Nervous and Overwhelmed

[treadingwater]

Hi,
My husband and I are meeting with a paralegal from a bk lawyer's office tomorrow. We are so far in over our heads with debt. He started a business and we have about 150K in business debt that doesn't show on our credit, but is personally guaranteed by us. We have about 125K of personal unsecured debt because of trying to live on credit cards and consolidating and then charging due to remodeling our house. I have always had great credit and have never shown a single 30 day late payment. We just feel like we are sinking and the stress of making minimum payments is ruining our marriage.

Questions:
We have a construction to perm loan on our home right now and my biggest concern about bk (other than the intense sobbing and feelings of failure/shame) is that I desperately want to keep the house. We can't afford to finish the last 25K of work in order to close into a permanent loan with all the other debt. Can we keep our home? Would reaffirmation apply on a construction loan?

Also, what about the business debt that we've personally guaranteed (there is a lein on our personal residence - as a matter of normal procedure) for 50K of the LOC for the business?

I'm so scared of losing my home!

Also, do we have to be behind on our payments to be considered for Ch. 7? I read somewhere to keep paying the minimum on time as long as possible for the best credit recovery after the bk.

Sorry this is so long! My head is spinning....

Thanks for any advice

[chloe0724]

Hi,

Have you spoken to an attorney yet? That's the best thing to do since you have some unusual circumstances.

Weather or not you file 7 or 13 has nothing to do with your payment history, it's all about the amount of disposable income you ahve left over each month.

Good Luck!!