A bad situation made worse -- BK may be only option

[NAL123]

I moved to central CT. from NYC and made my bad financial situation that much worse. Because of impulsive activity, I am now likely going to be sued by 3 party's.

1) The landlord of my apartment back in NYC where I just up & moved and abandoned possession of the apartment in the middle of the lease. Likely will be sued for 8 months of rent thru March 2008.

2) I foolishly saw a great condo and thought I could purchase it on my salary and split my savings to pay CC debt & the mortgage + enough for down payment. Well guess what, the total cost would be prohibitive ($4,800 a year for Property Taxes alone + $250 in HOA + who knows how much for heat & electric). I backed out by stopping payment on the check, now I am facing civil & possible criminal charges. The check was never cashed yet & the developer doesn't know.

3) LA Fitness -- AMEX cancelled my gold card account due to information in my credit report unrelated to activity on that card. I cannot swing the $50 monthly dues and signed a one year contract back in June.

Crazy?? Yes?? Impulsive ?? Absolutely
I have a case of Bipolar disorder which has always been misdiagnosed. I do fine for a period and then shift back into the manic zone where out of control spending & impulsive decisions are common.

I moved here outside of Hartford for job in May. The job is going well. I am subletting an apartment and everything is in the sublettees name including utilities which I reimburse her for. All mail, my DL & Paycheck still have my NY address on them. This sublet goes thru end of Dec. Then I am thinking of getting another sublet somewhere in Massachusetts which is 30 minutes from my job so its harder to find me.

Note, none of the above lawsuits have happened yet and they are for unrendered services. For the condo, I do not have an attorney and the complex isn't even fully constructed yet. I put a deposit of over $10,000 in personal check and the 'back out' period has ended. They will likely sue for liquidated damages as well as civil damages thru CT. bad check rules.

I may have to use my mental condition as a defense. I was diagnosed with depression & anxiety back in December and have been taking a large amount of Prozac -- 80MG a day and have not even seen a psyc since then since I can't afford it.

So is there anything I can use as a defense?? I cannot qualify for Chapter 7 because I am way over the median for a single person in both CT & NY. I am drowning in CC debt with Providian, & Chase raising my rates to 30%. If I do a chapter 13, would that at least stop the lawsuits or judgements before the other parties get them??

Is there anything I can do other than just hope that this drags thru the end of the year and then 'go into hiding' in another state (MA) so I am harder to find??

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

Best thing to do is consult a couple of BK Lawyers, your initial consultations are FREE. If you can file for BK before any judgements hit, I think will make your case less difficult. An automatic stay kicks in the day you can file and creditors cannot go after you! Wish I could give you more advice, but to get yourself filed before things get worst!

Running won't do you any good, I tried that when I had filed BK in the early 90's, and they eventually found my PO BOX where I had been hiding and dumped all these collection letters in my box. Plus if you get any judgements they will follow you around wherever you go!

Best of Luck, CMIYC

[NAL123]

But if I file, will this at least stop (at least temporarily) the process to getting the judgements??

Let me say that these are based on contracts for future goods & services (the RE purchase, my apartment lease that I am breaking because I relocated for a job, & the gym membership).

What about the stop payment I put on the check for the initial deposit of the condo?? In the purchase agreement, it says that I am liable for liquidated damages to the amount of the deposit if I fail to perform in the time periods outlined in the contract.

Truthfully, I did this because I couldn't take chances with this money & whether or not they would give it back to me. The RE agent referred me to a mortgage broker who told me that not only would I be able to get a mortgage, but I could get something like 5.30% fixed at a 30 year term under the CT first time buyer program since my income is under the limit for a single person of $85,000 a year. BUT, she DIDN'T tell me that you need to be a CT resident for at least 2 years and have at least a 680 FICO score, plus there is PMI which I explicitly told her I didn't want.

Talking directly to a few banks, I was told that given my total DTI & debt load, I would need to go stated and I was looking at rates in the 7%'s or much higher if I put less than 20% down.

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

An automatic stay kicks in and stops the creditors from pursuing you: garnishments, judgements etc. The other stuff, that is unfamiliar territory to me as I do not own a house or had deposits on a house/condo etc. Hopefully others will eventually chime in to lend their experience. Meanwhile, get a few consults as I suggested, don't rely soley on the internet for your answers. But this forum is wonderful support!

Best of Luck, CMIYC