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I filed Ch 13 in April 2009 due to unemployment. I had a car loan on my 2006 vehicle... everything else was unsecured debt.
I sent the trustee $1900 to pay off my case a couple weeks ago. The Ch 13 website shows my case as "closed" as of 2/28/13. My attorney said the discharge process should be completed by the end of this month.
That being said... what should I do to start rebuilding? I owe on the 2006 vehicle with no other debts. My EQ score stands at 652. I have $5000 in savings with stable employment for the last 3 years.
I've given some thought to a new car. My 2006 vehicle has 103k miles with a KBB trade value of $4000... my loan balance is $2800. Do I stand a realistic chance of trading it and getting something new financed?
I've seen the lists of best credit cards to go after when you get your discharge... but again... I'm kinda nervous about applying right after a discharge. Should I go for it or wait?
Any advice appreciated! I'm anxiously awaiting my discharge paperwork!
What condition is your car in? I wouldn't make replacing it the first priority unless you feel you're on "borrowed time".
You can get a score bump by maintaining two or three bank cards (VISA, MC, AMEX, Discover logo cards). Be sure you keep utilization below 10% and only let "less than half" the cards show a balance on their reporting date. You can manage reporting by paying before the cutoff to take the balance to zero.
I would start with your bank or CU. Go to the branch and ask what they can do for you. Discuss your situation and don't let them do a credit pull unless they convince you they'll be able to help. If you're eligible, pursue NFCU. You should be able to get a Cap1 unsecured card. Try for a Best Buy Rewards Mastercard or a Walmart Discover card.
If you can't get two unsecured cards, I'd use some of your savings to secure one or two cards.
I was a BK7 and started about 100 points below you at discharge. I didn't even ask NFCU for unsecured credit, but did a secured card and installment loan. My mistake was taking two high fee cards - First Premier and CreditOne, don't do that.
If your car is in reasonable shape drive it another year, you'll be able to get a good rate on another then if you work the credit cards.
Thanks for the response.
My car is in good condition. I don't feel as if I am on borrowed time although it is due for the timing belt/water pump maintenance... that job itself is $1200-$1600 or so due to the labor involved. Basically I just need to decide if I want to to invest in this vehicle for the long haul or get something new.
As far as credit cards... I had planned to get just one and go from there. I learned my lesson years ago with 5-6 credit cards and I won't be doing that again.
Buying a house is something I want to do eventually... but not right now. For now I just want to start slow and work my way back up... I really would like to get a new vehicle but the one I have is fine too. I could keep it... pay it off and continue to save.
You should have no problem. Might get a little high interest rate, but 2 weeks after I got my discharge papers I went and bought a 20k truck with 8.9% rate. I got approved by several lenders, but I was in the same situation, had a very old vehicle that was running but on its last leg.
Thanks for the response.
As of today I'm still waiting on my discharge. I'm keeping an eye on the court website for the documents to be posted electronically.
Hello there,
It's my hub's story, I want to share in case it helps or I can get helped
The case was closed end of Jan 2013 and we didn't get the discharge paper until recently when he went to meet his lawyer. So now we have the discharge paper in hand and we are in borrowed time. We already tried to finance at dealer once and got denied from its own fianance ( it is tough so it's not a surprise), reason is that the BK is too recent. Dealer promised to work on fiancing part and adviced us to work on our local banks. I know that our first choice is CU but we decided to put it aside since his current car was IIB eventhough market value and interested were paid off.
If you believe the case is closed and want to have the paper in hand, I would recommend you to make appointment with your lawyer. I am the one who requested my husband to go to meet his lawyer and I believed that it is part fo the service to have a semi meeting with his lawyer after expected closing case period. His lawyer printed out everything that my husband needs to have in hand and the lawyer recommend us to let the dealer help us to find the loan.