Those of you who have declared bankruptcy..

[toddzilla]

I have a meeting of the creditors next month, then i think it's 60 days after that i will be discharged. I want to buy a house next year, and i'm wondering what the best way to go about it would be. I'll be a first time buyer, be on my job 2 years and make enough to qualify for the amount i'm looking to spend. i should be able to put away at least 3,000 or so for the downpayment etc.

My question is is there a specific place i should go to because of my credit situation? I have been with the same credit union for a long time, at least ten years, but i've never borrowed anything from them.

[Demonaut]

1. Pull your credit

Its common after your debts are discharged for them to still show on your credit report as late, and they will continue to accrue late marks. If this is the case then you will have to write the reporting agencies to correct and combine all discharged debts. this takes awhile but its well worth correcting before you you find your dream house, and lose it due to a bad credit report...bty I do mortgages, mostly vet refinances.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. check your PM

[Deja Q]

3. Pondering the "big B" myself, I do know something...

Don't try for any MAJOR credit for the first year unless there's no other option (namely a car). You certainly won't get a home, not this quickly and probably not during the time the bankruptcy is on your credit report. (you'll be lucky to even get an apartment, the way this !&@^#$%$ sorry excuse of a society is ran.)

Heck, my parents know of a person who had a hard time getting a house simply because she was late on TWO insurance payments. x(

And if you do get a home loan in the next 10 years, interest rates will be higher, hopefully by a reasonable amount, but that I doubt. Ditto for if you need a car.

If anywhere, your CU would be the place to go. Though your lack of paying back a loan doesn't help. :-(

I'm not even going for a credit card. And any offers sent to me might be sent back with a little surprise, if not just an empty envelope to make THEM pay for once, the predatory bastards...

Eventually, and slowly, I will slowly and responsibly rebuild myself.

[Demonaut]

4. Oh yeah,

Forgot to say, its better to declare bankruptcy than use the debt consolidation companies...EI: Seven years to ten years for it to drop from your credit report versus five years to pay off the debts then another seven to ten years for it to drop off your credit report.

[Deja Q]

5. DAMN!

I've done the credit counseling thing... I didn't know the counseling companies kept their mark on the credit report for that long, even after you pay it off. What a scummy system!

Shit. x( And I don't swear...

[areschild]

6. What type of bankruptcy are you filing? Chapter 13, 11, or 7?

eom

[morningglory]

7. Clinton made it really easy for people to own a home.

The rules are different. We found a house in a nice neighborhood that was FHA and in foreclosure and we had the place in 3 weeks. Look for adv. that say "credit no problem". Just one suggestion.

[toddzilla]

8. chap. 7

mostly due to being uninsured and having a kidney stone operation, compounded by being an idiot in college and living off credit cards.

[TrogL]

9. You're fucked

A loan shark might be willing to talk to you at 100% interest per month.

Everybody else will tell you to go to hell.

[corarose]

10. You can buy a house but you will have to put more $$ down

I think that they require 20% down around here for bad credit before they will even look at you.

You can get a house but it will cost you.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. It stays on your record for ten years

and it's hard to get any kind of credit for three years.

I found that I had no problem with lines of credit that were at zero when I declared bankruptcy: one department store card and one line of credit from a local bank. They continued to be available to me.

I haven't tried to buy a house, but I was denied overdraft privileges on a new checking account, despite having had one before and managing it fine.

[banana republican]

12. What are you going to

I went through Chapt 7 in 1987 thanks to Raygun; Bush I and a Seattle Repug named Thomas Stewart (a billionaire bozo).

If it is business related; screw the creditors; especially if they have been calling you every night... You have a life to live get on with it.

If it is not business related try as hard as you can to get to a Chapter 7. Discharge as much as you can. I had a friend who was a contractor who threw a major party just before he filed for chapter 7. There were several hundred people there and it was really fun, thank you very much bank of america.

Some things you may not want to discharge such as your electric bill, water and sewer, and your mortgage if you have one. talk to your lawyer.

In short; this is a business decision; not a personal, moral or ethical decision. do not feel guilty.

Above all watch out for loan sharks and be sure to read the fine print. Some mortgages are in default on the day they were signed.

Good luck and I wish you well.