FAP Turbo

Make Over 90% Winning Trades Now!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Consumers Have Several Options To Eliminate Debt

By Layla Vanderbilt

The recent barely-averted recession has caused us all to tighten up our belts and hold on to our money especially tightly. But for all too many, that's not enough. The real estate roller coaster has put many people into huge pits of debt. There are many solutions for tending to debt, but without a little guidance far too many debtors pick the wrong option for them, harming their credit rating for years to come. Debt counseling, consolidation, settlement and even filing for bankruptcy are all necessary and useful services for people in debt, and it's up to you to find which one is best for your situation. Bankruptcy and settlement have, for better or worse, become the most commonly used methods of getting out of debt, due to simplicity and various other advantages they provide.

For clients, the two most used bankruptcy types are Chapters 7 and 13. Out of these, Chapter 7 gives users a more superior outcome and it still gets rid of most, if not all, of the existing debt. Before the bankruptcy code was overhauled in 2005, Chapter 7 bankruptcy was very popular due to that very reason. After that, a court now makes the decision as to which type of bankruptcy is the best for the customer depending on the outcome of a means test, which must be done prior to getting a bankruptcy.

A means test is basically something that evaluates how much money a filer makes and what kind of expenses he has. This is then measured up next to debt redemption standards decided by IRS regulations. Based on these regulations, if the filer doesn?t meet up to the income guidelines, he is allowed to file for bankruptcy under the auspices of chapter 7. But, it takes meeting very strict guidelines to get a chapter 7. If the means test says the person is able to put as low as $100 to pay off the bills, then the person will be given the option of filing for a chapter 13 bankruptcy. In both scenarios, the borrowers must pay for and receive credit counseling and budget analysis. Even though Chapter 13 allows a bit of relief on a person?s monthly bills, it?s not as generous to consumers as Chapter 7 and has several disadvantages that make a lot of borrowers decide they don?t want to go with this method. The main negative of a Chapter 13 is that after the terms of the filing are set, the borrower?s finances may be ruled over by a trustee of the court. Most people don?t like to have an outsider involved with their finances all the time, so this makes getting a Chapter 13 very unsatisfactory and usually the borrower decides to try debt settlement instead.

In either case the petitioner is required to attend credit counseling and budget analysis at their own expense. Chapter 13 filings do provide relief on current payments, but is not anywhere near as consumer friendly as Chapter 7. It also carries other disadvantages, such as having the petitioner?s finances overseen by a court appointed trustee. The invasiveness of Chapter 13 filings very often turns consumers towards professional debt settlement services.

Settlement will generally result in an overall debt reduction of fifty percent, but it can climb as high as almost three-fourths of your total debt in exceptional circumstances. Combined with the reduction in monthly payments, this results in less financial pressure, allowing you to pay things back and get back to zero more quickly for a fresh start. Most settlement payment processes will run for no longer than four years, but within that time period are reasonably flexible according to the needs of the debtor. This may seem like an extremely short amount of time for large loans such as mortgages, but the loan and payment reductions allow this kind of time limit to be practical.

Debt elimination programs can reduce outstanding balances by 40 to 70%, depending on the specific creditor. In general the average account included in a settlement will be reduced by 50%. The process provides added security for assets that represent a security interest. By reducing payments and eliminating a major portion of unsecured debt relieves pressure on secured assets. Debt settlement is often combined with mortgage loan modifications to help homeowners reduce their total payments toward debt and get for new mortgage terms. Most debt elimination programs terminate within 48 months, the same account with minimum payment could take over 20 years to payoff. The settlement of accounts allows for borrowers to begin the process of re-building their credit scores faster than bankruptcy which can remain on a consumer?s credit report for up to ten years.

Quicker improvement of your credit rating ? Settling their accounts lets borrowers start being able to get their credit rating up faster than if they filed bankruptcy because a bankruptcy remains on a credit report for 10 years and on a public record forever. Debt settlement and negotiation is extremely popular with people struggling to pay off their bills due to the advantages of it over other types of debt relief, such as bankruptcy. Borrowers must still become familiar will all the methods of relieving their debt before they make up their mind on what to do. The most superior method to go through the various methods is to work with an experience lawyer who understands all sorts of debt relief methods, so they understand which one is best for them. Putting yourself on the street to monetary victory is just that easy. - 23208

About the Author:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home