Bankrupcty

basically the more positive things go on there, the better for your score: ability to pay, like making more money and putting money in savings - try to have a one year supply for just in case. Paying bills on time. When I was young and single I would put my tuition on a credit card that had a grace period and then pay off the balance with money I had been saving all along for that purpose. That really boosted my score. I used a credit card for everything, but always had the money in hand that I was spending so I wouldn't carry a balance. It helped me to kind of consolidate but it can be a tempting thing to overspend, so if you are not able to do that it is best not to charge. Other things you pay for monthly like cell phones may report to credit agencies also. Check with them. Meanwhile, given this information, I would keep the house, and make your payments on time. A little financial hint: A good food storage could be one of the most cost-effective investments you could make at this point. Good luck.

Keep your house! This will actually help you rebuild your credit if you are able to pay every month. If you pay extra each month that will also help. Bankrupcy is on your credit for up to 10 years. If you have one credit card without a balance that will also help. Don't ever pay interest if you can help it, so if you have to use a credit card, pay off the balance as soon as you get the bill.

Hi C M - Filing for bankruptcy is a really hard decision. I can only imagine the stress that you have been under. It's a wonderful thing that you have been able to keep your house - I encourage you to not let the house go if you can afford the payments or have equity because you are correct, it will be very expensive for you to rent and you wont be able to consider buying again for a good number of years. It is very difficult for people with low credit scores to obtain credit is this financial environment.

Time and making all of your payments on time are the best way to recover from a bankruptcy. Your paid-on-time mortgage payment is one of the biggest ways you will strengthen your credit score. Also, even though companies like utilities and insurance dont normally report monthly payments to the credit bureaus, think of them as an important credit reference and always pay them on time.

The last bit of advice I would give to you is to seek out money management counseling like Dave Ramsey. I dont know your situation but many people who file for bankruptcy had habits and attitudes about money management that caused their financial troubles.

Good luck to you!!

My husband declared bankrupcty just before we were married because of a divorce he didn't have a house at the time and was renting so I don't have any idea there but we were able to buy a house 18 months after we were married without a problem even with the bankrupcty and everytime we needed to buy a car which was a few times thanks to deer, we were able to do that too. It was a chapter 13 so we had monthy payments to make which we made sure to make on time as well as made other bill payments on time. It took work but for us bankrupcty worked it is now eleven years behind us. Good luck.

If you can keep the house - keep the house!! Sorry that's really all the advice I have, hopefully someone will have more for you :)

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

CM,
Im so sorry about your situation. My advice is for you to get on Dave Ramseys website, type in his name, he is also on FOX financial channel every day, twice a day, Dave has helped my hubby and I out just by us following his advice we are now completly DEBT free, Im just saying this because he knows what he is doing and talking about, you can email him for any questions, his books are great! he does not believe in credit cards, he puts you on baby steps and works with you step by step. You can do it, he does not believe in filing for bankrupsy, he will give your other things to do, it is not easy and honsety with you and your hubby is the number 1 thing you must do and have when it comes to money. Take the time to go to his website, if we can do it anyone can. Good Luck..........C.

I suggest you keep your house because I filed bankruptcy almost 7 years ago and I still have a hard time just getting a credit card. With the way the financial market is going people with great credit is having problems getting loans. We have been able to get financial institutions to refinance our home but that took 5 years but as far as buying a home that would be out of the question until the bankruptcy came off your credit all together and I think that is 7 years but they keep changing the bankruptcy laws so who knows. If you can keep your house and you want to live in it for the next 7 years, then keep it. I do not know how expensive your payments are. I know they change the bankrupcty laws on Chapter 7's to where you do not get your bills taken away completely like when I filed bankruptcy, now when you file you still have to pay them off but they restructure your payments so that you can afford the payments. So you have to see how they are going to restructure your pay back on your bills and then see if you can still afford to pay for your home. The best thing to do is find a good bankruptcy Attorney and pay the $600 to $1000 they charge now to do bankruptcy and they can help you to make the right decisions. You might say that you can not afford to pay that money for an attorney but actually you can because the attorney has you stop paying for the bills you pay and then you take that money and pay the attorney and then they will start helping you. Anyway Good Luck and God Bless

Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? He has books, a radio and TV show, you can get the books from the library. Before you worry about what to do next figure out why this happend and accept the fact you have to change your behaviors in order for it not to happen again. As far as your home it should not be more than 25% of your NET income after taxes, insurance and the like. Have you already claimed bankruptcy? If you can avoid it i would, if that means selling cars, getting 2nd jobs or selling the house if is not affordable do so, and never borrow money again, ever. ( except the house). Good luck.

Hubby & I filed separately before we met each other. His bankruptcy was still there nearly 10 years later. Mine is now 9 years old & was still on my credit when I check in '08. Anything you can do to keep making regular payments should help your credit. Keep in mind that you're going to be filing in tough economic times so getting a credit card or loan is probably going to be even harder. But I was told after I filed that sometimes companies are more willing to extend credit to recently filed people because they know the person can't file again for a period of years & they will get their money.
I don't have any hard facts. I went through a lawyer & I suggest you do the same. Even if you consult a paralegal for some basic facts. Get statements from every creditor you can think of, check your credit reports to make sure there's not something hidden out there. When I filed it was for medical bills & to get out from under a garnishment (bought a car w/an ex, we broke up, he didn't pay or hold a job & it all fell on me, he had the car) & unfortunately there were 2 bills that came out after I had filed, so I had to pay them. One was $1000 & I had no money to pay it at the time.
Your credit will be back to nothing after you file. It's worse to have no credit than to have bad credit (go figure).
Good luck!

I would google this topic and get facts, as opposed to asking moms for opinions, which could easily be biased and loaded with misconceptions.

The problem is, you won't know which opinions are not fact-based. Go with the answers that cite book & internet resources.

I echo keeping the house. Most renters look at credit scores and a recent bankruptcy would be a huge red flag. When I worked for a rental company the background and credit checks were a huge determinant for if the apartments were rented out. I know some income adjusted places will not look as closely at the bankruptcy since they receive monies from the government for offering lower income housing. But you can't make more than a certain amount to rent there--so if you get back to making more money (if it is job losses that got you here) you have to change housing again. I wouldn't worry about rebuilding your credit right now. Focus on meeting the needs of your family. Pay cash for everything--if you don't have cash, you can't afford it. as time goes on the credit will rebuild naturally. I didn't go through a bankruptcy but I did make a lot of stupid financial decisions when I was a young adult and this was how I re focused myself. I didn't use credit cards because that was how I got in trouble in the first place. I paid cash for my car--and for any repairs that came up on it. I spent $800 on that car to buy it and I drove it for 5 years. I had some repairs but they were minimal compared to a car payment. I was lucky--did my research on the car before I bought it...got a year that was known for not having a lot of repairs. Make all your utility payments on time and your credit will start to rebuild naturally. Hang in there and good luck.