reaffirm home question

What is the name of your state?TN
hello.first of all this forum is WONDERFUL!you all do a great service to alot of people.
i attended my 341 meeting today,i have filed pro se so this was quite the experience.i listed the value of my home as 63,000 as per tax records.i found out just yesterday that the seller lied to the assesor about the year of manufacture(it's a d/w on 3.54 ac.)he stated that it was a 2001,but it is 1995.i have figured the value to be approx. 26,000 w/ help from a relator.there is alot of damage to home and about 5,000 in driveway repair(which i deducted) i was going to surrender the property originally,but now am considering keeping/reaffirming it.can i amend that form or am i sol?

thanks in advance!!

[AttorneyOney]

Amendments to schedules and a consumer debtor's statement of intention are governed by rule 1009. It states in relevant part that "[a] voluntary petition, list, schedule, or statement [of financial affairs] may be amended by the debtor as a matter of course at any time before the case is closed" and that "[t]he statement of intention may be amended by the debtor at any time before the expiration of the period provided in [section] 521(2)(B)." The reference to 521(2)(B) is to the 45-day period allowed for performing the debtor's stated intention, which period can be extended by the court for cause.

There is a fee for filing amended schedules, and notice of the amendments must be given to all affected parties, which basically means to the trustee, the US trustee, and every creditor. Each court's web site generally has a fee schedule.

It's not proper to deduct the cost of improvements from the value of the property. One might do that when figuring one's tax basis, but not when scheduling an asset in a bankruptcy petition.

I'm not sure you're using the right words to describe what you want to do. "Surrender" means to give up the collateral for a secured debt. It's a bit like a foreclosure, except without the hassle and the auction sale. "Reaffirm" means to agree to continue paying a secured loan, possibly with mutually agreed modifications. Just because the home is worth less than you originally thought will not change the amount due on the loan.

There is a third concept called "redemption" under section 722, whereby a consumer debtor can pay the lender the actual value of the collateral in order to extinguish the lien. To redeem property, the debtor must have some exempt interest. To make sure there is such an interest, attorneys customarily schedule an exemption of nominal value even for property in which the debtor initially has no equity. To the extent the lender's claim exceeds the value of the collateral, it will be considered unsecured and will therefore be discharged by the bankruptcy. Thus, redemption lets a debtor get ownership of the collateral free and clear of the lender's claim by paying its current value. There are lenders who specialize in high-interest "redemption loans", too. It's even possible that the original creditor would agree to a "novation" of the original loan agreement, albeit at a higher interest rate, in order to avoid the hassle of trying to resell the collateral.

Another source of valuation for manufactured homes, by the way, is [url]www.nada.com[/url].

Lastly, you may have a claim against the seller for breach of warranty, or for causing you to mistakenly state an inflated value on your petition and to have to pay for filing amendments to correct that value. That claim might belong to the bankruptcy estate (since it arose pre-petition) and might therefore need to be listed as an asset on Schedule B. Failure to list it as an asset might make it impossible for anyone except the trustee to pursue it. Of course, to the extent that any recovery exceeds an available exemption, it would belong to the trustee. Whether you have such a claim and could pursue it in an adversary proceeding as part of the bankruptcy case is a more advanced question, and one that is more properly addressed to a local bankruptcy attorney.

thank you A.O.
i do believe i understand what you're saying. should i file an objection to mort.co. relief from automatic stay or will amending statement of intention and required schedules do the trick?

also,if i do have a claim.on sch.b # 20,what is the amount? is it simple subtraction(63-26) or another formula?

[AttorneyOney]

You really need to ask "what should I do" questions of your own attorney. Generally speaking, motions for relief from the stay are likely to be granted if there's no opposition.