So you are thinking about filing for bankruptcy (BK) and now you are worried whether you will be able to buy a home again in the future. Well, there is hope for you.

However, the bankruptcy laws have changed recently.  It's not as easy to file BK Chapter 7.  If you have credit card, collection account balances and don't know what to do, you have 5 choices.

1. Do nothing and try to make monthly payments.

2. Get a consolidation loan.  Unfortunately if your fico scores have dropped, then most if not all of them have told you no.

3. Consumer Credit Counseling has a relationship with credit card companies to lower interest rates but CCC's are paid by the credit card companies so this will take a longer period of time.

4. Bankruptcy.  Chapter 7 would be a good choice if you qualify but in most situations, you might be told by an attorney that you do not qualify for chapter 7 but you qualify for chapter 13.  This is a much longer way to payoff your debts.

5. Debt Settlement.  There are a small amount of debt settlement companies nationwide who can assist you to payoff your debts at a much lower amount.  In most cases, you can payoff your credit cards in less than 3 years with a lower payment than you are currently making.

Afterwards, you can personally work on your credit to restore your credit score.  We have seen many clients who were able to get their FICO scores raised to over 600 within a year of their negative records on their credit reports.

Bankruptcy:
Some people believe that their chances of buying the American dream is over because of a bankruptcy and this is not true. Nowadays, there are many loan programs that can assist you to purchase a house with or without any money for down payment. In some situations, we might be able to assist you in buying a home even with a Bankruptcy that is less than two years old.

Consumer Credit Counseling aka CCC:
CCC is a program that is misunderstood in most cases since the consumer is not fully aware of what he/she is getting involved with.  In all cases, although a lower payment is given to the consumer, the late payment(s) records will reflect on your credit report.  We can still assist clients with past CCC services of 6 months or older.

Debt Consolidation Service:
Although it is the goal of many, there is no secret to paying off debt.  Many companies on television commercials as well as other advertisements say that they can help you with your debts.  One of the things that they seem to miss is the fact that when you use these services, your credit will be negatively affected.  Not only will your credit show 30 day late payments, often times, 120 days late payments records and then account closure due to slow payments.  Please research and be wise in your decisions to be involved in these services.

Foreclosures:
If you have a good credit standing with a foreclosure, we can still assist you even with a foreclosure that is one day old as long as you have equity in your home or you have money for a down payment.  However in most cases, the foreclosure would have to be at least 2 years old before you can purchase a house for a zero down payment home loan.  Our recommendations are save about 3% for down payment plus any additional amounts for closing costs then we can assist you within two years with a great home loan.

Judgments/Collection accounts:
Depending on the amount of the judgment and the type of home loan you are trying to obtain, we might not require you to payoff the judgment(s).  This will be your choice if your current credit standings are in good standings.

Late Payments:
There are two different late payments we consider.  One is a mortgage or rent payment records and the other is your credit cards and all other payments.  In many cases, as long as you have never been late on your mortgage payments, we can still get you a great home loan.

Repossessions:
In many situations, as long as the repossession(s) occurred one year ago or longer, we will be able to assist you with purchasing of your home.

Closing Costs:
Although you might not need any money for a down payment, there are loan fees associated with obtaining a new home.  These fees include third party fees to escrow, title and appraisal to name a few.  Not to mention, you will have to pay for property taxes and a new homeowners insurance policy.  We estimate that your closing costs will be around $5,000 or more depending on your loan amount.  We don't want this to discourage you so please call us for more details and we will explain it to you.