how quickly it all can turn....
Date: Thu, 03/01/2007 - 19:36
my name is keith- and I have ammassed almost 70k in unsecured debt, more than half in the last year....I bought a house in november of 06 without selling the one we lived in first.The market had been fabulous in our area and I planned for a two month buffer on payments while w listed and sold our old house. Well, the market tanked shortly after and I resorted to cash advance checks to stay afloat- all the time thinking it was just cutting into the profits from the sale of the home. Okay, you probably know the rest--house never sold, glut of homes listed in our area, price drops, house still not sold....I finally sat in a bank parking lot crying after taking yet another 1500 dollar advance from a cc and called the bank holding the mortgage. I told them this was the last payment I could make, and asked them what I could do. They ended up taking a "deed in lieu of foreclosure", which tanks my credit but beats foreclosure. At least I'm being proactive in my dealings with my debt....
I thought that would solve my monthly crisis, but in January I sat looking at the incredible amount of credit card debt and added up the minimum payments. Nearly 2500/mo just paying minimums....there is no way I can manage even half of that per month...and that's just minimum payments!!! I could be paying that off for twenty years--- so I am now researching debt settlement companies, having arrived at that as my only viable option short of bankruptcy. I have never been late with anyone, but march 4th I will go 30 days with the first one and by the 19th will be 30 days with all of them. My Chase card went from 5.9% to 29.99% the very first day I was late. One Day.
After 5 years of timely payments. I am determined to live my life without the credit card companies ever getting a piece of me again. EVER.
hopefully I will find some quick answers here on this forum and be able to make a quality decision regarding my next step.
Keith
Hi Keith, you should consider a free counseling from one of the
Hi Keith, you should consider a free counseling from one of the consultants referred by this website and know your next move. You are not obligated to sign up with them but you get some directions on your repayments. Consolidation doesn't look like an option in your case but if you can raise your source of income, you will be able to enroll in this program. debt settlement will keep your accounts in default for few months before you put your money in the account with debt settlement company and they start negotiating with your creditors. If you want to keep your accounts current, consolidate your debts. You will get lower interest rates while repaying the dues.
While the negotiations are done in the debt settlement program, creditors can take legal actions against you if they want to. It depends on how much you owe to each and whether they will be able to recover their court costs. But you are safe as long as you are working with a reputed settlement company and are able to give results. Look in your area for the settlement companies. Some people here are using Superior debt relief, ForgetaDebt etc.
