Chapter 7 Bankruptcy - 2nd Home Need Help

[Anonymous]

We have been discharged from our debit through Chapter 7 which includes a house in Hilton Head which we don't currently reside.  We own another home in Atlanta.  My struggle is that we are still tied to this property.  We have not paid insurance on the home or our taxes.  What can I do to move the process along to get our names off the home.  The whole idea of fling Chapter 7 was to give us a new beginning and its short of anything. I need someone to please point me in the right direction.  Our bankruptcy attorney doesn't do anything more for us at this time.  Everytime I turn around something else seems to come up.  If anyone can provide some feedback or best course of action other than hiring another lawyer to help, which we don't have money for at this time I would appreciate it.

Thank you,

Jennifer

[ezdriver]

The discharge relieved your of any leagl responsibility to repay any debt related to the property. For your name to be removed from the deed, the mortgagor has to foreclose on the property and, unfortunately, you cannot force the lender to move more quickly than it wants to move. It is a frustrating situation for sure. You just have to wait until the lender is ready to take your name off the deed.

[StartingOver10]

There is an alternative to waiting for the bank to f/c.

You can short sale the house. 

It is much, much easier to short sale a property after the bk has been discharged. You may (or may not) need trustee approval even if your case is discharged and closed. Get an experienced short sale agent that works with a good short sale attorney/title company office to get this done.

It is much quicker than waiting for the f/c.

[ezdriver]

I'm curious about how much easier a short sale after bk would be given that the lender still has to approve it. Also, if the trustee did not seize the property during a ch7 bankruptcy [would have actually been much better if he did], then the mortgage lender controls the outcome. That said, shortselling is certainly one option that should not be ignored.

[StartingOver10]

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@ezdriver wrote:

I'm curious about how much easier a short sale after bk would be given that the lender still has to approve it. Also, if the trustee did not seize the property during a ch7 bankruptcy [would have actually been much better if he did], then the mortgage lender controls the outcome. That said, shortselling is certainly one option that should not be ignored.

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I have done a couple of these (as an agent) after a bk. And the reason that the trustee's here don't seize the properties during the bk is because they were too far upside down.

The lenders, just based on the experiences I have had as the short sale agent) were very cooperative because the debt had been discharged and a new buyer was sitting in front of them. The time for approval was still within about 60 to 120 days average from contract to closing so it is substantially quicker than the two + year average the f/c's are taking,. It is worth investigating the possibility.  Use a CDPE or other experienced short sale agent - that specifically works with an attorney or title co to negotiate and close it. The process will be much more smooth.

[ezdriver]

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@StartingOver10 wrote:

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@ezdriver wrote:

I'm curious about how much easier a short sale after bk would be given that the lender still has to approve it. Also, if the trustee did not seize the property during a ch7 bankruptcy [would have actually been much better if he did], then the mortgage lender controls the outcome. That said, shortselling is certainly one option that should not be ignored.

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I have done a couple of these (as an agent) after a bk. And the reason that the trustee's here don't seize the properties during the bk is because they were too far upside down.

The lenders, just based on the experiences I have had as the short sale agent) were very cooperative because the debt had been discharged and a new buyer was sitting in front of them. The time for approval was still within about 60 to 120 days average from contract to closing so it is substantially quicker than the two + year average the f/c's are taking,. It is worth investigating the possibility.  Use a CDPE or other experienced short sale agent - that specifically works with an attorney or title co to negotiate and close it. The process will be much more smooth.

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Very good to know. I thought that being significantly upside down is the reason that trustees are not a factor. After all, they want assets that they can convert to cash.