Helloo Noob Here

[bsr2002]

Hello everyone, I have a question:

I have been thinking about filing for Bankruptcy, I have a consultation meeting with a Bankruptcy Attorney on Wed.

I have a DUI court date pending, will this be a conflict with my filing? The attorney I am working with doesn't list Bankruptcy as his specialty. I know the DUI was my fault so please no lectures, I have been alcohol free for almost a year already.

I just want to get out of this bind... please any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ben

[Drazil65]

Hi and welcome. You are on the right track with your consult on weds., perhaps schedule a couple more free consults as you will want to ask alot of questions and get a good feel from the attorney you choose to use. Read everything in this forum that you can regarding bankruptcy, there is an amazing amount of info here and people that have been thru it. You do not say what your situation is or if you own a home, have a job, a family, how much debt etc, if you want any feedback from the forum then give us the facts and ask as many questions as you need to. We are always glad to help and give you whatever advice we can from experience. You are in the right place so ask away! Good luck!

[TheBajan]

Welcome, Ben! You have come to the right place and Drazil has given you VERY good advice to schedule more appointments. Finding the right attorney means everything in BK. Even if you are really comfortable with the attorney on Wed, you should still talk to a few others before choosing who to work with. This forum has been a goldmine of information for me. I had already filed when I came across this site and it has still been a wonderful asset. There are a lot of very well informed and experienced people here who are willing to help. You may not always like the advice but it's always meant with good intentions. Best wishes to you.

The Bajan

[bsr2002]

Hi again and sorry bout, I am a healthcare worker a tech and a part time musician. I used my gig money to suppliment my income but now with economy they have been too few and far between.

My debt, I'm lookin at about 80,000 of debt not counting what the out come of my court case will be.

60000 Mortgage
17000 Credit Card
2500 Property Tax
700 For a Payday Loan (Big Mistake)

I found a letter from someone who says is from NCCI sent from BOA. The envelope had no postage and the letter was typed without any letter head, just looked like someone typed it from thier house. Anyways a day after that, someone came baning at my door around 8:30pm yelling if anyone was home. I looked out the peep hole and it was someone with a clip board, I never answered the door.

Yesterday someone from Franklyn Ross and Assoc leaves a message on my cell to call. Within 30 min they had called me, a friend of mine and my stepdad leaving diff messages. They told my friend they were a Law Firm and I needed to get back to them right away. They told my stepdad they were reviewing a job application calling references and were trying to get back to me... This is just craziness and I can see it getting crazier if I don't take action right away. Hence the appointment with attorney Wed. There is still more to tell but I gotta get to work.

My only real asset seems to be my home as my cars are paid for and are about 15 years old.

[bsr2002]

I must add, I have know idea how those people got hold of my friend an stepdad's cell #!

[SMinGA2]

When you fill out applications - they often ask for friends/family as references.

First - bankruptcy might not relieve you of any fines/penalties assessed as a result of the DUI. Second - consulting multiple attorneys is important. Especially if the first does not specialize in bankruptcy. (And since you have the added complication of the DUI.)

What are your intentions regarding the house? If you are behind on your mortgage and have not been in contact with your lender, they may have sent someone to the house to determine if it is occupied or if you've abandoned it. Could be something as simple as they need to know for insurance purposes.

If you don't want creditors contacting friends & family - the easiest thing to do is talk to them. They can only (legally) contact friends/family in an effort to 'locate' you. If you speak to them, let them know they have the proper phone #/address for you, they no longer have a reason to call around for you. You don't need to give them any detailed information - could be as simple as that you're having financial difficulties and you're trying to sort out your options.

[TheBajan]

If you don't want creditors contacting friends & family - the easiest thing to do is talk to them. They can only (legally) contact friends/family in an effort to 'locate' you. If you speak to them, let them know they have the proper phone #/address for you, they no longer have a reason to call around for you. You don't need to give them any detailed information - could be as simple as that you're having financial difficulties and you're trying to sort out your options.

I just wanted to add to what Staci is saying. My attorney told me to only give them as little info as possible. He advised me NOT to mention that I was filing BK until after I filed. At that point, if anyone still called I was to refer them to my attorney. They don't care about your situation so unless you are prepared to offer some sort of settlement or cash, the conversations you can have with them are very limited. I haven't used it but several people here have used Google Voice to help divert the calls.

The Bajan

[bsr2002]

I want to not lose the house.I had a flat rate on my mortgage payment with Countrywide and didn't change when BOA bought them out. However I could no longer afford the home owner's insurance wich was seperate company so BOA slapped another $200/month on top of my mortgage with there own insurance plan. They said they would stop when I found another company. I have since continued to pay my mortgage minus the extra $200 they have been charging me for 4 months now.

On the BOA website they claiming I haven't made any payments for 3 months, I sent them an email yesterday with the payment dates.

[SMinGA2]

I'm not an attorney, so this is NOT legal advice but from the perspective of been there/done that.

1) find homeowner's insurance! It should not cost you anything out of pocket, if they'll bill BOA (escrow). I've had Travellers and Allstate for homeowners insurance, so I can say they both work with the credit 'challenged'. I don't think credit played a part in the rate, though I can't be sure. Even so - its better than $200/mo.

2) even though you are paying 'all but the insurance' your mortgage is behind according to BofA. You could try contacting them to ask about a loan modification. I went thru an inhouse mod with them (also formerly Countrywide) almost 2 years ago. Started in April '10 actually, had it finalized by June '10. Reduced my rate (was 6.95% fixed) and brought my loan current. I had to fax them checkstubs, W2s, tax forms, etc. - but it was much easier than the government/HAMP mods that I've heard horror stories about. With my rate going down - the total payment of course went down. That might be a way to resolve your property tax & insurance issue going forward. (Making the home more affordable.) If you want to keep the house, you'll have to find a way to resolve the property tax issues anyhow.

Assess whether or not you can afford the house. If so, and if it would cost the same or more to rent, then staying in the house is probably a good plan. But ignoring the insurance bit won't make it go away.

Bankruptcy can take care of the credit cards, pay day loans - but you'll need a plan to combat other things.