Settlement - hiring out or do it yourself??
Date: Mon, 06/11/2007 - 18:55
Some thoughts on settlement that I wanted to get out following a conversation w/ a debt professional:
If the industry standard for settlement professionals is negotiating down to 46% of debt,
and the industry standard for settlement do-it-yourself is negotiating down to 70% of debt,
then the settlement professional's work is worth ~24% (70-46) of the total debt amount.
Debt professionals (eg Brennan) charge at least $2500 for their services.
So, it only makes sense to hire a settlement professional to negotiate with your creditors if:
a.) your total debt debt exceeds $10,000
b.) your debt situation is very complex
c.) you don't have time, inclination, or competence to do the work yourself.
Is there something I'm missing?? Sure, the negotiation process might be complex, but it seems to me that anyone who could do the basic research to prepare could bring their debts down to 70% or better without any major problems.
If the industry standard for settlement professionals is negotiating down to 46% of debt,
and the industry standard for settlement do-it-yourself is negotiating down to 70% of debt,
then the settlement professional's work is worth ~24% (70-46) of the total debt amount.
Debt professionals (eg Brennan) charge at least $2500 for their services.
So, it only makes sense to hire a settlement professional to negotiate with your creditors if:
a.) your total debt debt exceeds $10,000
b.) your debt situation is very complex
c.) you don't have time, inclination, or competence to do the work yourself.
Is there something I'm missing?? Sure, the negotiation process might be complex, but it seems to me that anyone who could do the basic research to prepare could bring their debts down to 70% or better without any major problems.
It depends upon individual situations. I prefer proposing the se
It depends upon individual situations. I prefer proposing the settlement directly to the creditor rather than hiring any outside help. Doing this, I may save some amount in the fees going towards the services. But there are cases in which people don't want to call the creditors directly since they are getting regular phone calls and they don't want to speak up. At such times, a debt counselor will speak directly to the creditor and work out a plan, keeping in mind the debt situation of the consumer.
So, it depends on individual situation and working with a reputed company that can do best negotiations with the creditors and arrange the lowest plan.
