Isn't the system screwy? I bought my house 1.5 years out of BK. The gentleman clsoing before me (we talked while waiting our turns) had a forclosure just a few months earlier. My credit, at the time of buying my house, had several paid off car loans, a paid off motor-cycle loan, student loans that had not yet entered payback, 5 accounts (each report) showing '$0/$0 Included in BK', two current car loans I kept during BK, an AMX I kept during BK (several years old), a 3 credit cards I had gotten post BK (all paid perfect). I had good time on job (good time in the same field) and a solid income. All my balances were low or zero. My scores were mid-500's. There were no charge-offs, liens, etc. Inquires were practically nil with the exception of the mortgage option. I was 'pre-approved' for 300k with 10% down. I also learned that 'pre-approval' is not worth the paper it is written on as it changes constantly. My mtg broker (excellent, I recommend her to anyone- handles GA,SC,and??) basically told me to go find a house and let her do the rest. The house I found was a 'relo'...built for an executive of a food company (won't mention the name, but rhymes with raft) who was transferred just before it completed. My real Estate offer made an offer of 164k they pay closing which they took. My broker got me approved for the loan (550 scores) with ZERO down. NOT KIDDING. I put down the 8k I had saved up bevause I wanted a head start on paying it down so I could refi soon. Rate was rather high (this was 2 yrs ago) at 10.8%. I have paid it down now to the 140's (paying extra every month). I am going through refi now (2 yrs in house, 3.5yrs post BK) and was appraised at 202k. My new loan will be at ~6.5%, just getting it together now. My interest WAS high for the first two years, but in my situation it was not bad. I am single with no dependants in a high tax bracket- the interest made for a SUPER write-off. My tax guy said that all-in-all, after taxes, my rate would be almost a normal average. He did the calcualtions on the new-rate payment so I can change my w4 and my net results are not that different- even though my paymet dropped considerably. I know that is more than you were asking, I just figured I spell it all out in case there were more questions. I don't know your current credit situation, but I am willing to bet you CAN buy a house. And I don't mean by putting 30% down or anything crazy like that. There aer 'sub-prime' lenders like 'Full Spectrum' that have non-bk rates at around 7-8% right now. What you need to do is get a GOOD real estate agent and a GOOD mortgage broker- particulary ones that will work together. I would recommend getting the mtg broker first as they usually have a list of real estate agents who know the 'ins and outs' of the system. Now, I am not talking about getting a 'King of Creative Financing'. I heard stories while in the car business about how 'Creative Financing leads to Creative Litigation' and always tried to avoid that kind of stuff. However, there are great real estate situations that will help you get a house faster and cheaper- particulary job-transfers. If the seller is pressed for time, they are more likely to be willing to pay for closing costs, help with money down, etc. There are a LOT of builders who are willing to do this too. I know for a fact that my neighbors, who had their house custom built, left their closing with a CHECK for $32,000.00. Hope this helps.... Shawn
That has to be the most irresponsible post I have seen on this board and you have lost any credibilty for further argument. You made some good points earlier- which I commented on- but it is now obvious you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. If you are saying that anything I posted is less than truthful than I am going to insist that you back up your words. Not one person here has anything to gain by posting lies to a bunch of complete strangers, including myself. If you have anything constructive to say- postivie or negative- then have at it. But to slander other members when you have no idea what you are saying is purely wrong. I posted my financial status here pretty openly to show the original poster- and many since her- that BK is not the 'life in hell' you promise. Back it up- show me I am lying- show us your proof that BK ruins you for life. I have every CC bill, every bank statement, every credit report, from 3 years pre BK until now. I have nothing to hide and I'm ready when you are.... Shawn
Bring it on Super Shawn.......I didn't say you are lying, you are only giving half truths. Are you going to tell me someone who is three years post BK can get a prime card at prime rates...I think not. So, who is kidding who. MBNA, Chase, First USA won't touch you with a ten foot pole.
Hi Shawn: Actually, my question was hypothetical. I have two paid chargeoffs and a couple of undergrad student loans that are about to be deferred as I'm starting grad school in December. Not looking for a house yet. Probably not for many years, but I was just curious. I does give me hope though. Right now I have a score of 519 (btw I have NO credit at all at the moment--I naively thought it would be better to just not have any credit cards for awhile, didn't know that would actually hurt my score). I am about to get some secured cards and take it from there. I hope to have a much higher score, by the time I seek loans years down the line.
I have nothing to bring on...... I stated my cards, rates, etc. I stated my cars, rates, etc. I stated my house, rates, etc. I did not state any 'half-truths'. (Exactly what is a half-truth anyway? Either you lie or you don't) I did not say someone 3 yrs post BK is going to get a 'prime card at prime rates'. But I also know that there are many people with NO previous BK that won't get those either. My cards and rates were listed in this thread before (along with mtg and auto rates). Yow show me a 'half-truth' anywhere in there. There are none. Have you been through BK? Are you a BK lawyer? How do you know so much about what happens? You just posted a few weeks ago asking when a BK stops affecting your file.... http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=94551#post94551 You didn't seem to know so much about BK then, please tell us how you learned so much in 2 weeks. And aren't you a Canadian? How would you know about BK in the US? Eh? You have also posted before that you have 4 Household bank accounts? Did they go prime? That's weird, I have a Household card, I wouldn't consider it prime. You have also said that you carried Providian and Capital One, too. You mean they are prime? WOO-HOO! I am better off thant I thought! Again, BK is not a good thing but it is no wher near the hell you describe it as. I am 3.5 years out of a BK7 and in very good shape. Again, I have spelled out my history in this thread. Show me where it is so bad- show me where I am telling a 'half-truth'. Shawn
You know what I don't understand (and I'm venting). I work my a$$ off seven days a week, 60 hours +. I have never paid a bill late in my life (which is basically the reason I work seven days a week). Why does someone who runs up $20000 in credit card due to irrational spending (my sister and sister-in-law are examples) file bankruptcy and two years later have prime cards and are preapproved for a house? Am I missing something? If I play by the rules I'm no further ahead than someone who has filed for bankruptcy 4-5 years ago. I'm not trying to provoke feelings out of outrage here, because some people who file for bankruptcy do it under dire circumstances (death of a spouse, long term medical illness, etc), but why does some who have absolutely no respect for the uses of credit outpast me in five years? The system stinks. Dani PS I'm having a really pi$$y week. My dog was hit Friday night and the jerk who hit her left her in the road still half alive. There are some really sick people in this world.
About the home loans. FHA and VA loans can be had with about 3% down with 2 years worth of perfect post bk credit. These loans are expensive and timeconsuming to close but, you will get conventional rates. I agree, it makes no sense. You'll love this. On the Motley Fool last week, a lady posted and asked if a 619 FICO was good or bad. She then went on to say she had filed Bk in Jan. of 2001 and had kept her home. She said she had 3 credit cards though the rates were high. I mean she is really less than 6 months from discharge, she gave all the unsecured creditors a bath and a low 600 FICO. In 2 years, I'll bet she's close to 700. The Fool has a living ynder bk site. Another lady posted she and hubby are 2years post bk and are using a VA loan to buy a house next year. She said she finally got the courage to pull a credit report and she has a 659 on TU. Something is way out of sync here.
It doesn't make any sense to me. Why do most of us pay our bills and play by the rules and we still get screwed? As George mentioned he has 23+ years of on time payment history and Citibank won't give him a card, but Citi AAdvantage is one of the easiest cards to get. Things that make you go hmm. Dani
Re: Preparing for Bankruptcy -- LON George, looks like that $100,000 of available revolving credit is keeping ya from getting the Citibank card too! I'll bet if you closed a few other cards, they'd give you this one. Doc
Re: Preparing for Bankruptcy -- LON This is why I personally think it's a waste of time and energy to be a slave to one's finances and material possessions. I'm not saying people shouldn't pay their bills. Of course, people shouldn't spend more than they actually have and should pay all bills that they can pay, in a timely fashion. But for one to think they have life all figured out (or "by the balls" in the words of Sean), because they "do the right thing" by paying their bills on time, every year, for 25 years, is not taking into account that life isn't fair! You would think there would be some kind of reward for not having credit cards at all and paying for things with cold, hard cash. But I found out the hard way that it's better to have nearly maxed out CCs that you're paying the minimum balance on, than have NO credit. The system is absurd. I think people should just live their lives. Clearly, anyone who wants a home, can find a way to get one.
Dani, Thank you...everyone is jumping all over me for saying she shouldn't file. Then Mr. SuperDuper shawn security expert (who,ironically most police depts and federal agencies would not hire because of that 3 yr old BK) starts ripping on me because I question why people are living beyond their means and then filing BK.
Re: SuperDuper SHawn Actually Mr. Super Duper I've been posting on this board for quite longer than you realize. I am not a Canadian or a self proclaimed expert (like you). I pay my bills on time and yes I have several household accounts (the GM card being one) and had CapitalOne Plat. accounts until I realized that they don't report limits to the bureaus. I have a Citibank Plat select dividend account and a Chase Continental One Pass plat. card that I use for business. I have never filed for BK, but know several others that have. Even in tough times, yes believe it or not I have had tough times too, I did whatever was necessary to work with my creditors until things became better. Next time you want to do your little online investigating (some people do have lives besides this board) please know what your talking about (the household cards are prime) and quit being a self proclaimed expert on finances. There is something suspect about someone who clearly can't control his own finances (3.5 yr old BK) telling others about who they are and how to control their finances. P.S.: regarding the question about how many points a score will go up after a BK, a close friend asked me and I had no idea, so I figured I would post on the board to try to find out for him.
Re: SuperDuper SHawn LOL, Dave Ramsey (author of "Financial Peace") advises: "Never take financial advice from someone who is broke." I always loved that line. Now, of course none of the fine people offering advice in this thread is broke, but this seemed like a good time to share that golden nugget regardless. Doc
Sean, Thanks for the response, but my venting was just a general argument against the inaccuracy of the system. I try not to judge someone else's decisions unless, I have been through it (of course, relatives are an exception to this..which is basically where my tirade originated from). It makes me upset when I see family members get the same interest rate for a home as me, after filing bankruptcy five years prior, and I have kept a clean credit record since forever. The system is unjustified in my opinion. Dani
You know, it is true that some folks file just because it's there. My mom worked with a gal who did it every 6 years just about. But Shawn ISN'T telling this poster to FILE. He's just saying IT'S AN OPTION and that your life isn't OVER just because you have to file. You're reading way too much into this, you're stating your opinion, fine, we can state ours too. As someone who had to file, I'm not proud of it, but I'm grateful it was there. There's no reason to be nasty about it. And he's not saying that everyone that files has prime credit afterwards. Rebuilding still takes baby steps and needs to be handled carefully. But it can be done, just like for anyone with credit problems. People have stuff happen. Just take care of your own credit and I hope you never are in a situation that you'd have to consider filing. I know it can be frustrating, like with the lady my mom worked with, but not everyone files for that reason. I guess it's easier for us to see because we've been in your shoes swearing we would NEVER file, feeling frustrated at seeing some people rebuilding and starting over while we were still plugging along. It's funny how fast your views can change if you suddenly get an illness you never expected, you lose a high paying job, you lose a spouse, you get divorced, you lose your business etc..... Sometimes bad things happen to good people believe it or not.
Very well put, newstdt! Unfortunately, I think it's just human nature for people to be self-righteous about themselves and where they think they are in life. Most of us (including myself) have been judgmental about the actions of others only to have to later eat crow, due to our own similar actions. Life can be a real bitch! LOL