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Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy – Pay Your Bills (Step #4)

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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.

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Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy in 6 Steps (Step #3)

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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.

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Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy: Secured Credit Card

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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.

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What is a Reaffirmation Agreement?

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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.

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Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy in 6 Steps (Step #1)

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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.

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What If I Get a New Job While I am in Bankruptcy?

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These are common questions that many people have about bankruptcy. In an effort to provide you with information we have provided these frequent questions. However, it is important to realize that each state has different rules and these answers are not meant to be legal advice. Contact a bankruptcy attorney to learn more.

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What is the General Timeline for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

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This is a general and approximate timeline. Each and every case will be different depending upon your individual situation. Some cases may take less time and others may take more time. To get a more definitive timeline, review the contract you sign with an attorney at Duncan Law at the time of your free initial bankruptcy consultation.

Should I Get a Credit Report Before I File Bankruptcy?

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Although, it’s important to keep statements that you receive in the mail regarding your debts, you should also consider obtaining a credit report.

For many people, it is difficult to remember original creditors, collections agencies, amounts owed, and so on from years past.  A credit report is a great way to visually see all of your debts listed out for you, especially if you did not keep statements.  Our recommendation would be to look at your statements first, then back it up with a credit report.  For many people, this will cover your bases in regards to who you owe, but remember this does not guarantee to be all of your creditors.  This is why it’s important to keep up with your statements and also view your free credit report yearly.  By doing this, it allows you to see whom you owe, if it’s accurate, and when and where the debt was incurred.

You are entitled to a free credit report every 12 months from www.AnnualCreditReport.com. It is one of the only legitimately free places to obtain a credit report. It will not, however, give you your actual credit score. Use this website, if you have not already done so in the past 12 months, to view your debts and names of your creditors.  We recommend checking this annually so you can be sure the creditors on your report are accurate.  When filing bankruptcy, it is essential that all of your creditors are listed, so be sure to use both statements and a credit report to back up what you already know regarding your debt.

It’s also a good idea to be sure you get your free credit report again a few months after you file bankruptcy. It will help you rebuild your credit after bankruptcy.