The bk pre-planning thread

[keepinitreal]

My first response since finding this forum - great information. Wish I had it a year ago.
While I understand the pre planning ideas (have a place to live and have some transportation) ===I won't have either. I will do a consultation this week on a possible chapter 7.
Laid off in 2007, and kept myself going with temporary jobs (at half the pay) and withdrawals from my IRA. What I didn't lose in the market I lived on for the past 2 1/2 years. I am getting unemployment, but only $1000/month.

I stopped paying the mortgage some time ago, can't find any employment.
I think I will end up with the condo in foreclosure, and a bankruptcy. Scary.
No medical insurance.

Who's going to rent to me with no steady income?
I really don't have a choice; I'm running out of money. Any encouragement out there?

Do you have any family you could move in with once you're forced to leave the condo? Friends you could move in with? Don't move until you get an eviction notice. Get government help i.e. food stamps, utilities help, Section 8, etc.

[LostNFound]

taketime...I'm not sure that this is the best advice. I suppose renting depends a lot upon where you live. However, my husband and I own 5 rental properties. Businesses in our community and in surrounding communities have shut down. Another is moving it's business to Mexico for cheap labor! People are losing their jobs and struggling to make ends meet.

As a landlord, we are currently looking at SEVERAL people that have credit issues. In fact, I would say that 80% ARE struggling. I can't hold out renting to someone due to the credit score. In fact, 2 of our best tenants can't get a loan for anything! They were upfront about their situation and we had no choice but to trust them or let the house sit empty even longer.

I think that many people are facing a similar situation and that everyone is going to adjust to a "new" normal.

Good luck.

[MrBankruptcy]

If you still have some cash left you probably should consider a bankruptcy filing before you are out on the streets. This way you're not throwing money at bills when then inevitable will be failure. If you file Chapter 7 you can protect what you have left until you can find work. Many people continue to pay minimum payments on credit card debt getting no where. Later on they wish they had all those payments back. Be proactive in finacial matters before you end up with no money and foreclosed on.

[taketime]

Thanks MrBankruptcy and all for the advice.
I do have some cash left, but not much. I found a temporary job for 4 to 6 weeks that will allow me to save money for the attorney fees, and also save money toward an older car. It is my plan to buy an older car for cash.

I have stopped paying my cc payments, and will now use my $$ to pay for necessary expenses (condo association fees, utilities, food, gas) and save for the attorney fee - they require to be paid in full before they will file a bk petition for me.

I think this is the best I can do for now. Thanks again, all.

[sunkinsc]

Who's going to rent to me with no steady income?
I really don't have a choice; I'm running out of money. Any encouragement out there?

I am pretty new to this stuff myself but we did find a house and I was honest and upfront with the owner about my situation and they were great about it. I would suggest seeking out places that are for rent by the owners and after meeting them and liking their place for yourself let them know what is going on. It may not work the first or second time, (we were turned down initially ourselves), but you will feel a lot better about it once you find something and can be honest.

I hope this helps

[mikeyisbroke]

Hello,

I just had my first consultation with an attorney today, it should be a pretty easy Chapter 7. I really have no assets, live with family and have just become unemployed. In the past 10 years I managed to rack up $36K in CC debt through pure stupidity and carelessness. I've been very diligent about paying on time every month - usually a tad more than the minimum, but the relentless doubling on APR's and subsequent increases in monthly payments, now combined with the income only from Unemployment, I feel kind forced into it...though I'm still nervous as all hell. My attorney was very informative and not pushy. If all goes well, no Adversary or other petitions are filed, we can do the BK for just under $1800.

I still feel a horrible sense of guilt and failure I let myself get to this point....anyone else out there feel my pain.

[meateater]

Hi Mikey,
You commented on one of my posts, so I think you know I feel your pain. That said, make sure you get as fresh of a start as possible so you can avoid ever being on this road again. I feel bad about the past and have been thinking about how I might make amends, but I'm glad that I learned a lesson and live in a society that allows second chances.

Make sure you have a budget and know what you need to break even each month. What's prompting you to file now - is anyone suing (that's what made me finally run to bk court)? Can you wait until you've landed a job (or would that put you outside of a chapter 7)? Do you have a plan for handling your finances post-bankruptcy?

The actual experience of filing bankruptcy is usually not difficult if you're honest in your filings and your case is uncomplicated, the larger issue for me has been dealing with my emotions about having done so. If you can, try treating these as separate issues, don't let feelings of guilt or failure interfere with getting the best "fresh start" possible.

[qsr]

Make sure you have at least $150 on hand to complete the filing process. You'll need $100 to enter into an installment plan, and you'll need $50 to pay for the pre-filing counseling. Do the pre-filing counseling at least 2 days before you file so you can get the certificate in time. This mostly applies to people trying to stop a foreclosure, but be forewarned that you'll need cash handy.

[helpme2010]

Considering bankruptcy

Hello everyone, I finally signed up with this site. Thank you for such a good quality website. I am considering going bankrupt as I am running out of options. I own a home, I lost my job over a year ago, I am on unemployment, I owe over $50,000 between my credit cards and home equity loan. The real problem happened when over a year ago all the creditors cut my credit lines (this had never happened to me before, so I couldn't tap into my home equity line of credit for example). I have renegotiated lower payment plans with my creditors, but some are now wanting things to go back to normal payments again.

My credit score now sucks, I opened my recent credit report and it shows I am in foreclosure status and have a bad report also from my home equity loan that I stopped paying probably 6 months or so back. Now one of my credit card companies is refusing to renew my lower monthly payment program for another 6 months and states this will soon be reported on my credit score as well.

I will be getting my degree in August and am hoping this will finally open up jobs that I have never been able to get before. However, I will have bad credit scores showing up when the companies interview me. I simply can't afford to keep making all of these payments as unemployment only goes so far and I am digging into what little cash reserve I have left.

I am assuming if I go bankrupt, that this will really look bad when I apply for jobs, but if I explain to the employer my situation and the fact that my mortgage company went under, my car company had to be bailed out, and my city and state have all had to be rescued, perhaps they will take this into consideration. But if I don't go bankrupt, I am just racking up more and more debt, the credit card companies are increasing how much I owe each month and I am piling up more and more bad ratings on my credit report anyways. One credit card company is hounding me and refuses to work with me.

I was worried about finding a house to rent after going bankrupt, but would have enough cash to cover a first and last and security, plus assuming I could get the job after getting the degree from college, I am hoping I could get a fresh start. Plus as some of you have posted, some home owners are willing to rent to those with bad credit, assuming we are good people and they are hungry for a renter.

I am not sure whether to go bankrupt or not, but eventually the decision may be forced upon me, as I am running out of time and options and its just getting worse and worse. The 2 reasons initially for not filing bankruptcy was to keep my house and to have a positive credit report when applying for a job. Now, it's more about survival.

I would love to have some dialogue with some of you about ideas and options.

Thank you so much.

[spearmint]

I am a bit concerned about a freeze being placed on my bank account, too. I asked at work if I could get a paper check instead of direct deposit and was told they only do direct deposit! I can't believe they don't give paper checks!

Now I am really in a bind!

[hackjob]

RE: Pre-BK Planning -- WAGES?!?

Wages? Are they protected? Do we have to exempt those?

Pre-planning Advice...

[MarieT]

I am a bit concerned about a freeze being placed on my bank account, too. I asked at work if I could get a paper check instead of direct deposit and was told they only do direct deposit! I can't believe they don't give paper checks!

Now I am really in a bind!

I think only certain banks like Wells Fargo freeze your accounts automatically. I have been told by all four BK attorneys that I consulted with that Wells Fargo always does this even if you don't owe them money. We have already opened an account at another bank and just got the debit cards in the mail yesterday for our new bank. We will be closing down our Wells Fargo accounts soon. We have unsecured lines of credit at WF so would have had to change banks anyway even if they did not have the freeze policy as we owe them about $25,000 on our LOC.

I checked with my the HR dept as far as direct deposit. It does take about a month after you order it for it to go through. The first check will be mailed then the next one direct deposited at the new bank.

[helpme2010]

Getting closer to making a decision

Hello everyone, I'm replying to myself here to see if anyone has any advice. I am just weeks from graduating and of course my bills are still through the roof. I want to declare bankruptcy to just end all this and finally have a fresh start.

My fears are still:

1. How hard will it be to get a job with a good company if they run a credit check and see the bankruptcy (versus bad credit the way it looks now)

2. How long will it take for the bankruptcy process to be complete?

3. If I own a home, how long can I stay in the home during the bankruptcy or after the bankruptcy ends? e.g. 3 months after bankruptcy? enough time for me to find a job and find a place to rent.

Hello everyone, I finally signed up with this site. Thank you for such a good quality website. I am considering going bankrupt as I am running out of options. I own a home, I lost my job over a year ago, I am on unemployment, I owe over $50,000 between my credit cards and home equity loan. The real problem happened when over a year ago all the creditors cut my credit lines (this had never happened to me before, so I couldn't tap into my home equity line of credit for example). I have renegotiated lower payment plans with my creditors, but some are now wanting things to go back to normal payments again.

My credit score now sucks, I opened my recent credit report and it shows I am in foreclosure status and have a bad report also from my home equity loan that I stopped paying probably 6 months or so back. Now one of my credit card companies is refusing to renew my lower monthly payment program for another 6 months and states this will soon be reported on my credit score as well.

I will be getting my degree in August and am hoping this will finally open up jobs that I have never been able to get before. However, I will have bad credit scores showing up when the companies interview me. I simply can't afford to keep making all of these payments as unemployment only goes so far and I am digging into what little cash reserve I have left.

I am assuming if I go bankrupt, that this will really look bad when I apply for jobs, but if I explain to the employer my situation and the fact that my mortgage company went under, my car company had to be bailed out, and my city and state have all had to be rescued, perhaps they will take this into consideration. But if I don't go bankrupt, I am just racking up more and more debt, the credit card companies are increasing how much I owe each month and I am piling up more and more bad ratings on my credit report anyways. One credit card company is hounding me and refuses to work with me.

I was worried about finding a house to rent after going bankrupt, but would have enough cash to cover a first and last and security, plus assuming I could get the job after getting the degree from college, I am hoping I could get a fresh start. Plus as some of you have posted, some home owners are willing to rent to those with bad credit, assuming we are good people and they are hungry for a renter.

I am not sure whether to go bankrupt or not, but eventually the decision may be forced upon me, as I am running out of time and options and its just getting worse and worse. The 2 reasons initially for not filing bankruptcy was to keep my house and to have a positive credit report when applying for a job. Now, it's more about survival.

I would love to have some dialogue with some of you about ideas and options.

Thank you so much.

[platter]

As for renting, people can buy a used travel trailer to live in. In some states where it's colder, you'd have to put some form of insulation around it. Oftentimes, we've used hay bundles, that foam home insulation, tarps, etc. In MS back when they were building the casinos and there was a shortage of apts, people bought travel trailers to live in. Many are doing it and the beauty is that you can move to another park whenever you wish. Some mobile home parks have lot spaces for campers too. Just a thought.

[currerbell]

People contemplating BK also need to know what rights their creditors have under cross-collateralization provisions. Someone way up higher stated that these are only valid when there is a signature loan or line of credit involved. Please know that this is NOT true in all jurisdictions. Find out what your obligations, especially if a credit union is involved. Don't do what I did and throw away good money paying off a vehicle only to have the CU repo it right after the discharge. Had I known in advance they were going to do this, I would have quit making the car payments and surrendered the vehicle. Now, I am out an additional $2,500 and a vehicle.