I am in the process of consolidating debt. I have over $80k in credit card debt alone. I have been advised that settling with the cc companies is probably my best chance of ever getting out of this situation. Now, this isn't one of those debt relief deals where I don't make payments for 3-6 months while my debts go past due and then the program tries to settle. this is an attorney who specializes in settlements and calls now and settles within a matter of a few weeks. my question is this: how will it affect my credit score? i have a score of 709 but i am maxed with $80k+ of cc debt. i have been told that my score will increase, even with the settlements, due to the fact that i have gotten rid of all the revolving debt. is this true? i don't care if the score increases or not just as long as it doesn't go too far down. have any of you gone thru this?
Are you finding it difficult to keep up with your payments? If you settle, and unless your settlement includes a "paid as agreed/never late" notation on your CR's, you'll probably see the creditors list your accounts as partially charged off, which would be a total disaster for someone with a score of 709. This attorney who's helping you - has he complied with the Federal Credit Repair Organizations Act? http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/croa/croa.htm If not, you should probably run screaming for the hills, because this guy either doesn't know what he's doing in this area or he's pulling some wool on you.
If you settle for less, they will most likely list the account as "settlement accepted" or a similar term. This is bad, but what you have to realize is that if you are overextended, it's better to bite the bullet then let it get to late payments, charge offs, or even BK.
I have never been late in payments to anyone. But i am overextended and don't see any relief in ever getting rid of $80k+ in credit card debt. I am hoping to buy some real estate in the future for fix up and resell and really can't afford for my credit to fall. the attorney is someone that my mortgage lender suggested (i'm in the process of refinancing but can't pay off everything) Thanks for the input. feel free to add anything else you might think of.
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