“Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy in 6 Steps” is a series of posts that will appear over the course of the next couple of weeks. Following these 6 steps will help you lay the foundation to achieve better credit. Here are the six steps: Step #1: Review Your Credit Reports Step #2: Get a Secured Credit … Read more
I’m sure you never thought this would be the case but this is the easiest step of them all. If you’ve followed the three steps before this you should have cleaned up your credit report, spent a year laying the foundation for your new credit with a secured credit card and now you should have obtained a reasonable unsecured credit card.
After you’ve spent time laying the foundation for your new credit by using a secured credit card you will want to begin looking for an unsecured credit card. An unsecured credit card is a card where you do not put up collateral (cash, automobiles, etc.) as an assurance that you will pay. We typically recommend that you use a secured credit card for at least one year before moving on to an unsecured card.
After your credit report is accurate you are ready to look for a secured credit card. A secured credit card is a credit card where a balance of money has already been posted. For example, most secured credit cards will require you to put up anywhere between $300 and $500. After doing this, you have a credit limit of the amount that you put up. I know, its not what you are used to in your pre-bankruptcy days but that’s okay. We are in a rebuilding period now.
A reaffirmation agreement is a legally binding document filed with the bankruptcy court in which you agree to keep making payments on a debt. For example, you are required to sign a reaffirmation agreement if you would like to retain personal property, such as an automobile, and keep making payments after filing your bankruptcy.
Anyone who tells you that bankruptcy won’t hurt your credit is lying to you. Bankruptcy will hurt your credit initially. However, if you are interested in filing bankruptcy your credit is probably already damaged quite a bit or is well on its way to being damaged. One of the nice things about bankruptcy is it allows you to hit the “refresh” button to start over. The question on whether a bankruptcy will hurt my credit is an easy one to answer. Yes. The more important question we should really be asking is: Can you rebuild your credit after filing bankruptcy and, if so, how? Yes, you can rebuild your credit after filing bankruptcy.
Today CNN is running an eye opening article about the tactics and strategies used by debt collectors or creditors. The article covers 10 different people who used to call and harass people for a living.
The Short Answer Yes, in many cases you can buy a car while you are in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. But there is an important step. You almost always need permission from the court or your Chapter 13 trustee before you take out a new car loan. This is because you are repaying your debts … Read more
Have a Wonderful and Safe Independence Day from All of Us at Duncan Law!
If you are getting ready to file for bankruptcy, you may have heard that you must take a credit counseling course first. Maybe your attorney mentioned it. Maybe you saw it on a form. Either way, you might be wondering what it is and why it is required. The good news is that this course … Read more
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