Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Virginia Bankruptcy /

Two years after bankruptcy, Tonya is as home owner.

Tonya M of Stafford Va, filed bankruptcy with me in January 2013. In May 2015, she was approved for a mortgage and bought a house.

Tonya M, of Stafford VA, came to see me in late 2012.  Her marriage had broken up, and she was working in a clothing store.  

Tonya was desperate.  She had just sold her engagement ring to keep herself afloat.  Her biggest problem was a $30,000 loan from Navy Federal Credit Union. She was also cosigner on a $7,000 card with USAA.  So far, her ex was paying that, but she was afraid he’d stop, then then then they’d come after her.  

She had never been a homeowner and never expected to be; she just wanted Navy Fed to leave her alone; and not still be worried about her ex paying the cosigned USAA card.

I told her bankruptcy would do that and more.  In three years, I told her, you can be back to good credit. 

“In three years you can be back to good credit–good
enough credit to get a car loan at 6.9% or maybe
lower–good enough credit, if the income is there, to
qualify for a mortgage and buy a place.”

Turns out, it didn’t take Tonya even three years to by a house after bankruptcy.

We filed Tonya’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in January 2013, and it was discharged April 25, 2013. 

In May, 2015, just two years after bankruptcy, Tonya was approved for a mortgage and bought a house.

So many people put off talking to a bankruptcy lawyer.  They are afraid if they file bankruptcy, they can never get anything.  For most people, that’s exactly backwards.  Tonya M would never had been able to buy that house, unless she filed bankruptcy.  Filing bankruptcy was what she needed to do, to fix her credit score and get her off the ex’s USAA card.  

If you are wondering if you should file bankruptcy, make an appointment with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer.   Don’t put it off.  Start toward your better future today.

Tonya still asked for my help.

That big Navy Fed debt, the one that got her to come see me, was still sitting on her TransUnion report.  Since both Experian and Equifax had it right, she had been able to get her mortgage.  But her TU score was lower than the others, and she wanted that fixed.

We got to work right away.

As part of my exclusive Five Year After Bankruptcy Warranty, I’ll fight for you, if discharged debts pop back up on your credit report.  No charge to you.  If they don’t fix it right away, I sue the creditor and credit bureau–and I send them the bill.  We get a couple thousand dollars for our clients, and a couple thousand as legal fees, doing that each month.  

And, of course, we get those after-bankruptcy credit reports fixed.          

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

When they came to see me in January, Harold and Linda were ten days from foreclosure.  Today their mortgage is current and their bad debts are all gone.

Harold had a career change due to medical reasons, lost income, got into credit card debt, had a car repossessed and got behind on the mortgage.  He had tried to get a HARP loan mod and had been turned down.  (Probably because their debt to income ratio was too high.)  This was January 23 and his foreclosure sale was set for February 3.

We filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on January 29.  We stopped the foreclosure and discharged $57,000 in debts.  ($30,000 in credit cards and $27,000 repossession.)

On January 23, Harold and Linda were ten days from foreclosure, their house payment was $3215 and they were seven months behind. They filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, got approved for a loan mod, their payments is $450 less and they are current.

Harold and Linda dropped in to see me last Friday, November 15.  With their debt to income ratio better–since the debts were gone–and three more months of paystubs on Harold’s new job, they had been able to get a loan mod.  Their interest rate had gone from 7% to 4.25.  Their monthly payment is $450 less–and they are current.

This is why I love being a bankruptcy lawyer.  I help people be happy and debt free.  

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

Fred’s after bankruptcy credit score is 707

Fred M was a small business owner.  Because his business was dragged down by the recession, he has $50,000 in credit cards that had gone bad. Last fall Bank of America sent him a warrant-in-debt in a $17,000 credit card. So, Fred filed bankruptcy with me in October 2014.  It was discharged in March 2015.

Six months after bankruptcy, Fred’s credit score is 707.

Credit Karma shows his credit score is 707!  That’s six months after bankruptcy discharge. The median credit score in Virginia is 694.   Six months after bankruptcy, Fred has a better score that half the people in Virginia! Not everybody recovers as fast as Fred.  He’s obviously been working hard at it.  But this tells you for sure, bankruptcy does NOT mean ten years of bad credit. 

In fact, most people who file bankruptcy have a “sharp boost” in their credit score.  (That’s not me, saying that.  That’s a study of after bankruptcy credit scores by the New York Federal Reserve.)  

 Fred Wasn’t Bragging When He Sent Me His Credit Report

Fred sent me his credit report because he wanted to make sure it was right.  

Ten years ago most people’s after bankruptcy credit reports had three or four creditors still reporting them as late.  About fifty lawyers around the country, I’m one, have sued them for ten years.  And they have gotten a lot better.  I’m thinking now that only about one third of people still have one or two “charge off” or “collection” instead of “bankruptcy discharge” on their after bankruptcy credit report.

It turns out Fred is one of those.  Capital One left “collection/charge off” on page 9 of his report.  I’m just guessing that’s costing him ten points on his after bankruptcy credit score.

This afternoon, I’m showing Fred how to dispute that.  (Fred has to do a dispute because you do NOT have the right to have your credit report right. You only have the right to an investigation.)

If they investigate, Fred’s dispute will fix it.  If they don’t, we’ll sue.  (This promise to protect your after bankruptcy credit score is part of my exclusive five year bankruptcy warranty.)