Complicated Bankruptcy/Real Estate Question…?
Last July (2007) my boyfriend of 2+ years and I bought a home together in Minnesota. In December, we decided to end the relationship. My ex had a LOT of accounts in collections (it was amazing that we were able to buy the home to begin with) and he was being served with court summons once a week. After we broke up, he decided to declare bankruptcy on all of his credit card debt. I said that I was fine with that, as long as it did not affect the house in any way. We agreed that I would keep the house, and after 6 months he would stop paying half the bills and sign a quit claim form. Because both my ex and his attorney had ASSURED me that the house would not be affected in any way whatsoever…I was not very concerned with this whole situation. I attended the bankruptcy hearing and when they mentioned that the house was included in his bankruptcy, I just about flipped. I thought it wasn’t supposed to be affected at all?
He HAD to claim the house in his bankruptcy because of the type of bankruptcy (Chapter 7)? Again, I was assured that he could just sign the Reaffirmation paperwork and everything would be fine. Except that he did not want to re-obligate himself to the house. We have a written agreement that he will no longer pay for the house…but he didn’t want the bank to be able to come after him for money. I didn’t mind for a while and the bankruptcy was discharged in mid-April. When I called the lendor to find out if my status had been repaired with them, I was informed that I would NEVER have online access to my account and my payments would NEVER be reported to the credit bureaus and my credit score would continue to drop because I have a 0,000 loan on my credit report that I am "not making payments on." Even though I send them a monthly check on the 1st of every month.
So, I finally convinced my ex to sign the reaffirmation to get me out this downward spiral that I have no control over, and upon reading the reaffirmation, we realized that by signing the reaffirmation he is claiming to have enough money to pay for the mortgage…which goes against the Chapter 7 claim of not having any money to pay for anything. So, 1) he’d have to go to court again to reaffirm, and 2) his bankruptcy file could (and probably would) be reopened to be a Chapter 13 re-payment bankruptcy…
Here is my question:
I DID NOT declare bankruptcy…why am I suffering for this? I have NO control over his actions or my credit report apparently…what can I do to fix this situation?
*I know one option is to assume the loan, or refinance the house; but since we used "first time home buyer" and VA benefits in conjunction with this loan…I do not know if I can get the same interest rate, etc… as we have now. Also, neither of us have a few thousand dollars lying around to do this in the first place.*
I need to know what I can do on my own to resolve this situation without him having to go back to court or reopen his file…why does he have to claim he can pay for it, when I am the one who’s name will be on the title and I will be the one making the payments?
3 Responses
SCH
02 Feb 2010
Amelia Ehrhardt
02 Feb 2010
You wil want to contact a Real Estate Lawyer who should give you FREE advise and information. Look online to see Real Estate Attorneys…then seek your own attorney. After my divorce, My ex kept the house, and I held a promissory note in the event he quit paying…it was not included in a bankruptcy due to the way we did this. A title company should have given you more accurate information, since this was a joint venture. it is always best to contact an expert in the field of Real Estate.
Jennifer
02 Feb 2010
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OK…1st of all you have the wrong impression of the Reaffirmation agreement…it would not cause him to have to go back to bankrupcy court…the bankruptcy has been discharged it can’t be changed now.
2nd…there is no reason why the bank should be penalizing you for his choice. You need to ask them for the documentation they are using to withhold the reporting of your payments to your credit report. I understand that it was a joint loan and he should not recieve the benefits of you making payments on a loan in his name if he chooses to not reaffirm, but it is not the banks choice to make. You did not declare bankruptcy…if you stopped making payments today they would come after you no doubt about it, so they should be reporting your payments to the credit bureaus.
Your ex needs to reaffirm the house and then quit deed it over to you ASAP…if he didn’t, even though he filed bankruptcy and did not reaffirm he could come after you for the house because his name is on it (not reaffirming does not remove his name from the deed or the mortgage). So you need him to reaffirm so he can quit deed it to you now.
I would hire a lawyer and have them fight the lender on this matter because the lender is violating the fair credit reporting act by reporting you as not making payments or showing that you declared bankruptcy on a house when you are not doing either of those things (I think if you called them and said if you don’t start reporting this debt accuratly in my name I will take you to court for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act that would likely do the trick)…but consult a lawyer before you start threating action like that.