VERY long story, but I really need some help here...never had to deal with this before. Thanks in advance for reading. We lived in a trailer park for 4 years. Finally managed to get out last July and tried to sell the trailer, but there were no buyers, and we couldn't afford to keep paying for it plus lot rent, and our new place, so we abandoned it. (Renting out to someone else was against land lease, so it wasn't an option.) We sent the leinholder a letter stating that we were considering putting it on a BK. My husband is already in the process of filing BK7 because of debts incurred by his ex-wife. (She had no credit, so everything was in his name.) The trailer was in my name only, so he can't just add that to his BK and save my credit. Other than this thing with the trailer, I have good credit and other bills are paid on time. Still, I was considering having myself put on a joint BK7 with hubby for _just_ the trailer, not any of my other bills. My dilemma is this...recently, someone from leinholder called me to tell me they sold the trailer, for considerably less than I owed (which we figured would happen). They offered to settle for a quarter of the difference, but we couldn't come up with that much $$. When she found out I was going to put it on a BK7 (claims they didn't get the letter), she apparently started some things in motion. Within a couple of days, I got a call from someone at a different place with an even lower settlement offer. When I told her I'd need more info, I almost immediately (15 minutes or so) got a call from yet another person at yet another place about the same settlement. He said if I pay that amount immediately, they will zero the balance on my credit report and not render judgment against me. It sounds like a great deal, but something about the whole thing just isn't sitting right with me. The fact that they want it immediately is setting off major warning bells. The last person who called also claimed that they sent registered letters to both myself and my father (listed as emergency contact, even though they do have my new contact info), but _neither_ of us received anything. Also, I keep seeing things about tax liability for the difference between amount owed and settlement. What should I do? Should I pay this settlement and hope it goes away, even though my gut reaction is that something is wrong here? Or should I file joint BK7 with hubby? Are there any other options? I should probably mention that the difference between what I owed and what they sold it for is about $29K. Settlement offer from the last guy was $2900, but that's still a _lot_ of money for us. If I file BK7 with hubby, just how much will it affect my credit? Car dealer said that in 2000, my FICO was in the 700s (didn't give me exact score), but I also have hardly any long-term credit. Even with 700+ score, I could still not get a decent credit card on my own because of lack of long term credit and too much $$ against my name. If I filed, I wouldn't be putting anything else on my part of the BK...just the trailer and related costs (if any). Ok, I apologize for this being so long, but the whole rush with the settlement thing (and that it bounced around to 3 diff. people) has left me feeling really skeeved...something doesn't seem right about it. Any help would be greatly appreciated, especially if there's a legitimate way to save my credit (stay off of hubby's BK7) and still get rid of this black mark. TIA for any help!
A bit of additional info... The most recent person who called mentioned something about a suit (?) that was supposed to have been in the registered letter they claimed they sent us, which we never received and obviously never signed for. Should I request this info before deciding whether or not to pay the settlement? I have no idea what's going on as far as a "suit." Also, the CA faxed me a copy of the settlement offer. It says that they'll update credit bureaus to reflect a 0 balance and no judgment will be rendered. Does this sound legit? I really would like to save my credit and let hubby file BK7 on his own for debts his ex racked up, but I'm not sure whether or not to trust this CA and pay the settlement. I just have a sinking feeling about it...about how they seemed to be in such a hurry to get the $$, and about how they claimed to send registered letters to myself and my dad, but neither of us got them or signed for anything. Please help...I have no idea what to do!
Hi there - I'm in a similar situation with a $25 K deficiency balance. First of all, I'd suggest that you contact (in writing!!) the company that's making the offer and tell them you want them to reissue your settlement offer with the following terms: TL will be deleted entirely from your credit report There will be no 1099 issued They will not sell or assign the remaining principal or interest to any collection agencies (some people have gotten nasty surprises like this) The offer is valid for 10 days (to buy yourself some time to think about it) If you're considering filing BK they are highly motivated to get some money out of you - they get screwed completely with BK 7. They should be fairly willing to work with you. You also want to do some research on your own or contact a real estate attorney to determine what the deficiency laws are in your state. In some states, you are protected from deficiency once the property is seized, while in others you can be held liable for the deficiency. Also, have you seen for yourself the records of the re-sale? Do you know how much they sold it for? Did they price it well below market value just for a quick sale? Don't take their word for ANYTHING. BK is bad on your reports - it doesn't matter whether you include just one account or all of them. You can count on having your current credit cards either close your accounts or jack up your interest rates. It will be difficult to get new accounts, buy a car, etc. And, it will sit on your reports for 10 years. In some cases it is the best choice, but it is not something you should take lightly (not that you are). Most BK attorneys will offer a free consultation so call around and make yourself at least one appointment. If you can get a settlement, and you can get the tradeline removed from your reports, that might be the best possible option (in my book). I know you must be freaking out - take a deep breath and get yourself some sound legal advice. The folks on this board are some of the smartest credit gurus on the planet and I'm sure someone will have something else to throw in here. Wishing you the very best of luck. Poochie
Thanks for the reply and the info, Poochie. I'm definitely not taking the idea of BK7 very lightly, especially since this is the _only_ problem that I have. All other bills are paid on time, and I really don't want to do BK7 just because of one thing, but it's a biggie! What is meant by "defiency law?" I'm so new to all of this, I have no idea what the term means. I haven't seen any records for the resale; the OC called me and told me it was sold for X amount. It was definitely well below market value. How do I go about finding/getting this info? You're right about me freaking out...I really have no experience with this, and we can't afford to hire a lawyer. (We have money put back to pay the BK lawyer for hubby's BK7, but that's it.) I'd really like to settle on this if at all possible to avoid putting myself on BK7, but I don't know which would be worse. Would it be worse if I just went ahead and filed BK7 for this amount (around $23K), or if I settled but they didn't remove the TL? They said they'd change the CRA info to "reflect 0 balance and no judgment will be rendered." Does this sound legit? It just seems like they're in such a rush to get $$ from me, and I haven't had time to check anything out to see if they're legit or not. I _have_ been searching the forums constantly since my first post, but none of this stuff makes any sense to me! I'm one of those people who need a step-by-step approach. Thanks again.
