Hello.
Wow. I feel like I've just come to my first "AA" meeting and I'm admitting that I have a problem. Ironically, bankruptcy is the worst solution to any financial problem. At least, that's what I've always said. And now I'm feeling a huge sense of relief at the thought of maybe starting to put all of this behind me. Strange concept.
My husband and I made a huge leap of faith in the real estate market about 3 years ago. We were on a high!! We bought 7 houses in less then a year and even closed on 2 of them in the same day! Impeccable credit and the ability to repair/remodel most things ourselves...we were going to hold on to the properties for just over a year (avoid higher taxes) and sell.
But the economy is in a slump, and just when we are ready to sell, we can't. There hasn't been an offer in almost a year! WE stopped paying on our credit cards in Feb 09 and I'm thinking I'm pretty close to being taken to court for one of the 5 cards. I've received a notice that I have 30 days to dispute the debt (which we will). Our lawyer wants to counter sue them for unfair debt collection practices. The problem is, will this really put it behind me, or will it just be sold to another creditor and the saga continues?
We are at the point of considering to file bankruptcy. My home has very little equity in it (used that to buy the rental houses). We have a truck that will be paid off next Sept, so I would prefer to file NOW to avoid losing it. We have a few toys that we could lose (2 snowmobiles and a motorcycle). I don't like that idea because one of the sleds is my sons as well as his car (in my name). I lease my car.
But we have 6 rental houses (3 are in our LLC from our business name). If someone offered to buy them all today, I doubt we could payoff the $120K we owe on credit cards.
The question is, do we go with bankruptcy or see what happens if we just let things roll as it is? I am a daycare provider/photographer, so much of my income is offset at the end of the year. My husband works outside of the home and makes about $40K/yr. However, we've shown a loss for our rental business on our taxes, for the last 2 years and our income is so low that our kids qualify for "free" lunches at school and state paid health insurance (even though we have health insurance too). Does this make us not collectible?
I dont know what to do. If I file, then I can start living my life without the worry of a creditor calling me or my family anymore. I also can start to rebuild my credit--which always used to matter. And we hope to pay our home off in 7 years. I don't want to get sued because of this situation right now....I'd rather file Chapter 7. But maybe it's not that easy. I don't know what to do. I'm just frustrated and tired of working 80 hrs a week so that we can eat Mac and Cheese and pay the mortgage payment for tenants that can't afford to pay us!
Wow. I feel like I've just come to my first "AA" meeting and I'm admitting that I have a problem. Ironically, bankruptcy is the worst solution to any financial problem. At least, that's what I've always said. And now I'm feeling a huge sense of relief at the thought of maybe starting to put all of this behind me. Strange concept.
My husband and I made a huge leap of faith in the real estate market about 3 years ago. We were on a high!! We bought 7 houses in less then a year and even closed on 2 of them in the same day! Impeccable credit and the ability to repair/remodel most things ourselves...we were going to hold on to the properties for just over a year (avoid higher taxes) and sell.
But the economy is in a slump, and just when we are ready to sell, we can't. There hasn't been an offer in almost a year! WE stopped paying on our credit cards in Feb 09 and I'm thinking I'm pretty close to being taken to court for one of the 5 cards. I've received a notice that I have 30 days to dispute the debt (which we will). Our lawyer wants to counter sue them for unfair debt collection practices. The problem is, will this really put it behind me, or will it just be sold to another creditor and the saga continues?
We are at the point of considering to file bankruptcy. My home has very little equity in it (used that to buy the rental houses). We have a truck that will be paid off next Sept, so I would prefer to file NOW to avoid losing it. We have a few toys that we could lose (2 snowmobiles and a motorcycle). I don't like that idea because one of the sleds is my sons as well as his car (in my name). I lease my car.
But we have 6 rental houses (3 are in our LLC from our business name). If someone offered to buy them all today, I doubt we could payoff the $120K we owe on credit cards.
The question is, do we go with bankruptcy or see what happens if we just let things roll as it is? I am a daycare provider/photographer, so much of my income is offset at the end of the year. My husband works outside of the home and makes about $40K/yr. However, we've shown a loss for our rental business on our taxes, for the last 2 years and our income is so low that our kids qualify for "free" lunches at school and state paid health insurance (even though we have health insurance too). Does this make us not collectible?
I dont know what to do. If I file, then I can start living my life without the worry of a creditor calling me or my family anymore. I also can start to rebuild my credit--which always used to matter. And we hope to pay our home off in 7 years. I don't want to get sued because of this situation right now....I'd rather file Chapter 7. But maybe it's not that easy. I don't know what to do. I'm just frustrated and tired of working 80 hrs a week so that we can eat Mac and Cheese and pay the mortgage payment for tenants that can't afford to pay us!
Bankruptcy Wizard
Closed 12/8/09
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