February 11th, 2009
It is difficult to eliminate a lot of government student loans and even bankruptcy will not help. The only method of resolving this type of loan is to show that they cause a lot of hardship to you and your finances, while declaring bankruptcy. But this is a tough point to prove because bankruptcy filing resolves all your other debts.
If you want to resolve the problem of the student loans, you should be able to prove that you are unable to repay the debt as per the schedule handed over to you and each time you make an attempt to repay as per the schedule; you have been unable to pay. You need to adopt an honest and sincere approach. Do not lie to your creditors and make a genuine effort to show that you are trying as hard as you can to get the necessary money but have failed.
It is the responsibility of the bankruptcy judge to decide the items that can be discharged and those cannot. Some judges may provide for these discharges and if you happen to get one, there is no need to repay these loans, either completely or partially. It is at the discretion of the judge to decide on it.
You should remember that though the lenders will not send you any bills when you have filed for bankruptcy as they have to wait for your bankruptcy to be discharged, the interest will still be accruing on the loan. You do not pay the loan or the interest, but once your bankruptcy is discharged, you will have to encounter a lot more problems than before.
Student loans are highly flexible, offering varied choices than the most of the other loans. If you find it difficult to pay off the student loans, talk to the lender. Inform them about the problem and you will find that they will be happy to help you out. If you find it difficult to meet the payment schedule, ask the lender to prepare a new one. Do not be afraid of talking to the lender but it will help you and prevent you from getting into more trouble. If you have failed to pay the loan, register for programs like rehabilitation programs to get out of the default. These programs are very useful if you show good faith and attempt by paying a minimum amount for a definite period of time. If you can stick to this routine, your lender will understand that you are reliable and they will help you get over the default.
Loan consolidation is another excellent alternative to bankruptcy. The Direct Loan Servicing Center, run by the Department of Education offers you various options to choose from to help you repay the loans. Their standard plan is excellent, very simple and efficient to carry out. Simply pay $50 each month till the whole debt is repaid or till 10 years are over, whichever happens earlier. Another plan requires you to pay for the next 12-30 years. It is excellent for people struggling to pay the debt and meet other expenses; but it is the costliest one as 30 years of interest makes the sizeable sum of money.
Talking to your lender if you are in financial trouble is the best bet. Though you cannot solve your debt problem immediately, knowing that you have options will put your mind at ease.
Tags: Bankruptcy Affects, Student Loans
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February 11th, 2009
If you have filed for a bankruptcy on your credit but need a mortgage to buy a new home, it was an impossible task in the old days. But now the things are looking up with bad credit becoming a norm instead of exception. Today you can easily get a mortgage even if you have a bad credit, and the lender in this case will stress on two major factors: income verification and a down payment.
After you file for bankruptcy, many lenders will not approve your mortgage application for at least 2 years since the period of the bankruptcy discharge. Once this 2-year wait is over, getting a mortgage is quite easy. Quite a few times, you can easily get 100% financing too. This is feasible provided the credit bureau has been informed about you making the timely payments, after the bankruptcy has been discharged.
If you need mortgage after bankruptcy but before 2 years, your payment record should be nearly clean once your bankruptcy is discharged. Some may even require you to make a down payment. A small amount that is about 3-5% of the loan amount can be used as a down payment and will improve your chances of getting approved.
Use the following suggestions to procure funds for the down payment for your mortgage while having money saved in the bank:
Ask the friends/relatives to lend you the money or gift it to you. Once you get the 1st mortgage, you can then apply for a 2nd or 3rd mortgage that is equal to the entire value of the house and use it repay your friends/ relatives. If you have taken the money from friends/ relatives as a loan, it is imperative that you disclose the same to the lender. Many lenders have strict laws regarding the source of funds for down payment and if you fail to inform the lender clearly, it can be a case of cheating the lender.
Take advantage of down payment assistance programs like Neighborhood Gold or the Nehemiah program. These programs are meant to assist the seller in providing you with a down payment. Taking a down payment from the seller of the property is generally illegitimate, but these programs make it legitimate. Various other down payment assistance programs provide grants and there is no need to repay the money. You can easily get the information about these programs on the Internet.
Withdrawing money from investment programs like 401K is another option. Follow the same process as given in the first solution.
Tags: Bankruptcy, Buying A Home
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February 11th, 2009
Losing wallets and purses is a common occurence. If they contain your credit cards, then you should take immediate action. There is no need to panic as all the major credit card companies have defined the guidelines that you should follow to protect yourself against the loss or theft.
If your credit card is stolen, immediately bring the matter to notice of the company. Most of the companies provide a toll-free number or an online service exclusively meant to deal with this issue.
The federal law states that you are responsible for only the first $50.00 of any fraudulent charges incurred on the card. But it is still essential that you report the lost or stolen card though you won’t have to face any financial loss. The other benefit of informing the company quickly before any fraudulent use is that they will waive the $50.00. But read the details on the credit card offer.
When you get the bill after the card is lost or stolen, scan every charge on the bill carefully. If something crops up that is not incurred by you, inform the company in writing immediately. Ensure the letter contains the date on which you informed the company about the misplaced card and dispatch the letter to the billing department. Send it separately from the payment as there is every chance that it will be misplaced.
Things work slightly different for the debit card. The amount of liability that you will incur depends on how soon you report it as lost or stolen. If you do it before it is used again, you do not have to bear any fraudulent charges. However a slight delay of even 2 working days means your liability may go till $500.00 of any fraudulent charges incurred on the card.
Check your bills regularly after the card is stolen. Inform your bank of any objectionable withdrawals from your account that happened at the time your card was lost or stolen. You can make a phone call, but pursuing with a certified letter that contains the day when you informed the company about your stolen or lost card. This will clear you of any liability.
Keeping track of the stolen or lost cards is an ideal method to prevent stolen or lost cards. Find out where they are located throughout and do not disclose the pin number to anyone. The pin number should be undecipherable and not something simple like the birth or anniversary date or phone number. The number should make sense only to you and not to anybody else.
Tags: Credit Card Is Lost, Stolen
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