Get Out Of Debt

Credit Counseling and bankruptcy are both ways to relieve the stress of debt. However, they are very different and it is important to understand both before making a decision as to which is best for you.

Credit counseling is a program designed to help those who are in a state of debt and cannot find a solution to their debt problems. They offer services that will allow you to work with a certified credit counselor to devise a plan that is tailored to your specific needs and goals. Credit counseling agencies often provide services for free and will help to educate you about how to avoid financial problems in the future by offering debt management classes or seminars. They do not erase your debt. Instead they work with you to budget money so that you can pay off the debt often times by debt consolidation. Collection will continue while using a credit counselor, however, in most cases companies who are owed money will try and work with you to help you payoff your loans. Credit counseling services often help you to reestablish credit after the loans are paid.

Bankruptcy is very different. It will completely clear your debt in most cases and you will no longer be hassled by collection agencies and their attorneys. There are two kinds of bankruptcy; the one that is right for you will depend on your situation. When filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy you are able to keep property that is mortgaged such as your house or car and are expected to repay debts in three to five years. Under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you must give up all property and assets that you own. There are exceptions in some states for items such as work tools and household furnishings. Bankruptcy will certainly clear your debts and stop foreclosures and wage garnishments, however, you will be unable to establish credit for up to ten years. Filing bankruptcy can also be very expensive compared to credit counseling.

Take time and research credit counseling very carefully before deciding on bankruptcy as it can save your credit in the long run. Most people feel much better about themselves when they can pay off their debt and become educated about how to stay out of debt rather than filing bankruptcy.

One way of getting out from under all of your credit card debt is through credit card debt negotiation. In this process, you can contact your debtor and get them to settle your debt for a fraction of what you owe.

Though this will hurt your credit rating, it is a far better option than not paying at all or declaring bankruptcy. Those two options will make it very hard for you to get decent rates on future loans and make it hard for you to get a loan period.

Credit card debt negotiation is a very delicate process, involving a bit of give and take from both sides. You don’t have the money to continue making payments over the long term, but the credit card company wants their money back.

The truth is, credit card companies would rather have you pay something and sever the relationship, rather than keep your debt with them, dragging things out with no intention of paying. They don’t want to pay collection agencies to track you down; they would rather just cut their losses.

Many times it can help to employ the services of a debt settlement company through a debt negotiation program, but sometimes you can negotiate with creditors yourself and find positive solutions. If the debt negotiation is successful, it will save you not only money due to reduction in APR but also the hassle that is associated with looking for a new credit card to transfer balance.

If you are negotiating credit card debt by yourself the first thing that you need to do is find a proper mailing address for your credit card company to send all correspondence to. Don’t use the address on your bill, as that is for payment only. Once you have an address that is where you should send all correspondence regarding your negotiations.

Make sure you use registered mail with receipt. This paper trail forces the debtor to honor anything you can verify with mail, as opposed to phone calls, which mean nothing in court, should it come to that.

Also, it is imperative that you stay calm and conduct yourself with professionalism during credit card debt negotiation. Your debtor may try to verbally bully you, but don’t fall for any of the old tricks. Simply express your desire to settle your debt, no more, no less. Don’t include any personal information, such as why you want to settle, as that will likely get you denied.

In the end, you simply need to realize that although you got yourself in this situation for whatever reason, there is a way out. Systems have been put in place for situations such as yours; you just need to avail yourself of them. Regardless, it doesn’t hurt to call up your credit card company and ask, just make sure you follow up that call with registered mail.

Bankruptcy is a situation in which someone who owes money will seek relief from their debts by going to court. Though bankruptcy can be good in some situations, it may not always be necessary. Just because you are in a financial strain does not mean you should immediately file for bankruptcy. There are some things you will want to take into consideration first.

Will I or Won’t I?

There is no easy answer to whether or not you should file for bankruptcy. Before making a decision you should first consult an attorney or credit counselor. They will be able to look at all the factors involved with filing bankruptcy, including the advantages and cost. The amount of debt you have is one of the most important factors for whether or not you should file for bankruptcy. It is important to remember that there are many alternative solutions. One solution is to hire a financial manager.

The Financial Manager

Hiring a financial manager is a difficult decision for many people. They take control of your finances, and will pay your bills for you. They will give you a set amount of money to use for anything you wish, but their goal is to make sure all of your bills are paid on time. Using a financial manager is a good idea if you find that many of your problems come from being irresponsible with how you spend your money. Once your bills are under control, you will be given back control of your finances. If this makes you uncomfortable, you could simply use a counseling service. You also want to make sure you use a service that has an excellent reputation.

Many lenders will work with the borrowers in paying back the money owed. It can be difficult for a lender to get back all the money they loaned out to you, even if you file for bankruptcy. Taking you to court will cost them money, and is very time consuming. When collection agencies get back the money that is owed, they will often charge the lender fees, and this will reduce the amount of money they get back. Because of this, many lenders will waive certain fees or charges as long as you make your payments on time.

Refinancing Your Home

If you are the owner of a home, you should consider refinancing in order to use the equity to pay off your debts. This could be a great alternative to filing for bankruptcy. You are likely to get tax deductions for using this method of paying off your debts, and you will also be likely to have much lower interest rates over the long term. You should be cautious when choosing which debt consolidation company you want to use. Many companies will charge you huge fees up front and leave you with a loan that will take years to pay off.

Be Wary Of The Credit Repair ‘Services’

You should also be careful with so called “credit repair” services. Any service which promises to pay off or eliminate bankruptcy from your credit history are likely to be fraudulent. They will end up taking money from you and perhaps making your credit worse than it was before using their services. It is important to only use services that are highly credible. Avoid fly by night operations at all costs. They will leave you in a world of despair and make huge profits at the same time. You should only file fof bankruptcy after you’ve talked to an attorney or credit counselor.

While bankruptcy can relieve you of the debts you owe, it will stay on your credit record for years, and it will be very difficult to apply for a job, home, or even a car. We live in a society that is very credit prone, and it is important to have good credit.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that is designed to protect consumers of credit from predatory actions of debt collectors which are pursuing a debt. It provides various protections for borrowers and puts restrictions and limitations on what actions collection agencies may engage in.

When a lender or law firm violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, homeowners may mention these violations in their foreclosure lawsuit defense. Although the Act may not apply in every situation, many mortgages have been sold to third parties, investors, other lenders, and servicing companies, under the appropriate circumstances, and the law would come into play.

Disclosure notice guidelines, dispute procedures, and even stopping collection calls on a debt are covered by the law. The law also allows credit consumers to initiate lawsuits directly against a debt collector in order to obtain monetary damages for violations of the FDCPA, and it can be surprisingly simple for collectors to violate the Act.

When a mortgage goes into default, the current owner of the loan, however, will not be considered a collection agency when it is pursuing collection on its own debt.

It must use its own official business name and must not engage primarily in the business of collecting debts. In the case of the mortgage lending business over the past decade, a large number of loans are transferred to a new owner once they go into default.

The FDCPA applies when a mortgage loan is sold or transferred and another collector begins debt collection attempts in the case of foreclosure. It is important for borrowers to keep in mind, though, that if the lender before the default holds onto the loan, the FDCPA does not apply.

But if the bank transfers the loan to another company, the law will apply to the new owner.

Once the lender or servicing company changes after default, though, the new company which purchases the debt counts as a collection agency and falls under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Any law office that the lender hires to pursue the debt or bring the foreclosure paperwork in the county court system must also follow the FDCPA and may be held responsible for any failures.

Homeowners have a number of protections under this law. If they inform the debt collector (or lender or law firm) in writing of their desire not to be called regarding the debt, any further communication is a violation of the Act. As well, lawyer fees that are charged to an account that are not specifically authorized in the original documents is a violation of the Act.

The FDCPA also outlines violations due to harassment, abuse of borrowers, misleading representations, and debt validation, among other provisions. Other rights protected under the Act can be found by reading the Act itself or consulting with an attorney familiar with the law in detail. There are also many websites that go into further detail about this particular federal law.

Each violation of the Act may cause liability on the part of the debt collector for any actual damage suffered by the borrowers, ,000 per offense, and costs of any action to defend the foreclosure lawsuit, initiate a foreclosure lawsuit, and attorneys fees. In effect, there are numerous ways to violate the law, and many collection agencies do not care enough about it to follow it as outlined.

When fighting back against a foreclosure complaint, homeowners may want to use violations of the FDCPA (and they may be amazingly easy to discover) to offset the judgment the bank is seeking. Violations may be included as counterclaims in answering a complaint. The law firm retained by the mortgage company also counts as a collection agency and may be brought into the lawsuit for its own violations of the Act.