Are we pretty much screwing ourselves if we do a second bankruptcy?

[debtsucks]

This will be a second one for both hubs and I, and we are receiving a backlash because we are in the process of claiming a second time around. My husband was denied a promotion because we are claiming our second, he was told by his employer he will NEVER get a promotion with them again if we go through with it. I am worried he will never be able to get a better paying job with a different company if we do claim, or that we will NEVER be able to buy a house. What are your thoughts? Has anyone here claimed a second bankruptcy and are having no problems getting ahead in life?

[Flamingo]

I have read on here and elsewhere that repeat filers are subject to extra scrutiny by the trustee and also all that information remains on public records forever even when it is eventually off of your credit reports. You do what ya gotta do. If you need to file, you need to file but you need to take a step back and find out what you are doing wrong so you will not become a serial filer - those of whom use BK as a budgeting tool.

[debtsucks]

We definitely learned the hard way the second time around. I can honestly say we are not using the bankruptcy as a budgeting tool. We just made some mistakes in trusting that his job was secure back when he was making awesome money, and then we were hit with a huge pay cut. I know this time around we don't ever want to see another credit card again. It makes me sick to my stomach to ever consider getting another credit card or loan again. I am done with credit cards, and have learn to live a cash life, and I can honestly say it is very freeing. So that part isn't an issue for us.

When you say a second bankruptcy is under more scrutiny by the trustee, does that mean he is gonna be reaming us when we have our meeting and possibly deny our bk?

[jdcat]

We are second time filers also. Just checked Pacer and saw that we were filed today. We didn't purposely choose to get into this situation, things just happened. Some of it was bad financial management but hours being cut at work and pay freezes were beyond our control. If hubby was making today what he was making two years ago we wouldn't be in this mess. All of our plans and financial success hinged on hubbies employment remaining stable.

As for your hubbies employer..it sounds to me like there is a personal vendetta type of thing going on. I can't imagine having to work in that kind of environment. Can your husband find employment elsewhere?

I know things are going to be rough for a couple of years. It will be two years before our first bk is off our credit report. So no buying new cars or buying a house if we loose the one we're in now. It sounds like such a long time, but it really isn't in the grand scheme. We'll all make it through, just gotta tough it out for a while.

We bought a house with a bk on our credit report and bought two cars as well. Once that first bk is off things will be ok for you guys.

[pepperoncini]

We're getting ready to file BK13. We filed BK7 in 2004.

This wasn't how we intended things to go - but we're in deep now...

[ForumReader]

At my 341 meeting somebody was talking about someone being a serial filer, 4 times back then before the 2005 BK reform so yes there are people out there who have filed more than once. I would imagine it is harder to go up to a trustee and say yes I have filed before drawing possible scrutiny and other things. Which is why filing once should give these people a much better understanding and better skills of managing ones' finances.

[catleg]

Filed ch7 in 1997 and ch13 in 2009. No hassles about being a repeat filer.

[Hillbilly]

All of the paperwork has been completed for the filing of our second chapter 7 BK this week, but our first BK was way back in 1981 and under far different circumstances.
Anyway pertinent to the worries expressed in the OP, we were able to buy 4 homes over the ensuing years.

With the economic downturn and foreclosure rates there is already a glut of available housing, which is still increasing, with market prices still sliding.
Those who own, or hold the notes on these non-performing 'investments' sooner or latter are going to want start realizing some return on their ventures, and seek to get someone, -anyone- with an ability to meet regular payments back into these unoccupied properties, hopefully before they deteriorate into an undesirable, unsalable condition. (Declining property values remove investors incentive to invest additional funds into the 'fixing up' or in renovations where there is little likelihood of any additional returns to be realized for the effort expended.)
This will likely result in a scenario where ones present ability to meet mortgage payments will be a far greater factor in the obtaining of a home, than any problems with your past credit history.

Moreover you will be far from alone in your situation, as millions of others have also suffered the effects of this recession. Realistic lenders will acknowledge that many of the Bk's of this period were not the result of personal failings, but resulted from financial factors that were far beyond any individual debtors ability to control.

[Flamingo]

We definitely learned the hard way the second time around. I can honestly say we are not using the bankruptcy as a budgeting tool. We just made some mistakes in trusting that his job was secure back when he was making awesome money, and then we were hit with a huge pay cut. I know this time around we don't ever want to see another credit card again. It makes me sick to my stomach to ever consider getting another credit card or loan again. I am done with credit cards, and have learn to live a cash life, and I can honestly say it is very freeing. So that part isn't an issue for us.

When you say a second bankruptcy is under more scrutiny by the trustee, does that mean he is gonna be reaming us when we have our meeting and possibly deny our bk?

As to your last paragraph, it appears the trustee looks more closely at your paperwork and may delve more into certain financial areas and charges than with a first time filer. Do a search in this forum for repeat filing. There have been several previous postings on the subject. What many folks need to do after surviving a first BK is learn that nothing is ever stable as to income and planning is extremely important. Debt is the cause of bankruptcy. If there are savings and a safety net in place when the job is lost, and little or no debt, no bankruptcy needs to be filed. After surviving a 70% loss of income in 2001, I would never allow us to get back in the place we were before unless a big house or big luxury item, etc. were given to us and I couldn't imagine having to deal with having a BK almost off credit reports and then going through all that again. We too made the big bucks (my hubby traveled the world on business) but all it takes is a merger or layoff and it's all gone and if you can't get it back, you are faced with whatever debt has been accumulated. Going through Chapter 13 was the best thing in the world for us...it taught us to budget and realize we didn't need 15 of the same item in different colors or shapes... best of luck to you!