Quote:
Originally Posted by Flux
But isn't giving a deposit considered something to hold the property in your interest?
"Secured claim" means any claim secured by mortgage, trust deed, pledge, deposit as security, escrow, or otherwise but does not include a special deposit claim, a claim against general assets, or a claim based on mere possession. In other words, if a claim is secured by some form of collateral, it is considered a secured claim.
For myself personally, I don't think I would want to be classified as "unsecured" because of the Priority rules.
I think I'm officially --->  |
The slight difference here is that a deposit, even an escrow, really doesn't give you "rights" to the property....only the right to purchase the property, a subtle difference but if you think about those who have a "secured" claim, they have given money to the debtor in exchange for a collateral to be paid in the event of default.
By comparison, in the event of default, you do not have any rights to the property, only to the money you paid in anticipation of gaining that property.....
Now, the problem here is this, if THP had done the right thing, your escrowed money shouldn't even BE part of the bankrutpcy estate becasue it was to be held by a third, non-affiliated party (the meaning of escrow)...but it wasn't and it was mixed-up with the general operations of the company. Now, if your money was supposed to be escrowed, and wasn't (and this applies to all of us), you may have more of a priority claim and SHOULD have the right to get it all back.
This is where it is muddy for me and its something that needs to be explored more.....