Uncertain

[NattieL96]

What are the cons to filing bankruptcy???

[Jacey]

Damage to credit report (if it isn't already bad) for ten years, higher interest rates on future loans for some time, inability to access credit (which is a plus, I think), and possible difficulty in job searches. If you have property that you can't exempt, you may lose it. For me, perhaps because I care too much what other people think of me, another negative was the listing in the newspaper announcing my BK. That isn't always an issue, because it doesn't always make the paper in other areas. Now that I'm on the other side of that big issue (to me), I could care less about my credit. I obviously can't handle it, so I don't want the temptation of having "available credit". Just those words make me want to go buy furniture!

[StartinOver]

Just those words make me want to go buy furniture!

Oh, I so get this. I will never have any debt again. By the time the BK is off my credit history, I'll be 63... headed for retirement, not a great time to take on a 30 year mortgage. This was our last shot, and it's up in smoke.

[discouraged]

Read the posts - you CAN get a house 3 years after you file. Going through bankruptcy and getting rid of your debts allows you to save for that. You will pay a higher price for a credit card if that is what you choose to do, but I believe the majority of the people on this forum do not ever want to see a credit card again! Or they just get one for emergencies, etc. but pay it off right away so they don't fall into that trap again.

I am so very thankful to have this opportunity to get out of debt and get rid of my underwater house. I do not see any downside at all. In fact, once my bk goes through, since I have learned how to live on next to nothing, I have no fear of having plenty of money and no need for credit cards.

[AidanK]

Agreed

Amen to everything said above. I was one of those people who thought that I could handle all of the credit that anyone would extend to me. Nothing could go wrong - As most of us now know, nothing could be further from the truth. One or two little things come up to disrupt the minimum payment routine and everything snowballed from there. I've only decided to file within the past month and have the second, paperwork meeting with my lawyer on March 17.

[discouraged]

The one thing I am very grateful for on this forum is the consistent advice to research lawyers. I am so glad I took that time as the one I finally chose was not the cheapest, but I can call anytime and my questions have been answered either at the time or very shortly after I called. Some of the ones I interviewed, I felt like they were doing me a favor and it was this forum that made me realize I was the customer and I was doing them a favor by even considering them.

This is a business decision, granted an emotional one, and should be approached like any other business decision you make.