Thinking of Filing Bankruptcy

[rustyshark]

ok I currently have about 17000 in debt. 9000 in unsecured and 8000 tied up in a car loan. The car has since been reposessed. It didnt drive anymore it was a lemon so I purchased a new car and couldnt keep up the payment on the lemon.
i already saw an attorney before the car was repossessed about filing a chapter 13. My question is... since the collateral of my Secured auto loan has been reposessed does it now become a UN secured loan? Or how does that work. I am in NC and we are required I guess to pay back 10% of unsecured debt which looking at my attorneys calculations was like 900 dollars. Does the auto loan now become unsecured which would make my 1700 dollar debt now 1700?
Also is it possible to pay for the bankruptcy debts up front instead of doing the payment plan? Like if I were to pay the 1700 dollars upfront instead of making the payments?
I have alot of questions. I am way over my head and am trying to restart my debts ya know. Just like many of you all probally have. Will filling bankruptcy ruin my credit for good, or will I be able to rebuild over a few years.

[bkfiler]

well easiest first. filing bk doesnt ruin your credit for good. you can rebuild it and be close to good in 2 years and great in 3 and perfect in 4 to 7 years. you will get lots of offers after bk discharge. dont worry.

the car debt isnt secured against anything anymore. but it started out as a secured loan. i think it stays that way. not sure.

you can pay a payoff deal with the trustee if he wants to. he always takes quick cash lol.

why arnt you filing a chapt 7?

if i might ask, how much is your attorney?

[rustyshark]

well easiest first. filing bk doesnt ruin your credit for good. you can rebuild it and be close to good in 2 years and great in 3 and perfect in 4 to 7 years. you will get lots of offers after bk discharge. dont worry.

the car debt isnt secured against anything anymore. but it started out as a secured loan. i think it stays that way. not sure.

you can pay a payoff deal with the trustee if he wants to. he always takes quick cash lol.

why arnt you filing a chapt 7?

if i might ask, how much is your attorney?

the reason i am not filing a chapter 7 is because about 7 months ago my car gave out on me, so my grandmother bought me a brand new tiburon paid cash for it and put it in my name.
my attorney told me if i filed chapter 7 i would lose my new car cuz it is considered positive equity.
i asked if i could just put the car in my grandmothers name and file chapter 7 but they told me the courts would just review that and take it anyways.
so chapter 13 was my option...
the attorneys fee is 1400 dollars on my paperwork.
i really wanna know about the car loan though. i mean i dont think it can still be considered secured if they now are in possession of the collateral. but id like to make sure. i tried doing a google search but it just gave me junk i didnt need,
if the loan is still secured, how will that be payed back? will i be obligated to pay for the entire 8000 loan. or just 10 percent of it? because if i have to pay back the entire loan, adding attorney fees and everything else in a 3 to 5 year payment plan, i will be in about the same shape ya know. they were telling me cuz i inquired whenever i went to talk to them about bankruptcy that the car can be surrendered and they payment would still be about the same, but they didnt figure the car in the paperwork cuz they wanted to see how much i would still owe on the car after it went back to the finance company... then a few days later, the finance company repoed the car anyway.
i could just go back to the attorney, but my next consultation will cost me 50 bucks... so thats why i am looking for answers to my questions now, so i dont go up there and spend 50 dollars to ask a question or two ya know.
im 26, i made some early mistakes like any kid with new credit will occasionally do and got in over my head. now i am worried about my financial future. I figure now is the best time to do this. I can get this debt gone is a few short years, work an hour or two more a week which would easily pay for the monthly payment so my current finances wouldnt suffer at all and i can live free of this debt, and i will still have time in the future to maybe be able to finance a house or whatever ya know.

[bkfiler]

i dont know the answers but wait around and see if someone does.

why would a visit to your attorney cost $50? he has to answer everything about your case. thats his job.

what is this 10% that you are talking about? where did it come from?

[rustyshark]

i dont know the answers but wait around and see if someone does.

why would a visit to your attorney cost $50? he has to answer everything about your case. thats his job.

what is this 10% that you are talking about? where did it come from?

well right now i dont have a case, i havent filed and i just went to ask questions. here is the website of the attorney http://billsbills.com/
i didnt speak with the actual attorney, its kinda like u speak with consultants who work for the attorney to ask all your questions and they get you set up and what not.
the 10 percent thing comes from paying back only 10 percent of your debt.
the way my paper work reads is this
unsecured 9000 times 10% = 900. 900 divided by 36mos equals 26 dollars
EAE equity above exemptions 3920. 3900 minus 900(10%) = 3000 divded by 36 mos = 84 dollars
Attorneys fee 1400 divided by 36 mos equals 39 dollars
add 39+26+84 and i get about 150 a month for 36 months.
Thats the way the paperwork is drawn up. My eclipse is listed under surrender collateral but i dont know what they do with that 8000 loan that i still owe since its been repoed.

So can someone please explain it to me maybe a lil better. Im in NC i realize may the NC bankruptcy law may be different or sumthin. But this is really my last option.

[robivi3]

You did not mention if they had sold the repo'd auto yet. You would only be liable for whats left. Makes some difference in added fees if it was a voluntary or they had to come get it.

It is not a secured loan at this point, especially if it has been sold. You can usually work out a low, no interest payment deal with the Attorney they use if it was GMAC or FM Credit. You may work out VERY low payments if the Attorney is reasonable. He would know you can't pay but may settle on having a small payment so he doesn't get hassles. I did this years ago with a brand new car. 25.00 per month and they ended up forgiving some of the debt without any penalty. I am reffering to the balance difference.

[bkfiler]

attorney consults are free. try to speak to the attorneys direclty. dont go with teh car salesmen a**holes that work the deals in the office.

keep going to more. look them up in the phone book. make sure they have been practicing for over 15 total and at least 5 years in that city.

f the rest.

[rustyshark]

they came and got it before i could surrender it. i had already planned on surrendering the car. but either way it didnt run they would have had to come and get it. i have not had any info on if they have sold the car, and even if they have already im sure they didnt get much for it. it was in a bad shape.
this actually happened about 2 months ago. i pulled my credit report the other day and it still showed i owed 8000 on the car.
the place i went to talk to about bankruptcy is very publicly advertised and everything, and i am usually weary of those places but it seems to be the popular option in my town.
but does anyone know about the car loan. that is my MAIN question. would i be required to pay whats left on the car or is it like the unsecured debt where i only pay a small percentage back?

[bkfiler]

this 10% amazes me. are they saying that you will only pay back 10% of your entire debt owed?

how much in disposable income do you have each month? did they figure that out?

be careful no tto go with 'bankruptcy mills' - if you dont speak to an attorney then you aint getting your moneys worth. that is my advice to you.

[rustyshark]

this 10% amazes me. are they saying that you will only pay back 10% of your entire debt owed?

how much in disposable income do you have each month? did they figure that out?

be careful no tto go with 'bankruptcy mills' - if you dont speak to an attorney then you aint getting your moneys worth. that is my advice to you.

ok i bring home about 1200 a month
my expenses
500 rent
150 electric
100 insurance
50 phone
50 cable
whatever in food in gas. i make enough left to cover my payment that they proposed. and yes i had to feel out an expense sheet
im not really sure how bankruptcy works.
if you are baffled by the 10 percent thing, then please tell me how bankruptcy does work on a chapter 13. and try to detail it to my situation please. thank you.

[SinkingFast]

BK, I know you keep saying Consults are Free. And so far that's been the case for us. But our next appt is very structured. They mailed a packet ahead of forms we are supposed to fill out and bring with us. The letter that came with the packet specifically states the Consult is free, and the time limit for the free Consult is a half hour. If we run over that time frame we will be billed at an hourly rate of $200 for the attny or $85 for a paralegal to next 1/10th hour. If we run over 13 minutes, we might as well hem and haw around for an extra 5 minutes cause they are gonna charge us for it regardless.

The Ch 13 that one attny structured for us put us at the 10% repayment level.

[bkfiler]

ok wait, you are both at 10% now? im sure i just aint keeping up.

with packet in hand, it wont take longer then 30 minutes. make sure you dont pay. move on to the next attorney appt. trust me. they aint got no clients anyways lol.


rusty, you pay back is based on your disposable income. if you got 1200 take home and you spend 850 then you might have to pay $350 per month for 3 to 5 years. chapt 13 plans are tricky. but if people can only afford to pay 10% then i believe they dont do chapt 13.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

If I were you, I honestly don't think filing would be the best idea. You could just save all the money you would have paid into a chapter 13, plus the money you are saving because your new car is paid for. You could dispute the car loan as not your debt to the credit bureaus, because they took the car back and are still reporting you owe the entire amount for a car they now have. You could also dispute your other debts just for the hell of it. They won't all get dismissed but its possible some might. Your credit would not be good anyways for the next few years. Chap 13 works different from 7 in that you are not discharged until your payment plan is complete, whether it be 3 years, or longer. And during your payments, you are not supposed to acquire any new debts until you are discharged. So I think in the short term, and long run, you might be better off just disputing debts, possibly settling some or debt consolidation. Just do your homework before you make your decision, its a close one here and you want to make sure you do it right.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Oh, and the 10% thing, I'm sure is a bare minimum. In your case, you'd probably end up paying at least 20%, if not 30 or 40% or more. Tack on your attorney and filing fees, and it might not be any less than if you just settled out of the debt yourself.