's paid for. I want to keep my house and car. Can I keep my house and car by re-affirming my mortgage. I don't want to lose my house as then I'll have to start renting. I know that with the money that I'm spending on credit card payments will be more than enough to cover my mortgage and necessities. My day to day living expense are being charged as there is no money left over after the monthly payments to them.

Bankruptcy is a one-time event. If you are running out of money
before the end of the month, bankruptcy is not going to fix that.
You might end up filing, then start falling behind again the
month after bankruptcy. This is a problem because you can only
file bankruptcy once every 7 years, so the next time you get in
trouble, you are stuck.

Most states allow you to save one car, your primary home (if you
are current and can prove that you can make the payments), your
personal items, and any tools of the trade.

I do not, however, think that you are bankrupt. Bankruptcy is like
droping a nuclear bomb. Your debt is bigger than an ant hill, but
not bigger than a termite mound. You should be able to work yourself
out of this. You got in, so you have the ability to get out. You
need to examine your spending (that is the real problem), take on
a 2nd job for the holiday season (everyone is hiring this time of
the year), and pay down this debt.

Your final option is a 125 re-fi. While such a loan will carry
a higher interest rate, it will be no where near what the credit
cards will charge. A 125 loan will lend you up to 125% of the value
of your home. In your case, this is $98,750. You owe $76,000, so
you have $22,750 available to pay off debt. If you hold a garage
sale, you should be able to raise a few hundred dollars, so you
are down to less than a grand of credit card debt.

Once you get on your plan, you just have to follow your budget
and make sure you don't over spend. It is possible, all you have
to do is want it badly enough.

-john-

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John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
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lighthouselover1967@yahoo.com (Steve) wrote in message
news:<tuj1l0drbisuqfvvvglag7jrv0gd7ndij3@4ax.com>... I live in West Virginia and have approximately $24,000.00 in credit card debt. I'm considering bankruptcy because I see no way I can ever pay this amount back. Here's what I want to know. I have a mortgage of approximately $76,000.00 on a house appraised for $79,000.00. I have a 1995 car worth about $2500.00 and that's paid for. I want to keep my house and car. Can I keep my house and car by re-affirming my mortgage. I don't want to lose my house as then I'll have to start renting.

Hmm, you probably want to consult a lawyer. There are probably many good
lawyers in your area who will do your bankruptcy for a reasonable ($500 or
$1000 or so) fee. You basically have two types of bankruptcy: Chapter 7 is
where you get to keep a certain amount of assets and whatever is left over is
sold off to pay off your creditors, and then you're free of your debts. In
your case, the house would almost certainly be taken away from you. (For most
individuals, by the time they file bankruptcy, they have so little left that
they can simply keep everything.) Chapter 13 is where you pay off a portion of
your debt over a few years, and then you're free of your debts. This is
commonly used when you have significant property (such as a house) which you
would like to keep.

You have $24k in credit card debt and approximately $3k in equity in your house
and only a few other assets. (We are ignoring the fact that you would have to
pay brokers' fees if you sold the house, as well as the fact that you might end
up selling the house for something other than the appraised value.) It
definitely sounds like you are bankrupt.

Although renting is a pain, you might want to consider getting rid of the
house. You seem to have just barely enough money to pay off the mortgage---
which means that you're probably not doing much to maintain or improve the
property. Deferred maintenance is going to cause problems for you down the
road, especially if you try to sell the place at some point. (And taxes are
likely to cause problems for you, especially if you don't pay them.)

Good luck!


*****
Tim Horrigan <horrigan@aol.com>
*****

Steve <lighthouselover1967@yahoo.com> wrote:I live in West Virginia and have approximately $24,000.00 in creditcard debt. I'm considering bankruptcy because I see no way I can everpay this amount back. Here's what I want to know. I have a mortgageof approximately $76,000.00 on a house appraised for $79,000.00. Ihave a 1995 car worth about $2500.00 and that's paid for. I want tokeep my house and car. Can I keep my house and car by re-affirming mymortgage. I don't want to lose my house as then I'll have to startrenting. I know that with the money that I'm spending on credit cardpayments will be more than enough to cover my mortgage andnecessities. My day to day living expense are being charged as thereis no money left over after the monthly payments to them. Does anyonehave any advice as to whether this is possible?. Thank you.

This is for discussion purposes only, and is not legal advice. I'm
not a lawyer. If you want legal advice, hire a lawyer.

If you affirm the mortgage, you can keep the house -- as long as you
keep making the payments on the mortgage. Affirming the mortgage
won't affect whether you get to keep the car. Federal bankruptcy law
provides certain "exemptions" -- things you get to keep rather than
having them sold in a bankruptcy. That includes a house worth up to
some amount and a car worth up to some amount. Some states have
expanded those exemptions.

Your $3000 equity in your house is way below the exemption, so you
shouldn't need to worry about that, if you can keep up the payments.
Don't forget that your lender will insist that you also keep fire &
hazard insurance on the house.

I don't know how much the exemption is for cars, just that there is
one. If the exemption is $2500 or more, then you get to keep the car.
You also have an exemption for some amount of miscellaneous stuff.
I'd guess that the two, combined, will let you keep the car and most
of your household goods. If you have any jewelry, you can expect to
have it sold.

There's also a practical problem, however. If you are charging your
day-to-day living expenss, you are going to get into the same bind
again. Probably in less than 7 years, and then you won't be able to
get another discharge in bankruptcy.

You REALLY need to find a way to reduce your expenses. If you spend
more than you bring in, you will be in trouble again. Period. If
there really is no way to reduce your expenses, then you really should
sell your house rent a place you can afford. Usually rent is lower
than mortgage payments, if you are willing to go from living in a
house to an apartment.

See a debt counselor, preferably Consumer Credit Couseling Services.
Avoid any that want an up-front fee for their services or that will
"consolidate" your debts into a single mortgage or anything like
that. You are looking for somebody who will help you find a way to
pare expenses so you can live within your income. Once you do that,
you may or may not need to go through bankruptcy.



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