I spend a lot of time on here writing about after a bankruptcy case.  I have been asked why?  Why does a person whose job is the actual mechanics of filing a bankruptcy case spend so much time talking about what happens when she is done?

Because my clients care about what happens when it is done.

For a Chapter 7 bankruptcy client that actual time spent prior to the case and inside the case is  short in the grand scheme of life, but the time after, that is the REST OF THEIR LIFE.  What happens after a case matters.

The answer to how does life work after a bankruptcy case is not an easy one.  It really depends on what you want to do and how you want to handle it.

I have clients that never want to see credit for the rest of their natural lives and others that cannot rebuild their credit fast enough.  The advice I give you before, during, and after your bankruptcy case is tailored to you and your goals specifically.   If you are a person that never wants to see credit again, I am going to talk to you about the importance of budgets, emergency funds, saving for non-monthly expenses, and the strategy behind a debt free lifestyle.  If you are a person that cannot wait to rebuild your credit we are going to talk about secured cards, car loans, and interest rates getting better with time and patience (and probably about savings too….I push that pretty hard with you guys after a bankruptcy case).

There is a life after a bankruptcy case and we will talk about how to move forward with it as part of your whole bankruptcy case.
Because it matters to you.

 

Interested in how my office can help you file a bankruptcy case?  Give us a call at 732-302-9600 or fill out our online consultation form and we will call you!

So your bankruptcy case has been over for a few years.  You did the hard work.  You saved and followed a budget and rebuilt your credit with a car loan and responsible credit card usage.

Good for you!

Now it is time.  The big leap.  Time to buy a home.

I know a lot of people out there that think buying a home after a bankruptcy case is an impossible task.  I promise, it isn’t.  It can and has been done.  MANY MANY TIMES.

The best part, I am here to help!

A lot of our clients call looking for documents and information on buying or refinancing a home.  We are happy to help out with giving you stuff that you may have misplaced but here are a few pointers for being ready without a call to my office.

1.  Keep a copy of your discharge somewhere safe.  YOU WILL NEED THIS.  Under no circumstances will you refinance or get a new mortgage without this document.  Put it somewhere it won’t get lost or destroyed.

2.  Keep the copies of your schedules that were provided to you when you did your credit counseling.  They will include the list of all debts and JUDGMENTS that were discharged.  Many times, the title company will come back wanting to know what the deal is with a judgment that flew under the radar and never got removed from the county record.  This schedule will clear it up quickly.  If you need a copy of a certificate of service showing notice let us know and we will get it to you.  In rare cases, we may need to do a motion in state court to remove it.  Call us or have your real estate attorney call us if this issue comes up so we can move quickly.

3.  Do not be afraid to call us if something seems off or funny.  If I have one more client call me and tell me they can’t get a mortgage refinanced because they never reaffirmed their original mortgage my head may explode.  The mortgage companies are trotting this one out a lot these days.  Let me be clear.  If you have made your payments they have a payment history and can clear you on that.  There is and never will be a need for you to reaffirm that mortgage.  On top of that, judges in New Jersey are EXTREMELY hesitant to sign reaffirmations of mortgages.    This is excuse no. 802 for a mortgage company to deny you for no apparent reason and is mostly commonly seen in refinancing applications.  CALL ME.  I will write a letter or talk to the person that needs talked to about this and help you clear it up.

This goes for anything that seems off yo you.  If it seems related to your bankruptcy case just call us.  We are happy to address questions and issues that your case may bring up in a later real estate closing.

 

Happy closing!  If you need us call us! We can get out documents or refer you to a good real estate attorney.

 

Concerned about your financial situation and owning a home someday?  Give us a call at 732-302-9600 or fill out our online consultation for me and we will call you!

Summer used to mean sun and fun.  Cold drinks, the beach, maybe even a vacation with kids.

But things went wrong.  You lost your job, got sick, divorced? Now all the expectation of summer is just making an already tough financial situation that much more overwhelming.

Outside of the holidays there isn’t a worse time to be struggling financially than the summer.  The pressure to go on an expensive vacation and entertain kids who are home and BORED is a lot to handle.  So how do you survive?

First, Breathe.  You will get through this.

Second, get an evaluation from a bankruptcy attorney.  My goal in every consultation is for you to leave my office with a game plan.  It may not be pretty, but I promise that if you know what is going to happen, the pressure starts to release almost immediately.   So what happens in a bankruptcy consultation:  We will sit down with you and go over your whole financial picture and tell you your options.  We will review the BEST option for you.  This may not be the one you want, but our job is to guide you down the BEST road for you.  If you think it is something you want to do, we will do a retainer and get started right away.

If you are in a Chapter 7 case in the summer, this will be quick and clean.

If you are in a Chapter 13 filing your summer is going to require a bit more planning.  We are going to put you on a budget that is fairly strict and you will have a can’t miss payment to the Trustee each month.  It will be important that you budget your summer around that.

Which leads me to the third way to survive the summer while cash strapped:

PLAN. PLAN.  PLAN.

The easiest way to cut costs in your budget is eating in.  This is great news in the summer.  Fire up the grill!  Who doesn’t love to sit on the back porch and eat?  Get a warehouse store membership, buy your meat in bulk, and spend the summer on pinterest trying new marinade recipes.  This is probably one of my favorite things to do in the summer.  I have relatives that want us to eat out every Sunday.  No.  Neither my waistline or my budget wants that.  I would much rather grill every Sunday at half the cost and with the bonus of DELICIOUS leftovers for lunches for the week.  Do you know what is better than leftover bbq ribs on a monday at lunchtime?  Nothing.  Nothing is.

Vacation?  THIS IS NEW JERSEY!  We have everything right here.  No plane rides or hotels required.  You can go to the beach, Sandy Hook charges per car, not per person.  The mountains are north and at the Gap.  Want to go to a theme park, Dorney Park and Six Flags are both in driving distance.  Save those soda cans and use the coupon!  I think QuickCheck has coupons for Balloon Fest out already.  New Jersey has so much to offer so try exploring at home.

Entertaining the kids: We get it.  We are parents here too.  It is hard to not be able to give them everything.  We want to so badly.  That being said, both of our kids would love nothing more than to just ride bikes at the park.  It is old school but they can’t get enough.  Throw a baseball in the yard or take the kids down to the river and go fishing.  Give your kids the gift of your time.  I love to garden with my son.  He is small so he mostly just plays with the dirt, but he is so happy about it and we get the bonus of inexpensive produce for the summer that we grew ourselves.  He also really enjoys being pulled around in his wagon at the local park and playing on the swings.  Both of those things are FREE.  I know that we live in an age where we think our kids need constant stimulation, but believe me when I say that sometimes a back to basics approach is both incredibly effective and inexpensive.  No 400 buck tablet required.

You will get through this.  You will be better on the other side of your bankruptcy filing.  Trust the process.  Trust yourself.  Know that the trip to Disney World can wait and it will be so much sweeter with this in your rear view mirror.

 

Want to talk to us about your financial situation.  Give me a call at 732-302-9600 or fill our our online consultation form and we will call you!