75K_CCdebt Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Hi,Im Patrick from CT,and we are in 75K debt! We are at the point of not making enough money to pay our bills. We signed up with a debt releif program and made 2 payments to them and I got spooked and bailed out losing 1600 dollars and having the credit cards back in my control.Ill try to brief you guys as easy to read as possible.We have 4 credit cards,balances range from 10K-20K plus a home equity loan of 15K which is a total of 75K.We have a 175K mortgage in which we are current on and all utilities and car payment is current.Stopped paying CC about 3 months ago but continue to pay home equity loan since its a secured loan.Now Im stumped!!!What should be our next move? been ignoring phone calls and just started receiving letters of late fees.Help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75K_CCdebt Posted November 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Also,my wife tried to negotiate with a couple of cards yesterday but thier re-payment plans definately would not work out with our income.I expect our great credit is gonna be demolished but thats ok with us,as long as our home doesnt get in jeaopardy.Thanks for any input you may have.I will be checking here very often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75K_CCdebt Posted November 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 also we closed the accounts on all 4 credit cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75K_CCdebt Posted November 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 if I posted this in wrong thread can somebody move it?I'm sooooooooo lost! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nascar Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Responses tend to be kinda slow on the weekends. I'm sure you'll get plenty of responses soon. Taking matters into your own hands and not trusting a debt fixer is a smart move. There are lots of folks here with experience in managing large credit card debt. Sorry, but I don't happen to be one of them, but keep checking - I'm sure you'll get some advice that will help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75K_CCdebt Posted November 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 thanks nascar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75K_CCdebt Posted November 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 maybe this can help better:Credit Cards:1)CapitalOne-21,0002)Carnival-13,5003)AmericanExpress-11,0004)Countrywide-90005)Discover-7,200(we still are current on payments on THIS card)Total=61,700(Secured Loans)1)Home Equity loan-16,000 (455/month)2)Mortgage-173,000 (1466/month)3)car payment-422/monthlytotal monthly income= 4,840any suggestions? i know Im posting alot but just trying to be clear of our situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cap1kid Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Looks like your in need of a bailout!- I would see if the cc companies can temporarily reduce your interest rate- I saw where someone succeeded at doing that. If any of your cards are held by banking companies that received bailout money, remind them your a taxpayer and you saved them- now it's time to repay the favor. good luck- can you do a home equity loan to get rid of the high interest debt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75K_CCdebt Posted November 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 ty cap,we are trying to refinance our home but have not heard back from the lady yet.Our home is worth 240K and our mortgage is 173K plus 16K home equity loan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denita Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Please do not refinance your home to pay off credit card debt. This is why many people, including myself, have homes that are currently upside down (or underwater). It is far better to keep your home mortgage as low as possible. You can negotiate rate and payment terms with the OC on the CC's. You must talk to the hardship dept. The CSR's have NO AUTHORITY to negotiate the payments - but they will not tell you that. You already have done damage to your credit by closing the accounts and not paying (I am not being critical - just analytical at this point). You are in the perfect position to negotiate the payment with the hardship dept. I would try to at worst case for you make the payments over 36 to 60 mths, zero interest. If you try to pay it all back with zero interest (for example AMEX $11k $183/mth for 60 mths; Cap 1 $21k $350/mth 60 mths, Countrywide 9k for $150/mth and Dis 7.2k for $120/mth) you are still in a very, very difficult spot cash flow wise. So you need to negotiate some off the balance. this is like doing a BK without the backup of the court system. You can try it first, but many may just tell you to file. You in fact might want to look at your numbers (all of them, food, insurance, car insurance, etc) because it looks like you have been filling up the gaps with credit cards. The only advantage to doing this self imposed bk is if you can not make it, you can file then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy32 Posted November 2, 2008 Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 Patrick I live in Ct too and I understand how the cost of living here is...You are smart getting away from that debt relief program. It looks like Denita outlined a pretty solid plan for you to follow...with out filing BK. You definatly came to the right place for help this time. There are a lot of people here with the same situations, or worst. If you check out all the threads and do a search you will see. Also their is lots of great info here. I have been trying to get other people I know to come on here but they think that this is a scam or something...If you follow the steps outlined here you credit will improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75K_CCdebt Posted November 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 thanks d and tommy,im gonna give it a go with daneta advice,should I wait until they charge off? and what should i say to creditors that are calling right now?i was told chase has a hardship program but dont know what to say.thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denita Posted November 3, 2008 Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 Do not wait until charge off. Do it now, the sooner the better so you can work with the OC's hardship dept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75K_CCdebt Posted November 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 oh,thought wait until they get desperate and offer a settlent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denita Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Settlements work best with lump sum payments. If you have a lump sum, you might try that before it goes to a CA. The CA's add on all kinds of interest and fees to make it look like a much larger debt, then they 'negotiate' to something less, but generally more than what the original debt was. If you don't have a lump sum, it is best usually to work with the OC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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