Think im going to just file. :(

[Anonymous]

I am absolutely stressed, and lost, and feel like im never going to be able to Win no matter what i do.

40+ collections mostly medical, sure they are all past the SOL and will eventually drop off, but some are posting with new dates, and some from ages ago just randomly decided to show up.

My lawyer insists i file, credit counselors insist i file, saying that even if i DO work with my secured card that i do have, and "Build my credit" its not going to matter, because even with a perfect score (fi that was possible) They would still deny me for anything due to the fact there are so many collections on my report.

I feel like just giving up. i can pull the trigger on my bankruptcy right now or completely blow it off and power through this the hard way.
people telling me that if i file i wont be able to get a single card or loan for 10 years?! so ill get to be 34 before i can ever get a house, car, anything....

I also dont want to lose the WF Secured card i just acquired recently...that was progress for me and i was excited, only to find out its not really gonna help anyway.......

my reports a mess, my lifes a mess. my finances are not. but at this point im even afraid to contact anyone, disputing hasn't done me MUCH good (only to have a few things fall off of one or two of the reports, not all 3.) i just cant afford at this point to pay a bunch of medical bills that Im pretty sure i wasnt even liable for in the first place. NM Indigent funds were supposed to take care of EVERY visit to the hospital/ER/DOCTOR i made there, credit counselor told me they probbably file indigent funds months after the bill is sent out, therefore they THINK i owe them money even though i do not.

What to do
Gonna go roll over and die of frustration now. so many opinions and answers and "Plans" to fix this......UGH

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry you are going through so much stress. I guess the first step would be to speak with your lawyer to determine if you qualify for filing. If you do, and pass the Means test, then it sounds like it might be the right decision. If you qualify, a chapter 7 (wipes clear nearly all debts - excludes student loans, and some IRS debts, as well as other possibilities), then you can begin on a new journey.

It isn't true about credit cards or loans for 10 years. Read up here on the forums and look at the thread on how to build your credit back up over 700 after a BK.

Make sure, however, that you have a good attorney who is well-versed in BK.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I definitely qualify, ive gone through every step including paying him off and giving him the filing fee, the only thing i have not done yet (For 6 months now) is tell him to go ahead and do it. :/ stressful!!!!!!

[Fox342]

So why do you think you haven't pulled the trigger on the BK?

When I was in the Army my Battallion Commander told us once...."Nothing I ever had that was worth a damn was easy".  I think that's a pretty true statement.  I'm not telling you to file or not to file...you do what you think is best for you.  But sometimes the harder thing to do is the better thing to do.  You have to be able to live with your decision...your lawyer will sleep fine either way.

Good luck!

Fox

[Anonymous]

no matter what i do, someday i plan to pay that back. My case is not a case of bad money management, poor use of credit, or even the inability to control my spending. its simply...i cannot afford to shell out 30+ grand to pay off everything that will not even benefit my abbility to get a home/car/credit card. especially on debts im pretty sure are not really my responsibility (I remember VERY Clearly arguing and filing for the assistance to cover said bills at the time).

At this point nobody on here or even counselors have "really" told me if it is TRULY possible to  obtain these things with all those marks on my report. I do understand that after some years they will start falling off. but what looks worse? Tons of little things or one big BK. i dont know. i also have not found any sucess stories on these forums from people who have as many black marks as I, most are oh i have 2-3 accounts in collections. but 40? Right...its not so much which i should do at this point, it almost seems like EITHER route is pointless and will haunt me forever. i just dont know what to think anymore.

[bstone]

The only place who can tell you if you will qualify for an auto loan or a mortgage is a lender.  And it's probably going to go down like this:

Car: 25% down, 15-20% interest.

Mortgage: Pay off all the collections, 20% down, 5-7% interest.  They will want the collections paid because if a creditor wins a judgement against you they can place a lien on the home.

Credit card: Secured.

Personal loan:  Yeah, not going to happen.

I'm not going to tell you if filing is right, that's a VERY personal decision, however, I can tell you there is life after BK.  Look at my signature line, post filing we have two auto loans, I have three credit cards and the wife has one.  And we've only been discharged six weeks.

You can buy a home two years after discharge (maybe even only a year if you qualify for a certain program) and get decent rates.  If you reference the BK to 700 thread you will see it's possible to have a 700+ FICO after only 24 months, sometimes less.

Good luck in your decision.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I definitely qualify, ive gone through every step including paying him off and giving him the filing fee, the only thing i have not done yet (For 6 months now) is tell him to go ahead and do it. :/ stressful!!!!!!

---

@Anonymous,

You know what I like about you, your resistance to just find the right option to fix it instead of just going right ahead to file unlike some people who don't weight their options and just do it over the silliest amount ( I hope no one is offended).  I am sorry about your situation and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Stay strong..

If you do file and are worried about your secured card, know that CAP 1 is a champion advocate for rebuilders so all hope isn't lost.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate that, thank you Yes-its-me.  I Only wish i could get some DEFINITE answers to some of my questions so im not indefinitely stuck in this loop im in i did have a good laugh today at a Debt-management company offering me $831.00 a month payments to get this fixed in...5 years? luckily i persuaded the guy to give me some nonbiased information and he himself 'recommends" my bankruptcy. however, even that wasnt enough to persuade me. but at the same time im not seeing a way out.

[Anonymous]

It's difficult, but not impossible, to get out of a $30K hole. The problem is, even if you do, those collections are going to haunt you. You might be able to some to agree to PFD, but you won't get all of them. And even if they show as paid off, they are still negatives. A BK will stay on your record for longer, but over time you can start to recover well before it falls off. 

My wife and I both got unsecured credit cards from Cap1 less than a month after our BK was discharged. And we were in the hole for about $180K. If you're willing to pay the interest rate you'll have no problem getting a car loan. After 2 years you can get a very low interest car loan (1.5%)  if you are careful in rebuilding your credit score. You can get mortgage after 2 years. 

You see, the one thing that people tend to forget about BK is that, to an extent, it makes you a better credit risk because you can't file again for 7 years. So even though the BK itself is a negative the risk for the lender is lower. Even if you start to rebuild your credit somehow and start paying off those collections, you're still a very very high risk in the eyes of the lenders. 

[TRC_WA]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

You see, the one thing that people tend to forget about BK is that, to an extent, it makes you a better credit risk because you can't file again for 7 years. So even though the BK itself is a negative the risk for the lender is lower. Even if you start to rebuild your credit somehow and start paying off those collections, you're still a very very high risk in the eyes of the lenders. 

---

So THAT'S why you see people with BK7 discharges and $100k in new credit inside of 2 years.

Here I was thinking the banks were stupid...