Advice on Credit Card Debt Relief
Very few consumers lose their homes because of delinquent credit card debt. In fact, I would say that it almost never happens, except in certain bankruptcy cases in which the consumers voluntarily gives up his or her home. Although forcing the sale of a consumer’s home due to credit card debt is technically possible in some states, it is a very costly and risky undertaking for creditors.
In addition, forcing the sale of debtors’ homes would be extremely bad public relations, as many people would be much less likely to use credit cards if they thought it could cause them to lose their homes.
Unless your financial situation is somewhat extraordinary, you probably do not need to worry about losing your home due to credit card debt. Only if you own your home outright, or if you have a very large amount of equity in the house, could the taking of your home become a concern. Even in those cases, it is extremely unusual for credit card companies to seize property due to the time and cost involved.
Before going into detail, I can advise you to seek a debt consultation to see if you can get help with your debts. Bills.com has many pre-qualified debt counselors who can help you sort out your problems. Visit the Bills.com Debt Help page for more information.
Credit card foreclosure
Before seizing any property, a credit card company would first need to file a lawsuit against you in your county courts in an attempt to obtain a judgment against you. The court process alone can take many months to complete, and there is no guarantee that the creditor will win a judgment against you, though it probably will win if you owe the debt. Once a creditor obtains a judgment, it can initiate further court proceedings to collect on the judgment.
Although the execution of a judgment could theoretically involve a creditor seizing your home, there are several much easier ways to collect on a judgment which creditors usually prefer. These methods include wage garnishment and levies on bank accounts. Also a creditor with a judgment against you will likely place a lien on your home, meaning that when (or if) you sell or refinance the home, you would be required to pay the judgment out of the proceeds of the sale.
Your state law dictates what methods are available to creditors to collect on judgments. For example, Texas, Pennsylvania, and North and South Carolina do not allow wage garnishment for the collection of most judgments. Keep in mind that before taking any of these actions, a creditor must sue you and be awarded a judgment by a court with jurisdiction over the case, which usually means the courts in your county of residence.
Falling behind on a credit card does not always result in a lawsuit. Many people unable to make their payments suffer nothing worse than collection calls. Also, keep in mind that creditor threatens you with a lawsuit does not mean that they will actually sue you.
Frequently, collectors will threaten people with wage garnishment, bank levies, or even the seizure of a home, even though the collector has absolutely no ability to follow through with the threats. See the Bills.com resource Collections Advice to learn more about your rights in collections.
Reasons why a creditor may not try to seize your home
If a creditor with a judgment against you wanted to seize you home, it would first be required to pay off any mortgages or home equity loans you have on the home. Only after paying off the secured creditors could the credit card company sell the home at auction. Since auctions frequently bring less than half of the actual value of the home, creditors are taking a huge risk. Since they must pay the mortgage company up front for the entire amount owed on the mortgage, if the home brings less than expected at mortgage, they can actually lose money on the deal.
In addition, almost all states exempt a certain portion of the equity in a home from creditor execution; this amount ranges from $5,000 in some states to several hundred thousand dollars in others. If a creditor sells your home at auction, they must pay you your exemption amount, regardless of whether or not the creditor made that much money at the sale.
As you can see, this is a complicated and risky proposition for creditors, which is why it is almost unheard of for a consumer to have his or her home seized to repay delinquent credit card debt. Some states, such as Texas, do not allow creditors to seize primary residences to repay judgments regardless of the amount of equity in the home.
If you are being sued by a creditor, or think that a lawsuit may be filed against you in the near future, you should consult with an attorney to discuss your states exemption laws and what action a creditor could take against you under those laws, and what you can do to protect yourself. After speaking with an attorney, some consumers find that they are “judgment proof,” meaning they have no assets a creditor could take to repay a judgment against them. This is especially common among elderly and disabled individuals.
The bottom line is that, while possible, it is extremely unlikely that a creditor would take your home to repay your credit card debts. However, as mentioned before, creditors can take other actions to collect on delinquent accounts, so you should look into ways to resolve your debts if you are struggling to repay them.
Debt resolution options
The first option that comes to many people’s minds is bankruptcy — if you are considering bankruptcy, I encourage you to consult with a qualified bankruptcy attorney in your area to find out if filing bankruptcy is a viable options for you.
If you find that you cannot file bankruptcy, or simply do not want to file, there are several alternatives available, such as consumer credit counseling and debt settlement. To read more about these options, I invite you to visit the Bills.com Debt Help page.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.
Pros and cons of debt consolidation
The four primary concerns for most consumers are: i) monthly payment, ii) time to debt freedom, iii) total cost, and iv) the credit rating impact of the resolution program. Be sure to evaluate each program relative to your prioritization of these factors.
Since there are a variety of debt resolution options, including credit counseling, debt negotiation/debt settlement, a debt consolidation loan, bankruptcy, and other debt resolution options, it is important to fully understand each option and then pick the solution that is right for you.
Credit Counseling
Credit counseling, or signing up for a debt management plan, is a very common form of debt consolidation. There are many companies offering credit counseling, which is essentially a way to make one payment directly to the credit counseling agency, which then distributes that payment to your creditors. Most times, a credit counseling agency will be able to lower your monthly payments by getting interest rate concessions from your lenders or creditors. Because the program lowers interest rates, it less effective for someone whose interest rates are already low.
It is important to understand that in a credit counseling program, you are still repaying 100% of your debts — but with lower monthly payments. On average, most credit counseling programs take around five years. While most credit counseling programs do not impact your FICO score, being enrolled in a credit counseling debt management plan does show up on your credit report, and, unfortunately, many lenders look at enrollment in credit counseling akin to filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy — or using a third party to re-organize your debts.
Debt Settlement
Debt settlement, also called debt negotiation, is a form of debt consolidation that cuts your total debt, sometimes over 50%, with lower monthly payments. Debt settlement programs are geared for people who have a financial hardship that makes it so they either cannot pay their bills or are about to start falling behind. Debt Settlement programs typically run around three years. It is important to keep in mind, however, that during the life of your debt settlement program, you are not paying your creditors. This means that a debt settlement solution of debt consolidation will negatively impact your credit rating. Your credit rating will not be good, at a minimum, for the term of your debt settlement program. However, debt settlement is usually the fastest and cheapest way to debt freedom, with a low monthly payment, while avoiding Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The trade-off here is a negative credit rating versus saving money.
Debt Consolidation Loan
Many people think first of a debt consolidation loan when seeking debt consolidation. This option typically means a second home loan (or home equity line of credit) or refinancing your primary mortgage. In a debt consolidation loan, you exchange one loan for another. The most frequent form is taking out a mortgage loan, which carries a lower interest rate and is tax deductible, to pay off high interest rate credit card debt.
It is important to be aware that shifting unsecured debt to secured debt can create a volatile situation, if there is ever a chance that you cannot afford the new mortgage payment you are now putting yourself at risk of foreclosure! In the case of a debt consolidation loan, most mortgages are 30-year loan, which means that the total cost and the time to debt freedom could be very high, but the monthly payment will be lower than other options and there is no credit rating impact.
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy may also solve your debt problems. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a traditional liquidation of assets and liabilities, and is usually considered a last resort. Since bankruptcy reform went into effect, it is much harder to file for bankruptcy chapter 7. It may be the case that a Chapter 13 bankruptcy will be the only one available. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a person’s debts are reorganized. The debts are reapaid, according to the terms established by the bankrupty court. Chapter 13 bankruptcies usually run three to five years. If you are considering bankruptcy, I encourage you to consult with a qualified bankruptcy attorney in your area.
Default
You may be curious what may happen if you do nothing. If you stop paying your unsecured debts, creditors have the right to collect the debt. First, you will likely receive collection calls and letters from the creditor directly. If you are still unable to pay the debt after several months, the creditor is likely to refer the account to a third-party collection agency.
Third-party collectors are known to be much more aggressive in their collection tactics than original creditors, so do not be surprised if the calls become more persistent, or even threatening. Thankfully, the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act has rules governing the behavior of collection agents. However, unscrupulous debt collection agents do not follow these rules.
In some cases, when all other collection efforts fail, a creditor will decide to file a lawsuit against the debtor. This is not a frequent occurrence, but it is within a creditor’s rights and a possibility about which you should be aware. If one of your creditors sues you, the court will likely issue a judgment in the creditor’s favor. Depending on your state’s laws regarding the enforcement of judgments, the creditor may be able to garnish your wages, levy your bank accounts, place a lien on your property, or take other action to enforce its judgment.
Regarding a credit report, default damages a credit score severely. In addition, default is a warning flag for many lenders, who will refuse to deal with a potential customer with a default on their record. As a result doing nothing and allowing default is a poor option for most consumers.
Summary
Although there are many forms of debt consolidation, many people with good to perfect credit who own homes should look into debt consolidation loans, while consumers with high credit card debt and poor credit may want to explore debt settlement or debt negotiation. However, each consumer is different, so find the debt consolidation option that fits for you.
Lastly, here are some fast tips for your own quick Debt Consolidation Evaluator:
1. If you have perfect credit and have equity in your home — consider a Mortgage Refinance.
2. If you can afford a healthy monthly payment (about 3 percent of your total debt each month), your interest rates are a problem, and you want to protect yourself from collection and from going delinquent — consider Credit Counseling.
3. If you want the lowest monthly payment and want to get debt free for a low cost and short amount of time, AND you are willing to deal with adverse credit impacts and collections — then evaluate Debt Settlement.
4. If you cannot afford anything in a monthly payment (less than 1.5 percent of your total debt each month) — consider Bankruptcy to see if Chapter 7 might be right for you.
Bills.com makes it easy for you to apply for traditional forms of debt relief.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.
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