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should I go bankrupt?

I'm a longshoreman and work has slowed down for me.
19 years of good credit never late. Built new house over the past 3 years with a construction loan...unable to sell old house currently have a renter....but old house has 2 mortgages......new house just completed in Dec 08.....this new construction took much longer than anticipated therefore costing thousands in extention fees and over costs....made first late payment.....construction loan has just converted to 30year standard loan....originally I had planned on refinancing new house to roll in all debt.....since I've made a late payment my credit score has dropped to under 600...all my credit is maxed out...now with 2 homes, major reduction in hours at work...I need to save my new house...and considering bankruptcy... I've relied on my credit to live and support my family of five during the construction....I'm over 100k in non-secured credit debt. Please give me some advice......should I go bankrupt? - Is this your question? Add additional information
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Answers (4)

Margery Ellen Golant

Margery Ellen Golant

Contributor Level 8
Bankrupptcy might be a good slution for you. However, due to all the details and the apparent equity that you have in it, you meed to proceed carefully. Depending on your household size and income, you might not be able to file Chapter 7. If not, Chapter 13 might give you major relief. Not being able to refinance might have been a blessing in disguise, because then you would have taken unsecured, dischargeable debt and made it secured by your home.

You need to speak to a knowledgable bankruptcy attorney in your lcal area. The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) is a non-profit consumer advocacy organization. NACA maintains a web site at www.naca.net where it lists geographically consumer law attorneys all over the US. If you don't already have an attorney, please look there for someone in your area who specializes in consumer bankrutpcy to review the details with you and advise you.
Margery Ellen Golant

Margery Ellen Golant

Contributor Level 8
Looking over my response, I see I have a broken keyboard. I do know how to spell.... I am including my response below with the errors corrected:

Bankruptcy might be a good solution for you. However, due to all the details and the apparent equity that you have in it, you need to proceed carefully. Depending on your household size and income, you might not be able to file Chapter 7. If not, Chapter 13 might give you major relief. Not being able to refinance might have been a blessing in disguise, because then you would have taken unsecured, dischargeable debt and made it secured by your home.

You need to speak to a knowledgeable bankruptcy attorney in your local area. The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) is a non-profit consumer advocacy organization. NACA maintains a web site at www.naca.net where it lists geographically consumer law attorneys all over the US. If you don't already have an attorney, please look there for someone in your area who specializes in consumer bankruptcy to review the details with you and advise you.
Gregory J. Jalbert

Gregory J. Jalbert

Contributor Level 6
My best advice to you is to seek the advise of a competent bankruptcy lawyer. Most bankruptcy lawyers such as myself offer a first visit free consultation. Make sure that you select an attorney that has been practicing law for a considerable period of time and who's emphasis is on bankruptcy law. When you call to make an appointment be sure to find out what documents you should bring to your meeting in order to get the maximum benefit from your free consultation.
Gregory J. Jalbert

Gregory J. Jalbert

Contributor Level 6
You should sit down with a knowledgeable bankruptcy attorney to review your options. Your priority of keeping your house is a good one and you want to do things in such a manner as to make that possible.

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