I have rough 40k in debt, of which approximately 25k is 'old' debt ranging from 4-7 years. I am currently NOT late on any payments, everybody gets paid at least the minimum payment each month. Last time I checked (Sept 2011), my credit score was 699, which is when I just bought a new car, so my total debt is really 65k. Also my mortgage payment is current as well. My question is should I do a debt negotiation through a lawyer or go the bankruptcy route? I really need some good advice please!!!!!
Wow- I'm not trying to sound judgmental here, but I'm just curious what your thought process was when you decided to finance a $25K car with $40K in debt plus a mortgage. The first thing I would recommend is getting rid of the car payment. Hopefully you're in a position to sell the car without losing too much money and then the money from those monthly payments can go towards paying down the other debts. I'm not a lawyer and I tend to not push BK, so I'd like to see more detail on your expenses and income. My feeling is that through drastically cutting expenses and negotiating with your creditors on old debts you can begin making a big dent in that $40K.
I wouldn't pay any third party a nickel to help you negotiate. They're not going to get you any better of a deal from the creditor....but they're just going to take a slice of the pie. Don't do it.
