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Well, a couple of things to consider here:
- Closing on selling your home: Will you make a profit, receiving an amount of cash resulting from the selling price minus mortgage balance & closing costs? In a BK7 you are allowed to keep only a limited amount of assets, including cash on hand or in bank accounts. Assets over the allowed exemptions will be seized to distribute to creditors.
- New car loan: Obtaining new credit when you are planning to file BK and then filing BK shortly after getting the new loan is a big no-no. The lender can claim the loan/credit was obtained by fraud, false pretenses or a false statement made pertaining to your financial condition and have the loan/credit excluded from your BK.
- Default: For most loans/credit you are not in default until you are 30 days late on a payment. But some creditors insert that clause that if you file BK you are automatically in default, even if you have never been late on a payment. They list what they can or will do in event of default right after that section. Usually default on a car loan means they can repossess that car, sell it, and you are liable for any amount of the loan balance minus selling price. And especially in a new car you can be on the hook for a large amount - they sell repo'd cars at auction, bringing the lowest price, and tack on repo fees, & other fees. But few lenders will repo if you stay current of payments.
Having your car loan excluded from your BK or reaffirming it is pretty much the same result - you are personally liable for full amount of the loan, get behind on the payments and they will repo and you are liable for any "deficiency": loan balance + fees minus selling price. On an existing car loan included in BK and you do not reaffirm and retain & pay, your payments would not be reported because the debt is discharged and you have no liability for it anymore. If you get behind on payments all they could do is repo, end of story - you are not liable for any deficiency.
Another option for the car is to do a 722 redemption loan. Companies that specialize in these types of loans will give you a loan for the blue book value of the car. Your lawyer should be able to give you more information on that type of loan if you are interested in keeping your car.
I'm on a cruise ship with terrible internet, so I can't be as detailed as I'd like. I do see a few issues raised in this post and in the replies:
- The person who commented on the OP's plan to sell a house prior to bankruptcy is absolutely right. You should be very concerned with the status of the proceeds from your home's sale. If it isn't planned/exempted properly, it could be taken by the CH7 trustee.
- I think the replies did not notice that the OPS has an auto lease, not a loan. The OP's options are limited to assuming or rejecting the lease. From there, other options to purchase the vehicle may exist, but the OP should start with that evaluation.
- I question the advice of NOT purchasing a vehile prior to filing. If the OP can get qualified for the loan, does not lie on credit applications, and plans on paying back the loan, this would not be considered fraud.
In short, the OP should talk to a few bankruptcy attorneys, even if just for free consultations. The issues raised here may total tens of thousands of dollars. If not planned properly, the reprecussions could be serious. If nothing else, get an opinion from an attorney on the topics of exempting your home sale proceeds and purchasing a replacement vehicle.
Are you in contact with a lawyer?
You should be, and should be discussing ALL of these plans with them.
Based on what I know about BKs, I am seeing multiple red flags in your plans.