topic Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but??? in Credit Cards

Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

fishbjc — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:35:00 GMT

I've been working with dh's stepsister. He dh took a 35% pay CUT. The economy is so bad that he may take another cut. She has 4 debts in her name that she cannot meet the payments on.

Bank of America $1600

Beneficial $5000

Paypal $700

Arhaus Furniture $500

Lowes ~ $1400

CC ~ $1400

Dell ~ $600

JC Penney ~ $1000

Lowes ~ Already @ 0% / 5 year payment plan.In order for them to make their mortgage payment and two auto payments, they cannot pay the top 4 debts. She's beside herself, but they have a ton of equity in their home as they've lived in it for about 15 years. Unfortunately, their area is LOADED with like homes (development) and they live in a rural area. Not Good.

She wants to continue to pay Lowes, JCPenney and Dell as they work into the budget. She has honestly CUT everything she can from the budget. We've gone over and over and I can't see anything else. They do have cable, but their 17 year old son is paying that bill. They have re-homed their family dog, they drink mainly water, they don't go out unless it's a freebie (like taking a walk). They're totally stressed out and she's hysterical. They were denied a loan mod. She was on a plan w/BOA for 5 years @ $165/monthly...they now refuse to lower the payment.

They have sold everything worth anything. He WAS out of work for two years and landed this job 18 months ago and received the paycut 12 months ago. Horror's all around.

I think she's going to have to file bk...I don't know what else to tell her.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

fishbjc — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:37:05 GMT

Forgot to add: JCP has agreed to a 6 month plan @ $14.00 to be reevaluated after the 6month mark.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Schoolbuskid — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:43:01 GMT

was she denied the home loan modification under OBAMA's plan? Make sure she visits makinghomeaffordable.gov to see if there is anything else she can do.

Good Luck!

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:41:20 GMT

Any room to manuever if car #2 is eliminated? Also, if the son already pays the cable bill now, maybe he can instead contribute those bucks towards the family debt situation. I assume he lives there, eats there, and rides in the cars. Time to man up. He can do without the MTV for awhile... Just my opinion.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

fishbjc — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:15:26 GMT

I believe their son pays for his own school lunches, supplies, cable, auto gas. No, car #2 cannot be eliminated, she needs to get to work also and there is zero public transportation in the *boonies*. She's never had a career, so the only job she could land is one taking care of a gentleman with alzheimers...it's a tough situation.

Yes, they were denied under Obama's plan....

They still owe $$$ for their eldest sons education, which is killing the budget right now in addition to medication. I've asked them to contact the drugs mfg. co to see if there is anything they can help with. Two medications are not available in generic.

I did sign her up for online surveys, so she's earned almost $15 this week....heck that will purchase some gas. There's just no way she can pay obligations under her own name right now.

Do you think it's best to let these go to collection and try to work a pay-off? Her church may be willing to help, but it's embarassing. Bk7 is another option I suppose.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

homerunstacy — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:29:19 GMT

They shold consider continuing to work on the loan modification even though they were denied for HAMP. They have inhouse programs as well outside of the gov't programs. It is a painful process that could take months. Possible they could get an inhouse modification or some sort of special forbearance. Tell them to keep fighting and escalating. Also warn them about the inhouse special forbearances. Some are trials that might lead to modification and some are total dead ends that lead to greater debt with balloon payments at the end. Check out the loansafe message boards. Wealth of info over there more specific to the modification process, forbearances, forclosures, etc. For the CC's I would call them all and try workout plans. Help them write some hardship letters and explain the specifics of the situation.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:26:55 GMT

Jeez, fishbjc...that does sound tough.

+1 to homerunstacy's post above. I don't see many alternatives here.

I very rarely say this, but maybe they should just stop paying right now, let it all go to collections and then try to wrokout a repayment plan. In the meantime, save what little income is coming in, get a little breathing room, and in a couple of months or so start making the arranged payments.

That's the best I can come up with, fishbjc...wish I could be more help.

Edit: Wait a minute...you already came up with that! (I'm agreeing, though!)

The only other thing I can think of is maybe if the old gent she's caring for has a car sitting around unused, she could use that one? I mean, with permission, of course. I know of a couple of instances where the caregiver was allowed use of the car, to varying degrees. Might be worth a shot if dumping one car payment could help.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

fishbjc — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:27:18 GMT

The gent doesn't own an auto, but he does own a motorcycle with a sidecar....HUH????? Kind of crazy!!!!!

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:18:20 GMT

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???[ New ]

04-14-2010 09:15 AM

Yes, they were denied under Obama's plan....

They still owe $$$ for their eldest sons education, which is killing the budget right now in addition to medication. I've asked them to contact the drugs mfg. co to see if there is anything they can help with. Two medications are not available in generic.

I did sign her up for online surveys, so she's earned almost $15 this week....heck that will purchase some gas. There's just no way she can pay obligations under her own name right now.

Do you think it's best to let these go to collection and try to work a pay-off? Her church may be willing to help, but it's embarassing. Bk7 is another option I suppose.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Since there was no mention of the eldest son's contribution to the family, is the eldest son able to help out in any way? Does he have any income at all?...IMO, it looks like the little bro is doing his fair share of helping already.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Jazzzy — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:46:58 GMT

@fishbjc wrote:

They still owe $$$ for their eldest sons education, which is killing the budget right now in addition to medication. I've asked them to contact the drugs mfg. co to see if there is anything they can help with. Two medications are not available in generic.

What do they owe for their eldest son's education? Are they paying school loans? Not sure I understand...

The drug manufacturers can help...if they meet income guidelines. Also, have them call their medical provider and see if they can possibly get samples. If these drugs are not generic, there may be samples available to the provider.

Are they willing to get part-time jobs? Lots of people work more than one job. Not something that you want to do forever, but it can sure get you through a pinch.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

mgs2010 — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 03:12:25 GMT

Just my opinion...bk7 would not be all that bad of an idea. I'm sure her fico scores are already trashed and her debt to income is through the roof. bk7 doesn't even seem to be that bad of an option...I think the government and credit card companies etc just want you to believe it is the worst thing you can do to yourself when in all actuality, it isn't...I know MANY people who have filed BK and rebuilt their scores up higher than they were before filing within 2 years...You can still buy a home, a car, get credit cards, etc. Sure it may cost a little more, but if you buy a home with FHA you still get the best rates (bk or no bk)....thats just my 2 cents.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:24:11 GMT

Some crazy thoughts.

- Take in a renter

- Sell one of the cars, buy a bicycle or scooter

- Rent out the house, move into an apartment

- Get a home equity loan (that seems the obvious solution, I didn't see it discussed, I must have missed something)

- Find something to make and sell, like pies or firewood

- Get part-time jobs

- Write a blog, detailing the pain they're going through, make money on the advertising

- Redistribute the money available for debt payment to pay the highest interest debt exclusively, letting the others fall behind.

- Son and other kids may need to look at p/t jobs also.

BK may be on the table at this point.

Hope things get better for them.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

fishbjc — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:56:51 GMT

Her house is wayyy too small for a renter as it's only 2 br. She needs a car because she has to do errands for her gentleman. Her son does work p/t.

Here's a crazy idea....she loves to g/s and is quite good at it. We're going to work on an etsy store for her to sell some vintage items. Since she has Thursdays off, it will be perfect.

I think bk7 is the best option for her...the stress will be off. We're waiting to hear from one drug mfg. to see if they will help with the pres. costs...we'll see.

They do plant a garden each year and I've suggested she look around for a couple of cleaning clients...even one per week or doing evening child care. Her area is pretty depressed, so we will see.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

fishbjc — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:01:35 GMT

Their eldest son is married with FOUR KIDS and he's not even 30!!! No, he's on a very tight budget. The twit didn't even finish school, but has a decent job. I think they owe about $5,000 still on the s/l. They're working on a new plan since it's private.

They did apply for a home equity, but their area is depressed and they were denied. Now, they have the youngest getting ready to graduate....and they cannot help him. He'll just have to go to community. Hopefully, the economy will turn around.

Dave is very handy with a tool belt....we're checking craigslist...etc for jobs. He's also a fabulous painter. Trying it all here. Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:10:27 GMT

Make the twit start paying his college loan off!

And DEFINITELY have them speak with their doctor about getting samples of the non-generic drugs. See if signing up for a program at a pharmacy could reduce their generic prescription cost as well.

Craigslist is a great idea for extra work, as is Etsy, but I definitely don't think there should be any shame in asking her church for support, even if it's just things like groceries and what not. There might even be other doctors through her church that could help her with drug samples if her own doctor doesn't have any.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

woozy — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:09:37 GMT

It's a shame to Bk for so little money, but if the lady is "hysterical" that's what they need to do.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Schoolbuskid — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:08:06 GMT

The main thing they need to think about is keeping the home, thats priority and should come first. Anything outside of the home can be considered for default. I would only pay the accounts that are most important to me. I know she doesnt want to damage her credit reports any more but she has to determine whats best for their situation right now. She has to do what she has to do to stay in that home. Credit Cards can be replaced alot easier than a home. When you think about it she not really in that much debt, so she can definitely work this out.

Does she not have a mom and dad, brothers and sister, aunts/uncles that might be able to help her? I'm wishing you guys the best. To be honest we really dont know until we're in that situation. God Bless!

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:14:59 GMT

@fishbjc wrote:
Her house is wayyy too small for a renter as it's only 2 br. She needs a car because she has to do errands for her gentleman. Her son does work p/t.

Here's a crazy idea....she loves to g/s and is quite good at it. We're going to work on an etsy store for her to sell some vintage items. Since she has Thursdays off, it will be perfect.

I think bk7 is the best option for her...the stress will be off. We're waiting to hear from one drug mfg. to see if they will help with the pres. costs...we'll see.

They do plant a garden each year and I've suggested she look around for a couple of cleaning clients...even one per week or doing evening child care. Her area is pretty depressed, so we will see.

It's so much more fun to fail to solve someone else's problems than to fail to solve my own.

I have to ask, what is "g/s"? I looked for it on the net but the only things I could come up with were "gene sequencing" and one or two options that seemed at least equally improbable.

Here are some more crazy ideas.

- Look for any vintage toys, tools, bottles, tractors, books, etc that might be sold.

- Ask for financial help on the Internet. Searching for "asking for financial help on the internet" yields more non-totally-wacky answers than one might imagine.

- Also, "how to make money on the internet" yields some more non-totally-wacky ideas.

Although it occurs to me that they may have given up internet connectivity. Ouch.

If they do go fishing on the Internet this may be a totally obvious suggestion, but I would advocate a "throw down" gmail account, "jonesfamily534@gmail.com" or whatever, which can be forwarded to a real account. That way when the crazies and the spammers eat the throw down account alive it can be tossed overboard.

Re: Need Help ~ Keep House, but???

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:45:38 GMT

g/s=Garage Sale