Should I file Chapter 7?

[Anonymous]

Hi my wife and I are thinking of filing Chapter 7 but dont know if its the best thing to do. We really would like to buy a house but cant because of the low score(490) before the 2 judgements. Heres a little about her report she owes about 20k and 10k of that was from a balance on a repossesion. She has 7 collections and 13 negative accounts and 2 judgements ($3000). Is there anyway for her to increase her score 100-150 points in 1-2 years without filing Ch 7?

Thanks in advance.

[Booner72]

If you guys have the money to pay the collections and the charge offs and the judgments, then yes, it is possible (not a guarantee YMMV).  Go to the rebuilding section and learn about Pay for Deletes, Goodwill letters, etc.

[SoulMaster]

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@Booner72 wrote:

If you guys have the money to pay the collections and the charge offs and the judgments, then yes, it is possible (not a guarantee YMMV).  Go to the rebuilding section and learn about Pay for Deletes, Goodwill letters, etc.

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+1

Also, don't forget that in most cases, unprotected assets will be taken by the courts anyway, so if you really do have all of the above, Booner's suggestion is the right way to go.  you also may want to consider settling for less than the amount owed, waiting a year or so then going after the GW.  Its not as smooth as a PFD, but it will cost you less.

Also, cash is king, if you can walk into a bank/CU w/ 30-50% down, and show them seasoned funds in an emergency account, they might give you the loan regardless of your current scores.

In my business, I've found that (on home loans) w/ cash, scores don't matter so much, your report and negotiations w/ the underwriter do.  The instant-approvals and 0 down programs are nearly 100% based on score.

Good luck!

-SM

P.S.  You might not want to be so hot-to-trot on buying a house... the market will take years to recover, so you should probably be able to find a rent-bargain now, and a house-bargain in 3-5 years.