Fraud?

[breezyday]

I keep hearing scary words like FRAUD, what does that Entail?

My husband will loose his job in 2 weeks, we can no longer make our house payment and will move out.
House will go to foreclosure. We do not have the money to even rent a house with deposits & rent, get a Uhaul etc. I plan to take a cash advance from my credit card. I want to borrow enough to pay off a few other debts too.

I plan to keep paying on the card until we see what's happens with the house after foreclosure. Then maybe BK next year?
Yikes this is scary stuff!
I'm so stress the way it is now!
Then I hear words like fraud?
We thought we had a contract on our home but it fell through!
Have pretty much sold anything and everything of any value to hang on, even had a yard sale to buy groceries & gas this month.

[MomIcantFindmy]

Since it sounds like your finances are in trouble now you may want to go ahead and visit an attorney now rather than wait. The attorney can help you with the best time to file. Problems can arise with cash advances too close to filing. Many people find relief from the stress after filing. If you think you may have to file anyway why not now. I would certainly talk to an attorney. Good luck and check out all the stickies on the board. It sure helped me a lot.

[soleprop]

yeah i'd steer clear of the credit cards, they don't usually help the situation...

[liz417]

Hi Breezy,
IF you are going to use your cc to move, etc., wait at least 6 months to file.

Good Luck to you!

[Flamingo]

Just briefly to answer your question as to "fraud," fraud is committed when you utilize a credit card to purchase something or make a cash advance knowing your intent is to file bankruptcy and not pay the money back. There is at least a six month (sometimes one year) look back period prior to filing as to charges made on credit cards, cash advances taken out, etc. As previous posters mentioned to you, since you are in trouble with debt right now, it might be a good idea for you to investigate your options and how you stand financially with everything and consult with a BK attorney soon.

[breezyday]

[car67]

You could live in the home for up to 18 months before they force you out for non pay!
Use that time to your advantage yes if you must use the card I understand but be prepared to let 12 months pass before you file with respect to card and abuse.......

With the new changes coming Oct 1 yets to be seen what the courts will really do on a foreclousre I doubt anyone will operate in a hurry to kick you out for non pay in your mortgaged home until late next year legally so dont stress.... We all have been on the scared side! Keep the cash to build up some surplus for your move!

Stay here with us and there is solid advice on this board!

[car67]

I bet ya can squeeze 6 months rent free if you tried!

[Faithfullymovin]

Breezydy:

Just hang in there and take one thing at a time. I knew I was going to give my house up and I also moved. I took one day at a time. It still gets to me some but you just need to not let it all overwhelm you at once. Just take one problem at a time. It sounds like you are moving next month, so focus on that and then deal with the house once you are out.

I would be careful with the credit cards. I am trying very hard to stay away from using them if I plan on filing BK. Have you thought about asking family to loan you the money for a few weeks until you move back?

Hang in there!

Faith

[AngelinaCatHub]

Breezy, all posters above have good points. May I add, PLEASE don’t cash advance on the card. If you are planning on bk anyway, stop payment on everything and use that money for those select bills. Even if your electricity is turned off, as long as water is on, a kerosene lamp and batter radio and a book is very peaceful. We are about in your condition at this time but we have a time frame of a light in the tunnel. Our phone has been turned off, and I had to talk to an attorney by cell phone and the Trustees special attorney, so they all know our predicament. Please rethink that cash advance and there are places that do give food things to folks and at this time be not ashamed to take advantage as you have given to others all your life. We went to get food stamps but due to my SS we can’t. Well if they knew what SS buys for a month, maybe one tank of gas today? Wish you well. ‘Hub

[breezyday]

We also cut everywhere we could,

Drop the home phone, trash pick up ( I can drop it of for free at the recycle center) wish I had knew sooner.
We drop our dental insurance, just basic cable, we rarely use AC and keep most lights turned off.
Where broke and just want to go home!
We truly hate it here!
We don’t have any family members with money to lend.
At this point we will take our chance and take a cash advance.

The only reason my husband gave two weeks notice is so he can sell back his vacation time.
But if he just quits he will lose that little bit of money!
It won’t be much since he used half of it up with his back injury.
But every little bit helps.
His job even screw him out of workman comp.
For now where not using credit cards, paying cash for everything, we mostly stay home.
The problem is we moved here 3 year ago when he was offer a high paying good job, it lasted for a year and suddenly ended. Last two years he took a lower paying job hoping we would sell our home fast.
Now 2 years later he is injury.
He has a college education but no work in this area.
No house is worth this stress!
We have tried to do the right thing!
We may never have to file BK, will depend on how the foreclosurer goes and that will not be for awhile.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

You could live in the home for up to 18 months before they force you out for non pay!

Car67, I know you mean well, but please be careful with advice like that.

I am aware that you are using the phrase "up to 18 months" but the reality in many areas falls far short of that, as low as two months even. It really is unfair to try to predict for anyone else based on your own experiences, because so much is at stake and it all depends on your particular bank, your particular state, and your particular courthouse.

First, Bank A may very well have different foreclosure practices than Bank B. You may live right next door to a house that defaulted at the same time yours did, but you're out on the street three months before they are simply because Bank A did not accelerate the loan at the same time Bank B did.

Secondly, foreclosure laws vary WIDELY from state to state, and while it is true that in certain states with redemption rights you can get up to 6 months rent-free in your foreclosed house waiting for the redemption period to pass, that is NOT true of all -- or even most -- states.

Third, how busy your court system is has a lot to do with how long you have. If you're in an urban area with a large well-staffed court system, you can expect much faster turnaround than out in the country with a tiny low-staffed courthouse.

In most cases, the amount of time involved between acceleration of a mortgage and actual eviction is MUCH shorter than 18 months... even with the system being overwhelmed. There may be a lot of houses foreclosing in your area, but they WILL get around to you. You will not be forgotten.

Please forgive me, I don't wish to seem sharp, but as there are many desperate people who read this board and are looking for exactly this information -- how long before I have to move? -- I had to step in. I know you would not want to give misinformation that would hurt someone else.

[lady elaine]

I feel the same way you do and I am terrified of what is going to come up when we file. We did cash advances to pay for the mortgage, other cc's because we truly were on track to get a large (80k bonus) from my husbands work, but then the economy keeps on getting worse and worse and his job is directly tied to the housing market and well here we are planning on filing.
I am truly terrified of what the courts will say and what can I say back? We were idiots, made huge mistakes and were hoping for something that we should have seen was never going to happen?

[Flamingo]

You could live in the home for up to 18 months before they force you out for non pay!
Use that time to your advantage yes if you must use the card I understand but be prepared to let 12 months pass before you file with respect to card and abuse.......

With the new changes coming Oct 1 yets to be seen what the courts will really do on a foreclousre I doubt anyone will operate in a hurry to kick you out for non pay in your mortgaged home until late next year legally so dont stress.... We all have been on the scared side! Keep the cash to build up some surplus for your move!

Stay here with us and there is solid advice on this board!

________________________________

While I am not in foreclosure, in our area the papers are plastered here with how foreclosures are being sped up in our area by banks to get done way sooner than in the past. While that may not apply to other areas, its an indication that really no one has any idea how long they will be allowed to stay in the home if they pursue foreclosure.

[Flamingo]

I feel the same way you do and I am terrified of what is going to come up when we file. We did cash advances to pay for the mortgage, other cc's because we truly were on track to get a large (80k bonus) from my husbands work, but then the economy keeps on getting worse and worse and his job is directly tied to the housing market and well here we are planning on filing.
I am truly terrified of what the courts will say and what can I say back? We were idiots, made huge mistakes and were hoping for something that we should have seen was never going to happen?

_______________

Once you get into the rob Peter to pay Paul scenario, you have started in that downward spiral that will eventually (as much as you deny it at the time) will lead you right to bankruptcy unless you have a major financial windfall to save you and pay it all off. You just get yourself into more debt and can get in trouble as to the cash advances and charges if you do file. Creditors are getting smart as to what folks are doing now and many are reducing or elimating high limits on cards or HELOCS so people who start getting into financial trouble cannot access that additional cash. Once you start doing cash advances and your limit starts to rise, they will pull your reports and see what is going on. If your limits are rising elsewhere or you have one late payment on something, up goes the interest or the extra available cash limit will be reduced or eliminated. You are not alone in how you feel - it's a state of denial and something eventually makes you face the fact that you are in real trouble.