The Chapter 7 NOVA Club!
I've been getting a lot of private messages from people in Northern VA who are filing or have filed. Thought we could make a thread to give each other pointers, advice and moral support for filing in our overly priced place of residence. Lets share our stories and help each other out. 
I also just realized this post turned into a novel...sorry!
I've posted a bit on the forums but here's a detailed description...
I moved to another country last October for a job. My work permit ended up getting delayed for almost 4 months and then in February I got laid off. During that time I had to live on my credit cards and pay other bills with them. I had also taken some balance transfers to help pay my mortgage. They were mostly in October of last year and I think maybe one in December so I hope those don't become an issue. My fiancee's family also gave me some money...
I was able to get a job when I returned and I started April 6th. I have only received a little over 5k in income in the last 6 months. I was ineligable for unemployment as I was laid off from a foreign company. I spent the better part of last year and this year crying all the time.
I hadn't planned on filing when I returned. I thought, hey I found a good job... this is ok I'll get through it. Well, between my house being upside down over 150,000 and not being able to live in it because I have renters (I had left the country made sense) and having to pay over 1,000 a month for someone else to live in my home and then having to pay rent, credit cards, utilities, vet bills, car payments... I was totally in over my head. Some of my credit cards decided to raise my interest rates and I was left with over 400 dollar payments on 1 credit card. Yet, I still plugged on.
So, we got here in March again and tried to make it work. My fiancee and I have been living in a friend's house the past few months and paying almost 2000 dollars between his rent and the rest of my mortgage on a house that isn't worth the paper its printed on. I am current on most of my bills but I am forever 30 days behind on my mortgage. And we were only able to stay current by using the credit cards to pay for food, gas, clothing...etc... so, even though I was able to pay things, I'm still in the hole.
A few weeks ago we thought about getting an apartment on our own. When I looked at rental prices in northern VA (omg shocker!) and what it costs to actually move into an apartment in this area... I broke down. I realized we were doomed to live in my friend's bedroom for a very long time as we could never afford to live even comfortably. Apartment complexes in NOVA cost anywhere between 1200-1500 a month for the smallest 1 bedrooms. There are more affordable places but if you make more than 50k a year you don't qualify for them. So, that's when I decided I should look into bankruptcy.
I've always been in debt...since I was like 19...I was raised by irresponsible parents who have filed multiple times in their lives so I never really learned how to manage money well. I know that's not an excuse but it did contribute. My problem has been even though (up till last year) I made good money I was never able to save any of my money to pay anything off. So, while I was paying everything (minimum payments), I wasn't getting anywhere and not having any money left over at the end of the month.
Now, after all I've gone through in the last 6 months ... we don't even have any furniture or anything... I have a bed and some of that do it yourself put together stuff ... we have a bed, 2 dressers and 2 computer desks... lol. And clothing. Except now I feel a lot better... I finally feel that I can get out from under my eternal burden and start living smart and not being ruled by credit cards. They are evil. Other countries don't have them and the US should get rid of them.
I'm truly thankful that I can do this and feel good about it. Now that I have retained an attorney and stopped paying these outrageous bills we are able to get ourselves an apartment and be on our own. I'm moving 6/15 and I'm so excited.
I'm also eager to hear other NOVA stories and help each other through this stressful time.
I also just realized this post turned into a novel...sorry!
I've posted a bit on the forums but here's a detailed description...
I moved to another country last October for a job. My work permit ended up getting delayed for almost 4 months and then in February I got laid off. During that time I had to live on my credit cards and pay other bills with them. I had also taken some balance transfers to help pay my mortgage. They were mostly in October of last year and I think maybe one in December so I hope those don't become an issue. My fiancee's family also gave me some money...
I was able to get a job when I returned and I started April 6th. I have only received a little over 5k in income in the last 6 months. I was ineligable for unemployment as I was laid off from a foreign company. I spent the better part of last year and this year crying all the time.
I hadn't planned on filing when I returned. I thought, hey I found a good job... this is ok I'll get through it. Well, between my house being upside down over 150,000 and not being able to live in it because I have renters (I had left the country made sense) and having to pay over 1,000 a month for someone else to live in my home and then having to pay rent, credit cards, utilities, vet bills, car payments... I was totally in over my head. Some of my credit cards decided to raise my interest rates and I was left with over 400 dollar payments on 1 credit card. Yet, I still plugged on.
So, we got here in March again and tried to make it work. My fiancee and I have been living in a friend's house the past few months and paying almost 2000 dollars between his rent and the rest of my mortgage on a house that isn't worth the paper its printed on. I am current on most of my bills but I am forever 30 days behind on my mortgage. And we were only able to stay current by using the credit cards to pay for food, gas, clothing...etc... so, even though I was able to pay things, I'm still in the hole.
A few weeks ago we thought about getting an apartment on our own. When I looked at rental prices in northern VA (omg shocker!) and what it costs to actually move into an apartment in this area... I broke down. I realized we were doomed to live in my friend's bedroom for a very long time as we could never afford to live even comfortably. Apartment complexes in NOVA cost anywhere between 1200-1500 a month for the smallest 1 bedrooms. There are more affordable places but if you make more than 50k a year you don't qualify for them. So, that's when I decided I should look into bankruptcy.
I've always been in debt...since I was like 19...I was raised by irresponsible parents who have filed multiple times in their lives so I never really learned how to manage money well. I know that's not an excuse but it did contribute. My problem has been even though (up till last year) I made good money I was never able to save any of my money to pay anything off. So, while I was paying everything (minimum payments), I wasn't getting anywhere and not having any money left over at the end of the month.
Now, after all I've gone through in the last 6 months ... we don't even have any furniture or anything... I have a bed and some of that do it yourself put together stuff ... we have a bed, 2 dressers and 2 computer desks... lol. And clothing. Except now I feel a lot better... I finally feel that I can get out from under my eternal burden and start living smart and not being ruled by credit cards. They are evil. Other countries don't have them and the US should get rid of them.
I'm truly thankful that I can do this and feel good about it. Now that I have retained an attorney and stopped paying these outrageous bills we are able to get ourselves an apartment and be on our own. I'm moving 6/15 and I'm so excited.
I'm also eager to hear other NOVA stories and help each other through this stressful time.