Balance Transfer?

[Horseshoez]

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@firefox100 wrote:

I will say again you don't have many good options, the best is a second mortage you pay lot less intrest then if you try using credit cards. Please note you can not go the BK away again you can't go bk more then once in 20 years. After you pay off your credit cards with second mortage you must stop using creditcards. Also don't call any creditors for help they will close your accounts and you will crash your credit. Good luck.

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Please note, the above information is highly inaccurate and downright false.

• If one filed for a Chapter 7:
  • The waiting period for another Chapter 7 is 8-years
  • The waiting period to file a Chapter 13 is typically 4-years
• If one filed for a Chapter 13:
  • There is no waiting period to file a Chapter 7 if all creditors' claims were paid.
  • There is no waiting period to file a Chapter 7 if 70% of the creditors' claims were paid and the repayment plan was "Good Faith"
  • There is a 6-year waiting period to file a Chapter 7 if neither of the above two conditions were fulfilled
  • There is typically a 2-year waiting period from the filing date to file another Chapter 13

[NoMoreE46]

You can file for another BK  but  after eight years from filling.  With a Ch 7, one needs to go through the means test.   Wiith a Ch 13, there is no means test.

OP,  That Disco offer may be the safest chance to extend your time to pay, but you will putting another lien on your home for $8,000 as noted.

[firefox100]

OK I was wrong about chapter 7 and 13. Second mortage is the best answer to his problem, but if you do not change your behavior and stop using creditcards and live with in your means, you will be in a bigger whole and could lose your house. You should only do a second mortage if you are going to stop using creditcards and change your spending habits.

[youngandcreditwrthy]

obviously controlling your spending is NUMBER ONE. If you can try to pay more than the minimums until late april, early May on your current acct(s).. you might be 680+ FICO and be able to qualify for a card that might be as high as your current highest CL on a revolving acct. Don't know too many details about your credit other than what you've stated. Just like the op said, you can't do BTs offers forever. You must have discipline even if could bounce the ball down the road.

but please don't turn unsecured debt into secured debt and risk losing your home. Besides, do you even have enough equity in your home yet? If you've only owned it for 2-3 years and put 3% down and have a 5%+ rate, you prolly don't have a lot of equity.

I learned my lesson with credit cards and 0% offers. I spent a long long time going cash only and paying off all that cc debt but I used balance transfer offers and did it the right way. Of course, I didn't have a home to mortgage, but for those that work in finance.. turning unsecured debt into secured debt, never good idea. Cause in BK, you're allowed at least homestead exemption(cause you could put yourself at increased risk of BK #2 depending your actions henceforth)

[ptatohed]

I disagree that turning unsecured debt into secured debt is as terrible as several here are saying.  A HELOC is a financial tool that is actually a huge benefit to have available.  Rates are relatively high right now but, hey, 9% beats a cc 29% any day.  If using cc BTs aren't feasible, then adding an $8,000 balance to a HELOC isn't going to be the reason OP loses her house.  It sounds like she has put away the ccs so I can only hope she will be spending more responsibly going forward.  We don't know everything but we have to assume she is meeting her current mortgage payment and that she has equity.  Taking out an $8,000 HELOC loan won't break her.  And it is a responsible tool for paying back the money she owes to Discover.  She can pay the $8,000 HELOC balance off early, it doesn't need to be dragged out for 30 years.  Good luck OP!  

[firefox100]

Thank you to above poster, that is what I been saying but couple of others think that is bad way to go but taking out a second mortage is not a bad way to go. It may be a better to take a straight loan for fixed amount not line of credit like heloc, a heloc is almost the same as a creditcard but using home as collateral. The only bad thing with Heloc is for OP is you can write a check any time and pull down on line credit. With a fixed loan just pay off all the credit cards then when loan is being paid off balance will go down and op won't be able to we use account , revolving credit what is getting op into trouble.

[ptatohed]

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@firefox100 wrote:

Thank you to above poster, that is what I been saying but couple of others think that is bad way to go but taking out a second mortage is not a bad way to go. It may be a better to take a straight loan for fixed amount not line of credit like heloc, a heloc is almost the same as a creditcard but using home as collateral. The only bad thing with Heloc is for OP is you can write a check any time and pull down on line credit. With a fixed loan just pay off all the credit cards then when loan is being paid off balance will go down and op won't be able to we use account , revolving credit what is getting op into trouble.

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Good point and I did think of that pitfall.  I wouldn't want OP to see this new LOC as an easy mechanism for pulling out cash.  So, for me, if I am giving the advice to OP to go ahead and consider a HELOC to pay off the $8,000 Disco bill, it comes with the caveat to 'only' use it to pay off the Disco bill.