Should i do this before bankruptcy??

[Onlyoneme0205]

Hello everyone. I was thinking about filing for bankruptcy, but would like to know two other things. I want to pay off three things that are on my credit report that's currently in late status. One is from a rental company for unpaid rent (around $1,500) and two are for utility comanies (both combined to around $700). They happened around 2009-2010 when I was seperating from my ex-husband due to domestic violence. If i paid these three things off,will my credit score go up or will it drop since it's been on my credit report for the past 4-5 years? I will be paying the full amount on all three. I want to move next summer after finishing college (currently staying with my mother) and different rental companies told me if i paid those off they might be able to work with me.Should I pay those off before bankruptcy so it won't show up as still not being paid or let it go through?Any advice is appreciated.

[ezdriver]

I recommend that you pay them off since you indicate that you could and that not paying them off will make it difficult to qualify for new rentals. Save yourself future grief.

I am managing an investment property for a friend and the tenant is someone that I convinced my friend to give a break. The tenant has caused us to file for eviction and now we have the tenant in a stipulated aggreement tied to the  judgement granted by the court. I have told every Realtor in every office in that town what happened so they can be on the look ut for him should he skip out on us.That judgement in the public record will haun him for a very long time and he cannot get another rental in that town. All of this because he refused to work out a reasonable plan to make good on the back rent.

All the best to you.

[Onlyoneme0205]

From what I see on my credit report,it shows the balance thats due.I'm not sure if its listed as eviction or not.I might just go ahead and pay those off cause I dont want to risk not paying it and let it go through bankruptcy,and later it still backfires on me.

[SoulMaster]

Remember, if you pay anything off within 6 months of filing your BK, and don't list specifically that you did it... it's Bankruptcy Fraud.  Basically, if you're seriously considering filing BK (or are determined to file), you don't get to pick and choose who gets your money... That's the court's job.

I'm sure there are several people who don't get caught doing this; there are several that do get caught but can't post on these boards because they're in prison.  It's in the legal news fairly frequently (mostly pro-se filers).

The simple way around this is that if you're paying anything off, list it (and it gets included in the BK when the court goes and takes the $ back) or wait 6 months so you can not like on the paperwork.  We have our clients do the latter.

-SM

P.S. I IIB'd ~$2500 in back-rent/security deposit.  Rented the place I'm in now ("luxury" apartment, owned by a company) for $99 down, no deposits.  It's not as bad as you think if you're in a rental market that's having trouble finding tenants (like Vegas).

[starry1]

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@Onlyoneme0205 wrote:

Hello everyone. I was thinking about filing for bankruptcy, but would like to know two other things. I want to pay off three things that are on my credit report that's currently in late status. One is from a rental company for unpaid rent (around $1,500) and two are for utility comanies (both combined to around $700). They happened around 2009-2010 when I was seperating from my ex-husband due to domestic violence. If i paid these three things off,will my credit score go up or will it drop since it's been on my credit report for the past 4-5 years? I will be paying the full amount on all three. I want to move next summer after finishing college (currently staying with my mother) and different rental companies told me if i paid those off they might be able to work with me.Should I pay those off before bankruptcy so it won't show up as still not being paid or let it go through?Any advice is appreciated.

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No!  The courts look down on that.  If you pay it within six months of filing, the court can actually make those creditors give the money back, if they don't just dismiss your case first.

[SoulMaster]

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@starry1 wrote:

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No!  The courts look down on that.  If you pay it within six months of filing, the court can actually make those creditors give the money back, if they don't just dismiss your case first.

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There's an echo in here... here... here....  ;-)

-SM

[policebox]

I would recommend against paying any of those debts. The purpose of a bankruptcy is to give you a fresh start. There are much much better things you can do with that money post-bankruptcy to help rebuild your life. Repaying any of your current debts, only to then file bankruptcy, is like flushing money down the toilet.

As far as your concerns go about being able to find rentals, having the debts discharged in bankruptcy is likely to have the same effect as paying them off. What will likely happy when you go to apply for a rental, if you bankruptcy is recent, is that you will be required to pay a higher security deposit than someone who is credit worthy. I would recommend saving your money in anticipation of making these security deposit payments.

That's what happened to me when I filed bankruptcy. Afterwards when I needed to rent an apartment, I had to pay one month's rent as a security deposit.