Should I file ?

[CindyLou]

I am always the one that chimes in here and gives the advice that you really have to look at your situation and decide for yourself if BK is the right choice for you. I would certainly explore every option, get ALL of the information on the options, and THEN make your decision. I certainly would NOT base your decision on the information your received about not being about to buy a car or house or rent an apartment. That is not true. Sure it is more challenging, but not any more challenging than with a high debt to income ratio.

I would like to ask a few questions in order to give you a little more advice. You said your are $4000 upside down on your motorcycle. Are you also upside down on your car? How much do you owe on your car? How much is your monthly payment on each of these? What is your monthly income before taxes?

I wouldn't necessarily rule out BK I am not saying that you should file. I just do not think you provided enough information for opinions to be given, so please provide more information about your situation.....

Thanks,
Cindy

[CindyLou]

Duh! I totally missed an entire post!!! But I do still think you should explore BK further even given the information. I think anyone considering it should see at least 3 BK attorney's then make a decision based on their advice. If something can be done without filing that is best always, but again the information given on the cars, apartments, and houses was incorrect. Sorry about missing the given information!

[jast]

Well I got all my bills together and my bank statements. I am going to go see a financial adviser today to see what they say. I know it is a big choice and I have been thinking about it all weekend, I am going to see what the adviser says and then make my choice.

One more question is there any on one the board that has filed chapter 7 can you give me an overview on what to expect as far as the first 2 years as rebuilding credit goes? I would really like to talk to some one just to see what it was like and if they ended up better off after filing or wish they had never done it?

[keepmine]

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=17790&highlight=keepmine

There are a lot of post bk success stories on this site. They all have a common theme. Live within {if not below your means} and raise your income.
As far as credit, every subprime lender on earth will crawl out of the woodwork. Don't touch bad loans just to get a tradeline.
Wait it out. With 2 years of good bill paying history post bk, you'll qualify for FHA mortgages. As time goes by, you'll qualify for more conventional programs.

[ameliabedilia]

Just a thought- if you have $200 left over each month, if you took your mininum cc payment out, and one of your vehicles you would probably have way too much left over and would have to do a 13 anyway I think. (I could be wrong here, and if so someone please chime in and correct me)
I would quit riding that bike and take the insurance coverage off of it. I might even consider repoing it. I know it would hurt your credit even more, but you could use all that extra money each month and get yourself out of debt fairly quickly, which would help your score for sure.

[jast]

Just a thought- if you have $200 left over each month, if you took your mininum cc payment out, and one of your vehicles you would probably have way too much left over and would have to do a 13 anyway I think. (I could be wrong here, and if so someone please chime in and correct me)
I would quit riding that bike and take the insurance coverage off of it. I might even consider repoing it. I know it would hurt your credit even more, but you could use all that extra money each month and get yourself out of debt fairly quickly, which would help your score for sure.

I can't drop insurance on the bike as I am still paying on it $180 a month and it is about a year old so it is upside down. I don't have the extra money to pay the difference and I have had not luck finding some one to pay what I owe on it.

[ameliabedilia]

If it were me, and I was considering filing bankruptcy and paying $1800 to do so as well as dealing with the repercussions of a bankruptcy on my credit,I would say screw the bike.
I would quit paying on the bike and also take the insurance off of it. I would let the bank reposses it, sell it at auction and deal with the amount owed later. In the meantime I would use all that extra money and pay down my cc debt.

I still just cannot see how you would be able to do a chapter 7 while having $200 extra dollars a month and having two vehicle payments for one person. How did your lawyer think it would happen? Am I missing something??

[jast]

I am not sure, I have called 2 and both say keeping the bike no problem. I live in TX maybe that has something to do with it. I was talking about it with a friend and he failed chapter 7 before the law change for 10,000.00 and he has 3 car's a house all in his name and got to keep them all. Now one is a Junker and the other 2 he was paying on.

I talked to the adviser today and told him what was going on. We laid out all my bills and my statements; we went over every thing and came out with a budget. I can be debit free in 5 years if every thing stays the same. The budget is going to take some getting use to but I think it can work. I only have 1 thing I am worried about in taking this path.

I don't think I can count on having $300 a month rent for 5 years. But I should hopefully have a better job and may be able to make up the difference.

Quick question does the amount of your debit effect how bad of a hit your credit score takes if you file?

[ameliabedilia]

I know that Texas is a very debtor friendly state.

Good for you for meeting with a budget advisor. I know that lots of us here would have really been able to use that before things got out of hand! I really think you can get out of this without filing, as long as you have discipline.

"Quick question does the amount of your debit effect how bad of a hit your credit score takes if you file?"

I don't know, but I do know that if you have a very large amount and terrible scores, you might not take as big of a hit because your debt amount goes down after you file and it gets wiped out. I know that we have huge amounts of debt $66k right now and we still have scores in the low 700's. I know that it will be going down soon as the bankruptcy hits, but then will rebound because we will be debt free.

[jast]

[SinkingFast]

Texas is a debtor friendly state, but I would ask more than one attny what they think about being able to take a car and a motorcycle thru BK.

We know a guy right now that the UST filed a Motion to Dismiss and that was one thing mentioned. The guy has a car and a bike. The UST's Office saw no need for both and want to disallow the payment for the bike to apply those monies toward his Ch 13 payment if he agrees to Convert.

That would be a question to ask other attnys as you Consult around.

[JollyGG]

Thanks for all the help guys, I still not sure what I want to do. I have a budget in one hand and I can file chapter 7 in the other. Both roads are going to be hard I just wonder what is better in the long run. I no a lot of you filed when you had no other choice in the matter and you look at me and I do have a choice I am on the line I could go one way or the other.

To me the important question is "How reasonable is your budget?" Does it have you eating PB&J for five years, does it have a monthly amount set aside for car repairs, does it have room for things like recreation, an occasional meal out, and gifts at the holidays?
Basically is then new budget something you can really live within.

Also remember that just because you decide not to file today and try to pay you debts at this time doesn't mean that if your circumstances change in the future you can't change your mind and file at that point in time.

[jast]

To me the important question is "How reasonable is your budget?" Does it have you eating PB&J for five years, does it have a monthly amount set aside for car repairs, does it have room for things like recreation, an occasional meal out, and gifts at the holidays?
Basically is then new budget something you can really live within.

Also remember that just because you decide not to file today and try to pay you debts at this time doesn't mean that if your circumstances change in the future you can't change your mind and file at that point in time.

[Minnymouth]

With only $50.00 play in your budget, you will find yourself using the cc each month................

Emergencies come up, cars break down, gas goes up, food goes up, and unexpected dental bill.......

$50.00 is not a safe leaway....... say your sick a few days and can't work - there goes your safety net...........

If it is that close each month, you need to consider a parttime job, or filing bankruptcy or letting the bike go since a car is more important.....

Just my thoughts

[jast]