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- July 1, 2008 at 1:31 pm #259175
Guest
I am new to the group and have been lurking for a while, but getting
good information from it!
I saw a recent post about bankruptcy. I filed Chapter 13 a yearago. I am a single mom of 3, with child support that is spotty, at
best. He is currently 7K in arrears. I also recently had a job
layoff and then a worker’s comp injury at the new job, within monthsof each other in 2006. I tried my hardest to juggle everything, car
payment, mortgage, teenage kids, credit card debt, daily living….
and realized I was only getting deeper and deeper. I also had thenotion that economically, the nation was getting worse (not that it
took rocket science to see that) and I needed to take action as soon
as possible.I have been in Chapter 13 a year now. I originally opted to keep my
car and home, however, I made the decision last week to amend my plan
and surrender my home under my bankruptcy. It is a large 4 bedroomantebellum. My utilities alone are in excess of $400/mo and I have a
1st and 2nd mortgage. I tried for a year to make it work, but
realized it wont, so I am letting the house go and we are moving intobrand new townhomes in town.
Even though the rent is $25 a month more than my mortgage payments,
the new place will be all electric and energy efficient, which willeliminate my gas bill, to the tune of $130 a month and my electric
should either go down or stay the same.
I took many other factors into consideration as well, theneighborhood my house is in has gone downhill fast. Even if I waited
until after my plan is discharged, I could not sell my home for what
I owe and would likely take a $40K loss on it, which would prettymuch leave me where I was before my bankruptcy. This way, when my
plan is complete, I will be completely debt free.
My two older kids will be graduating and moving out in the next 4years. That would leave me and my youngest in a 4 bedroom home,
which is too much.
It was a tough decision to make, but I really think it was the bestone. While we wont be significantly ahead on a monthly basis
financially, we will be in the long run. My monthly bills will be
easier to gauge and control, since I wont have the extra andsometimes unseen costs of home ownership to deal with, either.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? Any advice for our
upcoming change to help get “ahead” a little?
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