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Calvin Said:

I filed for bankruptcy chapter 7 in California 2004 - can I file motion to reopen?

We Answered:

Yes, you CAN file a motion to reopen the bankruptcy so you can file amended Schedules.

However, you may not need to. In some Federal Circuits -- and I think the 9th Circuit is one of them -- there were appeals court rulings at the time which said that even if a debt was inadvertently omitted from the bankruptcy Schedules, it was still discharged.

Since your case pre-dates the 2005 Bankruptcy Reforms passed by Congress, whatever was the law at the time would apply to your case (since BAPCPA in 2005, inadvertently omitted debts are NOT automatically discharged, but prior to that they were in some Federal Circuits).

Your best bet is to contact your bankruptcy attorney -- If your bankruptcy attorney "no longer has the paperwork" (which s/he SHOULD) s/he can get a copy of it from PACER. This still relates to the case you filed, and the attorney who filed it (unless no longer practicing law) should still answer your questions.

If that is not possible, pony up a few bucks for a review of your case by another bankruptcy attorney in your local area. I think there is a good chance that this judgment was already discharged -- but you need to have that verified by somebody actually licensed to practice law (and familiar with bankruptcy law going back to before BAPCPA) in your State.

Martin Said:

When filing taxes on a rental property that I refinanced twice, do I add the abstract and recording fees twice

We Answered:

When you convert a personal residence to a rental, you may only deduct as a business expense such expenditures which occurred on or after the date on which you converted the property a rental. The expenses which you are describing seem to have occurred when you were using the property as a personal residence, and are therefore not deductible as a business expense concerning the rental activity. For further information, please read IRS Publication 527, as indicated in the source URL. Page 5 describes situations such as yours.

Leslie Said:

House I want to buy has no abstract of title. What do I do?

We Answered:

Hi, hope this gets to you soon enough! You need to buy it with a Special Warranty Deed, not a Quit Claim Deed! A quit claim only conveys the interest that the seller may have in the property. I can quit claim deed the Empire State Building to you! A Special Warranty Deed conveys the seller's ownership interest from the date he acquired it by the Sherrif's Deed and warrants that there are no liens or encumbrances from his ownership period. I have purchased property from municipalities and this is the proper way to do it, without question!
Obtain title insurance! In some states, the person foreclosed upon has the right to redeem the property for up to a year, meaning they can simply pay the costs and note amount and get the property back. Ensure that the previous owner foreclosed upon did not file for redemption or post a bond to do so! I strongly suggest you use a title company to close, not the seller's attorney, who does he represent?
A title search will be done to obtain the title insurance. Most states no longer use an abstract, history of ownership interests, but go with title insurance, which insures you for loss due to title problems in the future and it protects you forever, even after you sell it. If you are going to fix the place up, obtain the coverage for the amount you will have in it when you are done, that will save another search later on and paying a premium on the first $6,000 again. Oh, by the way, the city has no idea what liens are on the property while he owns it, don't just take the seller's word for it. If you don't treat this like any other deal, as if it were a $60,000.00 purchase, you could end up losing whatever you put in it later on, assuming you don't just buy it to collect houses like I did for a while, lol, (seemed like I was collecting them) anyway, if you need help on this or the title company says what is a Special Warranty Deed?, I think you can contact me on this site. Hope this explained what you really need to do. Good Luck