We MIGHT be filing/declaring bankruptcy. Please read on to understand the situation…?
We are financially struggling here in California and now we have a baby. She has a birth defect so I, the mom, need to stay home to tend to my cute little baby girl. The only problem is that it’s been real hard to catch up with all of our bills.
We are in ,000 debt and my husband makes about that much in a year (gross – if I spelled that right). I’m sure ya’ll know it’s pretty damn expensive here in CALI so we’re trying to go back to Texas. My mother-in-law is opening her door to us and we are going to be living with her w/out having to pay any rent or utilities.
Should we still file for bankruptcy in your opinion?
My mother-in-law is worried that if we do that we will end up having to pay a very high interst rate when we’re ready to buy a house. I’m pretty sure that we won’t buy a house until 3-5 years from now.
I know there are probably more cons then there are pros, but I guess I’m worried that in the future we won’t be comfortable living with my mother-in-law anymore and we want to live in a apartment. So we’ll still have to pay our debt and all of our new living expenses.
Can anyone tell me will it be very hard to buy a house even if we’ll be first time home buyers if we filed for bankruptcy?
Your best bet is to speak to a bankruptcy attorney to find out what your options are. With living with your mother in law, the state may require ALL the income to be looked at in the household even though you are living there rent free. A good attorney will be able to look at everything and tell you exactly what your options are and which chapter you qualify for. Most will see you on a free first consultation and they will want to see your last 6 months of income, any assets if any, list of all your debt, and the last 4 years of taxes, once they review, that’s where they can tell your qualifications. Bankruptcy should be your last resort, per the other posts, it’s on your record for 10 years, debts for 7 yrs. The bankruptcy will affect jobs in the financial industry, and also may have an affect on trying to rent an apartment down the road. Some places check, others don’t. But, it’s something to consider before you file. Your mother in law is right, the affects of a bankruptcy will make it higher in interest rates to purchase a home, or vehicle. If you chose to file, it’s best to start re-establishing your credit so that when you are ready to buy, you won’t get hit really hard with the interest. It takes good solid work and hard work to get back to where you were before. I filed last year, discharged in Feb 08, am re-establishing now with one credit card (pre-approved) and a joint motorcycle loan with my hubby, but…I pay everything before it’s do and more if I have it. You can view these websites…. http://www.bcsalliance.com http://www.totalbankruptcy.com and http://www.usbankruptcy.gov These 3 have loads of information on debts, credit, and bankruptcy information that will help you understand how the process works. Good Luck!
May 9th, 2010 at 7:00 pmBankruptcy will stay on your record for 7 years.
Get back to Texas with family. Contact the companies you owe money to and see if there is something that can be worked out.
Use bankruptcy only as a last ditch effort.
May 9th, 2010 at 7:00 pmI can’t answer this completely for you because I live in Michigan. We had a similar problem, but we’re not married, so it was all in his name. Bankruptcy here stays on your report for 7 years, and you can’t get a loan for at least 4 years. We ended up seeing a credit counselor that works with the debt and works out payments, and it’s not hard on your credit like bankruptcy is. We went to see a bankruptcy lawyer who suggested the credit counselor. So maybe you should look into something like that. Best of luck!
May 9th, 2010 at 7:00 pmI cannot tell you what to do, but I can tell you from personal experience what my husband and I went through less than a year ago. I also told someone else on this site. It will be a fresh start. I know because I’ve done it less than a year ago. Since then my bank accounts have grown, We’ve started over. Watch what we spend, and our credit is on the rise again. I also managed to buy a great used car at an affordable rate of interest. We were $80,000.00 in debt….from credit cards. I know you mentioned you didn’t have a home, but if you had a home they cannot take it from you unless you surrender it as part of the settlement, but that would be one of the worse things to do. Make sure you got a reputable bankruptcy lawyer like I did. One thing to remember you always do when you own a home or car is to never, never make a late payment. I can’t stress it enough. If some of your other bills are a little late don’t worry about it so much you can always make arrangements with your utilities or just try to pay on time. Just make sure your mortgage and car payments are always on time. I did and they couldn’t take my home or cars. In fact they didn’t get anything from us. If they send you letters or get calls at home you don’t have to say one word to them. All you have to do is refer them to your lawyer. Once they know you have legal aid they will think twice about threats. We were sent to Credit counseling which is a joke. All it is, is a phone call to some place in TX. I don’t think you will have difficulties purchasing a new home especially if your a first time buyer. You will already have a few years behind you if you do the bankruptcy route. But check with a reputable bankruptcy lawyer first. My husband and I thought it best to just declare bankruptcy and not mess around with those people like you see on TV where you pay something each month until your debts are paid off, because guess what regardless of paying them off through debt consolidators your still looked at by the credit agencys as a risk. So how’s that going to help you. It’s not….which is why we declared B and with a clean slate. Once that happens your credit is cleared and believe me companies are only to willing to bend over backwards to serve you. The economy is a mess right now and I really don’t see it improving a great deal no matter who gets into office sweetheart. I wish you and your family the best of luck. It was worth it in my opinion. On the day we went to court your creditors are given the same opportunity to show up and have their say, and not afterwards, which is what some of them tried to do. If no one (lawyers) shows say like a furniture store to get back their goods. Too bad. In fact your lawyer can go after them for harassment. At first I felt like a bad person, but when we showed up in court that day with our lawyer and heard other people’s stories I looked at my husband and said I didn’t feel as bad…..Sweetheart I hate to say it, but it was actually a R E L I E F!!! I have since then referred several other people to this law firm in NJ.
May 9th, 2010 at 7:00 pm