Very nervous on filing....the negative it will have

[mass2010]

Have been mulling it around on filing ch 7. We are at the end of our financial ability to pay out debts off at this point. Our credit was very good and a great rating. Now, if we file, we will lose our good credit, have difficulty later should we want to obtain a mortgage, have difficulty getting a rental apartment and are very stressed about not having the security of a charge card.

Yes, I know that is awful to feel that way. But, we have been living off credit to survive with necessities as we are unemployed and fought this for a year of keeping up on our bills...but we have hit the end. We can't do it anymore. We are stressed about filing and don't want our credit ruined. We are living with friends for now, we have kids and are at the end of our rope pretty much. We don't have a choice.

I am very scared of not getting a rental in CA later on once we save enough to move again. And also find work again. We are unemployed and lived off what we had for the passed year.

Anyhow, if anyone has insight to rebuilding our credit again, how long it will take? Will we have a lot of difficulty getting a rental apt.? If we can get one, will they treat us differently in terms of how much it will cost us?

I am assuming we won't be able to buy a new car later? Can we buy one now before filing Ch 7? My spouse needs it to work.....We can afford our car but not the bills anymore...it's just too much.

Thank you for any experience you may have.

[AngelinaCatHub]

In a nutshell, you have not read enough here. You are not a new invention on your problems.

We, were worth 10 mil on land and paper. Bad decisions etc. as health, we went bk 7.

We have NEVER been happier now that we are "poor". We have realized many other things that are more important than "stuff".

You will be able to get an apartment, and you will eventually be able to buy a house. This Country is in turmoil, you are one of many thousands.

Quit worrying about your credit rating and that trivial stuff. There is a glut of good used cars out there. Hit Craigs list or your newspaper.

Once you make that decision to bk, you will feel a lot better. Living with any friend does two things. Lessons that friendship and you still have a housing problem.

File and fix. Relax and understand, this is business, not the end of your life or reputation. You now are amoung folks who will help you.

Read ALL the "stickies" on the forums that would apply to you. Get the C7 book from Nolo press (17 bucks) if you wish C7.

Wish you good fortune. 'Hub

[mtbc]

Rebuiling credit isn't too bad. The most recent stuff counts for the most on your score, and if you obtain secured (cash-backed) credit cards or other loans (fully-secured is easy to obtain at low fees), they still look nice on your credit report as you pay them off again. Also, perhaps a family member or something can co-sign an unsecured line of credit. I (long ago!) built good credit from near-nothing with this kind of technique. There's a lot of information out there on how to do this. Expect your credit to remain poor for at least a couple of years, mind, and don't use it to get yourself back into whatever caused you to be filing bankruptcy now.

Getting apartment rental has also been fairly easy for us. Our trick is to find owner-occupied apartments and to have the initial cash ready and good references available. (We have many years of good rental history and utility payments, after all, even if our consumer credit is a disaster.) We didn't try going through agencies instead. In many markets these days owners are desperate to find renters.

We even managed to get a rental car a couple of weeks ago -- we found a local car dealer who rents out cars in the hope you'll buy one, who was happy to simply hold a deposit on our checking account through our debit card.

[frogger]

It will all work out fine. You'll be surprised how much better your credit score will improve once you have your fresh start. Rentals are a dime a dozen out there now, and you shouldn't have any problem finding one.

Just chill out, study up, do your homework, and plan for your future. Good luck!

[Faust]

Don't worry, most Americans will have shitty credit by the end of next year so you'll be ahead of the herd!

[SPalin]

Don't worry, really! I felt the same way several months ago, but then I found out a coworker had filed ch 7 and had stopped paying her mortgage because her lender would not modify her loan. Both of us have jobs that had a 15% pay cut and that was the icing on my cake as I had spent into my income and 15% cut caused me to use credit cards to "maintain my lifestyle" boy was that stupid!

Glad I'm getting a fresh start in 2010 and wiping out over $75k of cc debt and will walk away from a -60% equity home. My trustee at the 341 hearing asked me what my intentions were for the house and I responded, "I will be surrendering the house," his reply was, "That is a very wise call, considering you owe over $237k on a house that is worth $110k and still dropping."

So yes it is difficult to face the fact, but the stress is not worth it and so what is a credit score, just a number... you'll recover and begin a new life with less stress. You be able to find an apartment or condo... you might have to pay a larger deposit, but having a bk on your credit file is not the death sentence for renting like in the past. I have called several upscale apartment complexes to see what their bk policy is, and all of them stated no problem as we have several former homeowners living here due the economic times. So hang in there and read as much

[JRScott]

Rebuilding credit and assuming more debt shouldn't be on your mind. However yes you would be able to rent again and in the future could buy another car on credit.

Vehicles would probably be high interest for at least a couple of years.

There is a section of the forum dedicated to assisting folks to help rebuild credit in the after the discharge section

[DebtHater]

First thing first. Don't worry about credit ratings or other insignificant numbers while you are attempting to regain employment. Just worry about making money. Once you start making money again the rest will become easier.

..... are very stressed about not having the security of a charge card.

Since I've stopped using my credit cards for "security" reasons I'm much less stressed then when I was. It's much easier and less stressful to live a cash flow lifestyle.

Once I'm discharged I'm going to build up a several thousand dollar emergency fund for true security. This way when there is an "emergency" such as an unexpected car repair or the heat is out, there will be no worrying where the money is coming from to take care of the repairs.

Since I've stopped using my credit cards for "security" reasons I'm much less stressed then when I was. It's much easier and less stressful to live a cash flow lifestyle.

Once I'm discharged I'm going to build up a several thousand dollar emergency fund for true security. This way when there is an "emergency" such as an unexpected car repair or the heat is out, there will be no worrying where the money is coming from to take care of the repairs.

I am assuming we won't be able to buy a new car later? Can we buy one now before filing Ch 7? My spouse needs it to work.....We can afford our car but not the bills anymore...it's just too much.

Why won't you be able to buy a new car later? Just because you may not be able to get a new car loan later should not prevent you in getting a new (or new to you) car. New cars (brand new) are over rated anyway. Why spend $20,000 to drive a brand new car off the lot so as soon as leave the parking lot it's only worth $15,000? It's financially better to buy that same car two years later that might be worth $12,000 and still be worth $12,000 after you buy it.

Again, once I'm discharged, I will be buying a new (to me) car after I'm done making the payments on it. How? I will start making $300 car payments to myself and after a year I'll have $3,600. I'll then sell the car I have which probably worth about $1,500 and I'll have over $5,000 for a new car. Two years later after I save up another $7,200 I can then sell what might be a $3,500 car with depreciation and buy an almost $11,000 car. One thing to note, these numbers do not reflect the interest I'm making as opposed to the interest I'm paying someone else.

[florida]

I wanted to chime in that I too felt just like you a few months ago. All I can say is that the boards are very helpful and supportive.
I can now sleep at night! LOL
Previously I had excellent credit, never missed a payment. - But I was MISERABLE!

Now, I don't care! I am happier than I ever have been. I'm thinking of this as a business decision and not taking it so darn personal. We have retained an attorney and will be filing after we receive our tax refund.

Good luck and best wishes!

[goneunder]

An Attorney I spoke with said that credit problems are world wide that I am but a bit of dust in the wind. Better to clean the slate and move forward not to worry about the future because BK's are like belly buttons everybody has one.

[2manybills]

If there is one that I have learned through this process is just our significant our "stuff" was in the whole grand scheme of things.

This is the first Christmas in years that I have not worried about dumping more on to credit cards to impress other people. We enjoyed our holiday with family and friends and were grateful for our fresh start in 2010.

[creditgone]

I could have written your post. We too are staying with family. We are current but just can't do it anymore. We have been thinking about this for some time but kept trying to come up with new ideas to save us but we finally realized that we will never get out from under this. We decided to do it. We don't know when but probobly within the next year or so. We too have been really depressed about our credit rating going down the toilet. If we decided this 5 years ago we would have really had a hard time with it but so MANY people are in the same boat. I think that it will be one of those stories you tell someday in casual conversation. Like "Yeah, we were hit hard by the recession back in the early 2000's but we are doing great now". Just like our grandparents told stories of getting hit with the depression. this seems to help me anyway.