BK7 done..Moving on, yea!

[NoDebt4Me2]

Just received my Chapter 7 discharge in the mail. Burned just about every major creditor due to consecutive Covid era layoffs. Not something I'm proud of at all. And I carried that debt for way too long from a pride stand point..But it's done. I had excellent credit when I filed. All current for years. Trustee definitely didn't like me. Was very skeptical about my case. Fast forward, 60 days after my nightmare 341, was the last date for objection from creditors, 11 days after that my official DC appeared in Pacer and 5 days later I received the golden letter from the BK court. Hired a well known attorney, but never heard back from attorney after the 341. Guess that's the norm. Debt was around 90k+ all unsecured except my auto loan. Was able to reaffirm my car through Penfed at a sub 5% rate, car is worth more than owed.. So after all the chaos I have a reaffirmed auto loan on my CB with 12+ months history and zero CC. 

So 2 days after Pacer reported I app'd Mission Lane. Had several mailers from them 1.5k cl with af to 2k with af and 3k with no af. Glad I waited. Received the 3k cl with no af. Now I'm pondering what to do next? I have a couple Ally bank/ Ollo preapprovals through Experian. But not sure if I should app. Their fine print says maybe 300 cl or maybe not lol. The goal is 3 card matrix for score. My Exp and Trans are all bk7 correct and Eq doesn't report the BK. But that sounds normal too for now. Scores are 573/585/539 respectively from 730+ lol.

Been on here a few times over the years. But I'm just on mobile at the moment, no home internet for now

So excuse the lack of profile lol. 

[NoDebt4Me2]

Just to clarify by all. NFCU, Penfed, USAA..yes past military. And BofA, Citi, Discover, Amex, Cap One, Bank of West, FNBO, USBank, Synchrony/PayPal...

[FireMedic1]

Welcome @NoDebt4Me2 

Congrats on your fresh start. It will take up to 30 days for all your accounts to reflect IIB and show up on all 3. No more apps until that happens. Check your reports from annualcreditreport.com to make sure everyone followed the BK laws. Once its all correct. You'll see a score bump due to legally being out of debt.

[CaptainConcorde]

Trustee definitely didn't like me. Was very skeptical about my case. 

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If you're OK with it can you clarify this?  You said the Trustee was skeptical?  What exactly did he/she do that led you to this conclusion?  What did they have you do?

[Guyatthebeach]

@NoDebt4Me2 ,

Congratulations on your discharge! I remember that feeling of being debt free and beginning the rebuilding process. 

It looks like you are headed in the right direction.  Personally I would not apply for anymore credit cards until after your CR's are updated and reporting everything correctly. 

I would take some time and read SoulMaster's guide to 720 and use it as a guide for your rebuild. Another thing I would is look for local credit unions that are bankruptcy/credit rebuilding friendly in your area. I never joined NFCU until after 6 years after my bankruptcy. Trust me you can rebuild your credit without having to utilize the big CU's like Navy Federal and Penfed. I did the bulk of my rebuilding with local CU's, regional. CU's, and a regional bank.

Since you already have unsecured Mission credit card, I would not get a secured card unless it offers something really beneficial that will help you. Even though you affirmed your car loan, I would get a secured loan for $1000 at least for a one year term. The reason is you are adding a positive trade line to your CR post bankruptcy with positive payment history. I know there are some that disagree with this, but I've seen it help a few, including me. 

Guyatthebeach

[NoDebt4Me2]

Thanks for the advise, I did jump the gun on the CC app. But $3k on a preapproval was hard to pass on. My Exp/Trans reports all show discharged Chapter 7 on the public info section. The acct sections mostly say chapter 7, but not discharged per say. So yeah, I get it. Obviously not EQ which is all over the place. And mailers are kinda a joke but understandable. Most with a huge AF fee at $12-15 per month. Milestone, Indigo, Ally bank, Credit One, Verve, No thanks. Obviously had a ton of auto loan solicitations but I'm good in that respect. Haven't app'd past the Mission Lane. Just standing by for now.

[NoDebt4Me2]

@CaptainConcorde It's a scary situation. When I filed I was pretty much on top of my situation. But we are talking min payments. Been going on since Covid. My loans were 3/4 and 1/2 paid down but after the interest rate hikes and a couple of adverse actions I realized I couldn't pay this CC/ Loan debt off anytime in the next 3-4 years. Unless I magically increased my income by at least $3k per month for the next 4-6 years. Not going to happen anytime soon in this economy.

To answer your question my 341 was by zoom. There were 15 people crammed in my timeframe. Most if not all sounded very, very uneducated, like typical irresponsible types, half sounded high as could be lol. Make your own assumptions. (excuse the reference). Most had 50-100K student loans, 120k plus CC debt unpaid for months, some 200K lawsuits, etc...Might note: in AZ the exemptions were increased in Nov 2022 but not officially recognized at the time of my meeting. Due to companies suing against the new ballot.

So the trustee wanted to claw back my paid for 2nd car since it was barely over the old exemption, claw back the sale of a unrelated car from over a year ago, questioned my taxes of course going 3 years back, had to restate and requalify my income, wanted to take possession of 2A items (this is AZ, just being honest) that I both possessed and that I had in pawn, none of which were purchased on credit. I was kinda singled out in my group. Not sure exactly why. Just saying 341 meetings are not always short and sweet. But the end result was worth it. If you are pressed with no real breathing room, I'd at least do a free consult. That's what I did. And glad with the outcome so far, I can breathe now.

[CaptainConcorde]

Thank you for the detailed reply.  My concern was always that they''d be skeptical.  I made a six figure salary and lived the good life until a few years ago.  I became disabled and now live in SSDI and VA so it's a different story.  I'll admit I've made some mistakes but part of what happened definitely is situational and wasn't my fault.  I guess I've been worried about the Trustee stuff.  I've been selling off stuff the last few month to keep things going but will probably file by year end.  My credit is decent and I'm going to hate to lose the nice cards I have but next year will be a disaster.  I just need to bite the bullet.  

[Rogue46]

Your mailbox will be flooded with mailers post bk usually with the type you really don't want to apply for. High interest, high af etc.. Reason being the banks know you cannot file again for 7-10 years so they know they have you on the hook.

I would as others have said not apply for anything until the dust settles then try to be selective on picking up another card or two that you really need there's no point in app spreeing right now because you will then be stuck with a bunch of low tier cards that are useless down the road.

[FireMedic1]

7+ yrs later I still get offers for auto loans and other are you kiddin me cards. It died down some now. But still a pain. You'll be fine. Let us know when it all shows IIB. That first card is cool. We'll lead you in the right direction. Lot of successful rebuilders in here to help out.