I was planning on getting in to Real Estate Investing, i have read the books and bought the courses I even did all i could to get a great credit score. However, after a series of emergency expenses and then losing my job to a bad economy I have done all i could to stave off Bankruptcy but i’m downing in debt that keeps growing and It kills me to admit but it looks like its my only answer. I was wondering if anyone out there went through Bankruptcy and returned to real Estate Investing and how they went about it? how long did it take? was there anything you did to improve your credit and to improve relationships with lenders and did you have any hurdles that you had to go through to gain lenders trust?
I am not an expert on bankruptcy, but the thing that cures credit problems is time. Once you get a job start paying the bills and over time you will be “normal” again. One thing about bankruptcy the lawyers tell you it only stays on your record 7 years. But every application I have ever seen does not ask if you have filed bankruptcy in the last 7 years, it asks if you have ever filed bankruptcy. It depends on how long you will be out of work, but I prefer to get a job and slug through the debt instead of bankrupting.
How much debt do you have?
The problem is when i was working i could pay my bills with no issue, but now just to make the min payments its more then $1200 a month and climbing. even if i could get a job no one want to pay me anything near what i was making so im barely able to stay afloat and wont be able to get out of my situation for along time which might exceed the term of bankruptcy.
Didn’t Donald Trump go through bankruptcy once or twice? Better get some legal advice on your personal predicament, a crisis like yours is when you pay a lawyer for advice.
Risk takers like yourself can fall down and get muddied up. Get back up on your horse and move on. Learn from this mistake and do some more planning.
Only losers stay on the couch and are safe doing nothing. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.
Furnishedowner
There is a positive life after BK. First go talk to several lawyers. They will all talk to you for free for first time, about 30min trying to get your business. Go in with a list of the bills, how much you owe, monthly payments, etc. With new laws, you make need to file Chapter 13 which has payments over Chapter 7 which is a total discharge of debt. BK takes about 6 months in most states I believe. The BK will remain showing on your credit report for 10 years (though I think one state is only 7 for some reason can not remember). The accounts you include in BK will remain on your credit for 7 yrs from the last month you paid the bill. Legally by law, a bad account drops after 7yrs from last payment activity. An account paid off on time will remain for 10 yrs without activity. (Ex, you paid off Shell Gas card and never use again and/or close account, it will remain for 10 yrs on your credit report or you never completely paid off account, you stopped paying the bill in Feb 07, so in Feb 2014 the account will come off your report regardless of filing BK or not). I hear though, Obama is working on making stricter regulations on reporting and keeping things around longer, who knows when and if this will be grandfathered into past charge offs/ BKs.
Now if you file and have a card you can pay fine and it is aged, call creditor and tell them you want to keep account active and will sign a reaffirmation agreement. This will keep credit good. Also get secured credit cards by opening bank account with someone. There are tons of online banks you can do this with. Also it is good to go the old fashion route and open a bank account and secure a small $300 or $500 loan using the account and pay it off in 3-6 months. This will establish ability to pay bills. Also it is really better to carry a small balance each month over paying the bill in full. You need to show banks you have ability to manage debt. Within 2 yrs you will be good and have a decent score. As for financing a home, I believe FHA now goes back 3 yrs for loans, use to be 2 I know. So in 3 yrs you can get financing. As for other banks, they will differ but do not expect a home loan for at least 2-3 years from a bank.
BK is not the end of your life. It is a way to restart. Not promoting it, but we are lucky here that we can do this, some countries do not let you discharge debt and it carries over to your family members.
I just want to say “Thank You” to everyone who has responded…you have all given me much hope for the future… for myself and my love of real estate investing, thank you all and HAPPY NEW year to EVERYONE.