Daryl Johnson asked:




A christian credit repair counselor can help you recover from your major credit problems and help repair bad credit to what it was before you got into trouble. The Christian credit repair counselor can prevent you from filing for bankruptcy or borrowing against your home. In the future, you can have more available credit options just by clearing up your debt now, if you want to buy a house or a car. Even you can be eligible for obtaining a regular loan.

You can talk privately with your Christian credit repair counselor, because what you tell them about your financial situation stays with them. The counselor first understands your situation. Then, you and the counselor can formulate a budget so you can easily pay off all your outstanding debts. The counselor also can teach you how to save money for a future rainy day and can give you valuable credit repair tips to fix credit problem. Below are some of the things that a christian credit repair counselor can do for you:

Teach you to better manage your household expenses.
Help deal with harassing collectors.
Teach you understand relevant financial issues surrounding your credit.
Advise you how to reduce your debt burden.
Help avoid bankruptcy situations.

Christian credit repair counselors have helped many people with bad credit to take control of their finances and eliminate debt. Christian credit repair works by teaching money management skills that can help you throughout your life. They help you to understand your bad credit situation by teaching you about the costs associated with credit card misuse and making you a more knowledgeable consumer.

What I have presented here is some very informative information about what christian credit repair can do for you. Christian credit repair typically helps with many kinds of credit problems, including credit cards, department store credit cards, taxes, loans and others. So, what are you waiting for?

Jim Kemish asked:




Change is Natural

Everything changes. No industry stands still. Henry Ford’s Model T was revolutionary, and opened the eyes of the world to new possibilities. But by today’s standards, the Model T, as important as it once was, has its place only in the past. Virtually every aspect of the early model automobile has been improved on, far beyond what Henry Ford could have imagined in his day.

The Changing Credit Repair Industry

The Internet has grown into a vibrant worldwide business community. In this environment competition thrives and new ideas come to life at amazing speed. New participants have entered the credit repair arena and brought fresh life to the business. Some older members have updated their methods; while others, perhaps top heavy with technology, continue to stand their ground even as the earth shifts beneath their feet.

The New Breed Appears

From this dynamic mix has appeared a new breed, the true credit repair professional. This new breed has a true mastery of the craft, and an impressive arsenal of tools capable of delivering results beyond the imagination of the early pioneers in the industry. Everything about the business is changing. And the changes involve you.

Credit and Your Life

There is nothing as important to your financial life as your credit. The content of your credit report, along with your credit scores, will determine the interest rate you pay on everything from your credit cards to your mortgage. The impact of your credit on your life can be staggering, and should not be taken lightly. The word is out.

The Problem of Errors

The three major credit bureaus maintain credit files on over 200 million Americans. A staggering amount of data moves through the credit reporting system. Errors are common and can translate into enormous costs for consumers; and yet, in a terrible percentage of cases these errors go unrecognized. This phenomenon is more damaging than you might think. Identifying errors on your report involves more than just spotting unfamiliar account information. The majority of credit report errors are compliance violations that you will not find without training.

FICO, A Lack of Understanding

Lenders base their underwriting decisions on the content of your credit report along with the numeric value of your FICO scores. These FICO scores have a major affect on your life, and yet few people have any knowledge of how they work. Here again, a lack of understanding results in a huge cost. A well-informed reshaping of your credit may have a dramatic impact on your credit scores. Even simple changes can bring major improvement, yet without proper information this potential remains untapped.

The Credit Repair Professional

The prevalence of credit reporting errors, coupled with a lack of understanding of FICO scores, result in a terrible cost to consumers, often having the greatest impact on those who can afford it the least. The credit repair professional provides an important, and often life changing, service by assisting in the identification and removal of credit reporting errors. In addition, a credit repair professional is a conduit for information about legal rights, rehabilitation opportunities, and credit restoration tools that can be employed to your benefit.

The Results You Need

The goal of a credit repair professional is to improve your credit. Along with the skillful identification and removal of reporting errors, the process may include specific recommendations for building new credit, managing existing debt, rehabilitating defaulted obligations, and handling collectors. All of this must take place within the context of optimizing your credit scores. The credit repair professional operates in a fiduciary capacity and will utilize the widest range of tools to insure quick and lasting results.

Personal Service

You are unique, and so is your credit. There is no generic approach to credit repair that will do you justice. No credit repair software has the ability to spot the compliance errors on your credit report, or to determine the proper balance of accounts to optimize your credit scores, or to help you determine the right approach to take with an active collector. There is no one-dimensional credit repair program that will produce the results you deserve. True professional credit repair is about personal service. You cannot afford to settle for less.

What it Means to You

The credit repair professional will make sure that everything possible is done to help you reach your goals. The professional approach to credit repair can mean everything to you. Do you want real results? Do your want to see your scores improve? Do you want your credit to meet or exceed lenders requirements? Wait until you experience what a real professional can do for you!

Copyright ? 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Wade Robins asked:




Can credit repair services really help you improve your credit history? The reality is that there are only two instances in which credit repair services can actually make a difference in your credit history, and neither one of them involves erasing your bad credit. So if you get a promise from a credit repair that, for a fee, they will eradicate your poor credit, run the other way!

The only time a credit repair services can erase a record of bad credit from your credit history is if the bad credit record results from identity theft or fraud. The other credit repair the can perform is to correct clerical errors in your personal information like your name, address, gender, or marital status.

Identity Theft And Fraud Repair

Credit repair services will sometimes need months to clear bad credit resulting from fraud or identity theft, because they will have to send the victims’ documentation of the problem to the credit reporting agencies, which will investigate and document everything on their own. Once they have established that fraud or identity theft has occurred, the bad transactions will be removed from the credit history, restoring the credit score of the person who has been victimized. If you are a victim, you will most definitely benefit from having one of the credit repair services assist you.

If you try to prove identity theft or fraud on your own, you may find yourself stonewalled by both your creditors and the credit reporting agencies who compile your credit history. Even the credit repair services often have to wait for your documentation to wend its way through the bureaucracies at the credit reporting agencies, but the time it would take and the aggravation you would experience if you tried to do it on you own might make you decide that it is simply not worth the effort.

Can You Repair Past Credit Abuses?

If, on the other hand, your bad credit history is of your own doing, because of frequent delayed or missed payments, or bankruptcy, you will be stuck with your record until it is automatically erased after a specified time, which can be several years.

There are credit repair services which do not actually try to change your credit history, but act as advisor’s in helping you find ways to keep your spending under control and to pay down your debt. Their staff will be happy to work with you as long as you are making an honest effort to become financially responsible.

If you request a copy of your credit history each year and review it for mistakes in your personal information or inaccuracies in your payment history, you can fix any errors by writing a letter to the credit reporting agency, including documentation of the mistakes, and asking for an investigation. Keeping your credit history accurate is essential because you may have to undergo a credit check when you apply for a loan or a job.

There are three agencies which handle most of the credit reporting: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion; they have all you personal details and your credit transaction history, and are responsible for compiling your credit score. You may request your credit history from them as a group, at no charge, once every twelve months though their Annual Credit Report services.

If you decide to approach them separately without using the service, you will be charged a fee for your report, which you will have to have before you decide to consult with a credit repair service.

Christina Goldman asked:


It would appear, from the recent action in the financial markets, that all is well in the world once again. The price crude oil has now plunged 20 percent from its recent record high of $145 a barrel. Stocks are rallying. The dollar has firmed.

Experts are now saying that the real estate market has bottomed. The commodity bubble has burst. Oil is on it’s way down to $100 a barrel. And soon, the year-long credit crisis, housing slump and economic slowdown will be just an unpleasant memory. The future is so bright you gotta wear shades, right?

Not so fast.

Before you rush out and trade your precious silver and gold bullion for depreciating paper dollars, take off those rose-colored glasses and examine the real facts behind the hype. Here are seven valid reasons to be investing in silver and gold bullion:

1. The Weak Economy Is NOT Improving

Retail sales for the month of July were disappointing. Wal-Mart’s 3% same-store sales growth came in below expectations. Yes, Costco’s results were the one bright spot – up 10%. However, when you dig into the details, you’ll discover that the reason for the strong growth was the increase in gasoline sales. Back those figures out and sales were up only 6%, less than consensus estimates!

Notably weak were the sales results of teen retailers. This doesn’t bode well for back-to-school sales in August. Looks like a lot of kids will be returning to school, wearing last year’s garb!

2. The Employment Picture Is BLEAK

Jobless Claims rose to 455,000. That’s up from 448,000 the week before. Look for that figure to go up as job cuts by U.S. employers soared last month.

Layoff announcements are up 141% from a year ago, according to private placement firm, Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, Inc. That’s on top of the gloomy news unemployment figures reported by the Labor Department last week. The U.S. Economy has now lost jobs for seven straight months and the unemployment rates is at a four-year high.

3. Financial Markets Are STILL Unstable

Freddie and Fannie are seeing red. Both Freddie Mac and mortgage giant Fannie Mae missed earnings estimates by a wide margin, reported huge losses, and slashed their dividends.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Freddie Mac now has a negative equity position. Translation: shareholder would get absolutely nothing if Freddie were to pay down all of its debt and sell its assets. Fannie Mae’s CEO predicts ‘significant’ losses in 2009 and will no longer purchase Alt-A mortgages, by year’s end. These horrendous results increase the likelihood of a big government bailout.

4. The Housing Market Has NOT Bottomed

Mortgage delinquencies are getting worse. Mortgages that were issued during the 1st half of 2007 now have a delinquency rate of 0.91%. The delinquency rate for 2006 mortgages was 0.33%. These are prime mortgages, folks.

It has been estimated that 65% of sub-prime loans originated in 2007 will end up in default. These figure suggests that housing foreclosures will remain at record highs.

5. Inflation Is WORSE Than It Appears

The inflation monster is alive and well. The consumer price index (CPI) is up 5% through June. That is the biggest one-year increase since 1991. That statistic is even worse than it appears.

During the Reagan and Clinton terms, the way that rising inflation was measured was changed, in order to lower the official rate. If you calculate the CPI in the same manner that it was calculated in 1980, you would have to add 7% to whatever the published figure is. That would mean that the true rate of inflation is running 12%. No wonder the average guy in the street is hurting!

Investors are betting that the drop in oil prices will tame the inflation monster. However, even with the recent correction oil prices are still up 61 percent from where they were a year ago.

6. The Fed Will NOT Raise Interest Rates To Combat Inflation

The Federal Reserve is stuck between a rock and a hard place. As expected, the Federal Reserve held its fed funds target rate at 2%. The accompanying statement also reflected a rather dovish tone. The phrase ‘diminished downside risks and increased inflation expectations’ from the June 25th statement was nowhere to be found.

The Fed funds futures are now pricing in only a 52% chances of a hike in interest rates during the next two FOMC meetings. That’s a fall from a prediction that was as high as 80 percent last week! Pimco’s Managing Director Bill Gross said that rate hike talks are ‘comical:’

“We’re in a recession. When has the Fed ever raised rates in a recession?” he said. “Unemployment is headed toward 6 percent, mortgage rates on home buyers are at 7 percent, and these guys want to raise rates?”

7. Global Tensions are HIGH

Georgia’s Offensive Move Is Risky. War broke out on Thursday in the strategically important area of Georgia, over control of South Ossetia. The price of oil seemed to take the situation in stride, doing absolutely nothing at all. At risk, however, is an international pipeline that runsclose by, not to mention the possibility of the conflict setting off a wider war.

Gold and silver are now at their lowest level in six weeks, giving investors the perfect opportunity to buy. If you are still unconvinced that you should be investing in precious metals, just remember this:

History has provided us with many examples of paper money whose value has been destroyed. But, gold and silver have survived war, inflation, deflation, recession and depression. Silver and gold bullion are truly a safe-haven for those smart enough to realize their true value.

Lesley Lyon asked:


Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filing is for individuals in the United States to undergo a financial reorganization, which is supervised by a Federal Bankruptcy Court. The individual who is badly in debt can file for Bankruptcy either under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 or Chapter 11. The debtor chooses under which Chapter he or she is going to file for bankruptcy. The debtor’s financial characteristics and the type of relief sought play a great role in the choice of chapters.

The US Code sets forth debt limits for individuals to be eligible to file under Chapter 13 -

Unsecured debts of less than $336,900 and secured debts of less than $1,010,650 subject to annual cost of living increase (secured debt gives a creditor the right to take a specific item of property like home or car. Unsecured debt is a credit card or a medical bill).

Under Chapter 13, the debtor plans to pay his creditors over a period of three to five year. During this period, his creditors cannot attempt to collect the individual’s previously incurred debt except through the bankruptcy court. The individual keeps his property and its creditors get less money than they are owed.

The most important criterion for an individual to be able to file for chapter 13 bankruptcy is that the person must have a regular income. The bankruptcy-filing petition must be accompanied by the proposed payment plan to provide the payment of all priority claims. Priority claims are those claims that are given a special status under bankruptcy law such as taxes and the cost of bankruptcy proceedings. If the person is unable to complete the priority plan due to serious illness or loss of job, it can ‘justly be held accountable’. If the debtor fails to keep up payments as per the plan, the bankruptcy court may terminate chapter 13 to dismiss the proceedings entirely resulting in collection efforts resuming as before.

A chapter 13 plan is a document filed with or shortly after a debtor’s chapter 13-bankruptcy petition. The plan gives a detailed report of the treatment of debts, liens and secured status of assets and liabilities owned or owed by the debtor in connection with his bankruptcy petition. It has to meet certain requirements like unsecured creditors will receive as much through the chapter 13 plan as they would in chapter 7 liquidation, repay all creditors in full or commit all of the debtor’s disposable income to the chapter 13 plan for at least three years.

Working of Chapter 13 bankruptcy: to keep all of their property, the court approves a new interest free plan for repayment. A written plan is formed to give details of all the transactions that might occur and also the duration. Repayment must begin within 30 to 45 days after the starting of the case. The creditors must strictly adhere to the repayment plan approved by the court and are banned to collect any claims from the debtors. The debtor’s Attorney will prepare the repayment plan.

Advantages of Chapter 13: The advantages of chapter 13 over chapter 7 are: the individual can stop foreclosure and have a mortgage upon bankruptcy plan completion, achieve a super discharge of debt kinds not dischargeable under chapter 7 and value collateral to diverge the security interest of creditors where creditors either charge too much interest or are over secured or both and to prevent collection activities against non filing co-signers. Another advantage of Chapter 13 is that repayment can be created even if creditors disagree with it as long as the court approves it.

Disadvantages of Chapter 13: The main drawback of filing personal bankruptcy is that a record of this stays on the individual’s credit report for ten years. During this period, the debtor is not allowed to obtain additional credit, without the bankruptcy court’s permission.

Since chapter 13 bankruptcies require to use the person’s income to repay some of the debts it is necessary to prove to the court that he or she can afford to meet the payment obligation – if the income is irregular or too low, the court might not allow to file the chapter 13. Before filing for bankruptcy it is necessary to receive credit counseling from an agency approved by the United States Trustees’ Office.

Samuel Martin asked:


The gold rally is just getting warmed up, and I firmly believe it will continue at least through 2007. I predict that we will see its value rise to between $3,000 and $5,000 per ounce.

Forex Super King subscribers have experienced substantial profit trading the forex, with an average of 1,000 pips (price interest points) per month, and a 100 percent return on stocks purchased. As usual, we have recommended that they place part of their profit into gold.

Here is an update on gold: The Federal Reserve announced that it will no longer publish M3 data showing the amount of paper currency issued in the U.S. In 1980, for every ounce of gold in America, the financial system carried $6,966. That’s $1.8 trillion total. At the end of 2005, the total real money supply shot up to over $10 trillion. That’s $40,000 in circulation for every single ounce of gold. So the question becomes: How much is $1 really worth?

China, Japan and most of Southeast Asia are all shifting from the dollar. To the Chinese, a weak dollar is neither solid nor reliable. Yu Yongding, who sits on the Chinese Central Bank Monetary Policy Committee, told the China Securities Journal he was worried America would drop interest rates in 2006, putting pressure on the dollar and the yuan. China just recently cashed in about 2.4 percent of its dollar reserves to buy gold. China Galaxy Securities quietly hinted China’s Central Bank should quadruple its gold reserves in the very near future.

Here is the update on silver: Over the long term, gold has sold for about 30 times the price of silver. In 1991, you needed 98 ounces of silver to buy a single ounce of gold, which currently sells for 62 times the price of silver.

If gold continues its meteoric rise in value, there will be a gain of at least 700 percent for silver. Silver is in demand in the industrial sector despite being in short supply. Unlike gold, there is no silver Exchange Traded Fund yet. To launch an ETF, a bank or financial institution actually has to buy enough of the underlying asset (in this case, silver bullion) to back every dollar invested in the fund. Barclays Bank is expected to launch a silver ETF soon, at which point silver will explode.

Forex Super King offers subscribers a plan of trading by which they can control up to $100,000 worth of silver for $1,000. Since silver’s potential has yet to be reached, it is easily exchanged into other currencies and is ripe for trade.

Claude Grespinet is president and head of trading at Forex Super King.

Jim Vrana asked:


Overwhelming credit card debt. It is a very common problem for many American consumers. So many people pay their monthly minimums, month after month, without any knowledge that their debt burden may never go away.

When a person comes to the realization that they are caught in a never ending payment schedule, they may then realize that help is needed. The unknown for most people is what kind of help is available, and how to find it.

Selecting the best plan of action can also add the stress caused by the debt in the first place as understanding all of the options to relieve themselves of debt can be very confusing.

One of the most popular options is Debt Settlement. Not because this is the best option, but because Debt Settlement is the most heavily advertised. Many Debt Settlement companies are just extensions of the credit card companies themselves.

A reputable Debt Settlement company will attempt to contact your creditors and negotiate a payoff or settlement, for less than is owed. This can get somebody out of debt very quickly, assuming the settled amount can actually be paid quickly.

There are a few things to be aware of with Debt Settlement. A Debt Settlement will claim that you have the right to settle your debts for 30 to 50% of your balance. This is true, you do have the right to do this, but it does not mean that your creditor has the obligation to actually agree to a settlement. If a settlement amount is agreed upon, the total settlement amount might need to be paid immediately to be accepted. If a payment plan can be agreed upon, the settlement amount will probably be higher, and you must stick to the payment schedule.

For this reason, the settlement company might instruct you to stop making your payments to the credit card company, and start to build up a cash reserve account. You might need to accumulate several thousand dollars before they will actually begin to contact your creditors. In the meantime, negative entries will be reported to the credit bureaus, and the harassing collection phone calls will begin.

In addition, the Debt Settlement Company will also want their fee, which can be 5 to 20% of the negotiated debt. So how much is really being saved?

An alternative may be a debt elimination program. This will allow a person to legally walk away from 100% of their non-secured credit card debt, without bankruptcy, consolidation, or refinancing. A person can take advantage of this program just once. It’s kind of a financial “do-over”.

With a debt elimination program, a person can select which cards to eliminate. Some cards can actually be kept. The eliminated cards can no longer be used. The ultimate goal however, is to learn how to live without credit cards altogether. It will amaze you to learn how much money you can save if you are not paying interest to the credit card companies.

A good program will have you debt-free in 6 – 12 months. An elimination program does not perform its function overnight. The program should also include an education on the credit card system, so that it is understood just how and why an elimination program can work.

Student loans, medical bills, and any secured loans such as mortgages and auto loans do not apply to a debt elimination program. Only major credit cards, signature loans, and unsecured lines-of-credit are applicable. For these types of debts, a true elimination program may be the financial re-start people are looking for.

Cole asked:


While there’s no simple equation that would allow borrowers in Hawaii to figure out whether or not bankruptcy protection would be a proper fit for their own family, any consumer who finds him or herself struggling to afford the minimum monthly payments from their credit cards should at the least see what other options are available. For that matter, Hawaiian debtors who have looked at their assembled bills with a realistic and clear eyed appraisal only to discover that their household capacity for gross income in the next few years put against the family cost of living expenses and utility obligations would not allow for the elimination of the total debt load must seek out the professional services now available throughout the islands. While your authors appreciate that many of the hard working men and women of Hawaii will do everything possible to pay back the loans that they have lawfully taken out in good times and bad, waiting until the last moment in the vain hopes of some mystical deliverance from crushing financial burdens will only end in heart ache and household economic instability. Like it or not, consumer credit is a fact of life in Hawaii and most everywhere across the United States, and that is why America first initiated bankruptcy protection: to offer borrowers a fresh start. Unfortunately, Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Hawaii no longer provides the same guarantees following the congressional legislation and subsequent alterations of the bankruptcy code that occurred in the fall of 2005, and many of the borrowers that fought until their last breath to right their household budget without employing high priced debt professionals only to inevitably decide upon bankruptcy protection as what they believed to be their final alternative came to find out far too late in the debt relief game that there were far more effective programs at hand. Within this article, we will explain a bit more about what personal bankruptcy protection now means to the Hawaiian borrower and what options may provide a less disastrous solution to spiraling financial obligations.

As most Hawaiian residents already know, a good portion of the average citizen’s debts would not be able to be affected by governmental bankruptcy protection. Alimony and child support and other familial debts are – and, we would agree, should be – essentially removed from all bankruptcy actions, and the same could be said for tax liens and penalties that came about as the consequence of criminal proceedings. Cash advances above eight hundred dollars that were taken out less than three months from the moment that the borrower files his or her papers run the risk of being considered fraudulent by the Hawaiian courts. Purchases of luxury goods above five hundred dollars that were taken out less than ten weeks before the time of filing face similar risks, but, obviously, there’s a good deal more leniency given the right bankruptcy attorney. Student loans, though they would seem superficially to be the same as medical bills or credit card accounts or any other unsecured debt burdens, are similarly rendered immune to bankruptcy protection after a congressional dictum from the mid 1990 (at a time when, according to some studies, a majority of the United States representatives had defaulted upon at least some portion of their own educational loans), but they tend to feature the lowest interest rates and easiest tax deductions this side of home mortgages upon primary residences. Those mortgage loans – as well as vehicle loans or any other secured debt – must be formally reaffirmed before a Chapter 7 bankruptcy could proceed (the reaffirmation meetings are generally held over the phone and should largely be considered a formality), and, in the event of a Chapter 13 debt restructure program, they may be forcibly refinanced to indulge easier payments and preclude foreclosure and forbearance which, given the sad state of Hawaii real estate during our national economic crisis, has become an all too real threat for citizens throughout our state.

Chapter 7 debt relief bankruptcy is the oldest of all of the American bankruptcy protections, and it is still the only sort of bankruptcy that a surprisingly large portion of Hawaiians genuinely recognize. By this point in modern society, with the proliferation of credit so wide spread, there are a number of different programs meant to specifically protect everyone from family fishermen to actual cities and municipally controlled utilities, but the Chapter 7 system remains the emblem of what most people think of to be bankruptcy. Within the Chapter 7 debt liquidation program, individual consumers or married couples ask a trustee randomly selected by the Hawaiian courts to discharge all of their unsecured debts after a period of analysis that generally lasts about six months: with the recent boom in personal bankruptcies following the down turn of the Hawaiian and greater American economy, the time period may take a bit longer. Of course, nothing comes for free, and the consequences of Chapter 7 debt elimination could actually put the filer’s household in a worse situation than was previously felt. The negative repercussions of bankruptcy shall remain on the borrowers’ credit reports for up to ten years and – despite the sudden eradication of their unsecured burdens – could actively prevent the parties who are declaring Chapter 7 from home mortgages, vehicle loans, and even employment opportunities and security clearances. Much as the Chapter 7 bankruptcy alternative could erase past mistakes and forgive those debts helplessly drawn after familial tragedy, one should not necessarily think of the program as the fresh start our grandparents may have enjoyed. Credit reports are simply too important for ordinary Hawaiian consumers to disregard, and the FICO scores issued by the three primary credit bureaus (Equifax, TRW, and TransUnion) have a disproportionate effect upon Hawaiian families that some times barely understand the calculations involved.

To be sure, for some borrowers in Hawaii who have weathered lingering bouts of unemployment and have few to none assets worth preserving, Chapter 7 bankruptcies do still serve a purpose. Unfortunately, after recent legislation, the perennial guarantee of Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and the eternal promise of household rebirth following bankruptcy no longer applies to every resident of Hawaii. As of October 17, 2005, several changes were made to the United States bankruptcy code under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. This bill – propelled by creditor funded political action groups and sped through the U. S. Congress during a period of economic expansion with a shameful absence of media news coverage and analysis – utterly changed the parameters and liberties formerly to be considered the birthright of every Hawaiian. After the passage of BAPCA, the amount of documentation required for filing increased greatly along side the potential penalties should interested borrowers simply forget to record an essentially worthless asset or trifling bit of income. The exponentially larger penalties for fraud (or, at least, what the new federal bankruptcy code defines as fraud) were set into law just as the amount of latitude granted the Hawaii court trustee who would actually look over the debtor’s individual case was severely weakened. This heightened threat from the court system and the greater complexity of the paperwork involved with each sort of bankruptcy protection virtually demands the aid of reputable bankruptcy attorneys who have had a good deal of familiarity with both Hawaiian statutes and the national bankruptcy code.

Tragically, as the country’s economy continues to falter and more and more Hawaiian consumers beset by out of control debt feel (for right or wrong) that they have no recourse left but bankruptcy protection, the services of experienced law firms have grown harder for every Hawaiian borrower to employ and the fees that such firms feel acceptable to request have developed accordingly. Along with the administrative charges that each Hawaiian consumer will have to pay through money orders when filing their bankruptcy petition with their local county clerk, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act now necessitates that every borrower who intends to take advantage of Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy programs will be forced to take a course on debt management before declaration and again before balance discharge. Not only do these costs – above and beyond the sweat equity uselessly demanded of consumers likely already strapped for time; this is particularly true for Hawaiian residents who do not live within a reasonable distance from one of the handful of course counselors certified by the federal government – may already preclude many of Hawaii’s most disadvantaged citizens from employing the bankruptcy protection they so sorely need.

More troubling, following the 2005 passage of BAPCA, Chapter 7 protection became far more difficult for ordinary borrowers with a solid work history to enter and considerably more threatening for those Hawaiian consumers that successfully argue for Chapter 7 eligibility to endure. The United States bankruptcy code currently insists that any borrower formally residing in Hawaii must earn less than the median income of every head of household in the state as determined by the most recent census figures. This means that single wage earners who have a demonstrable gross income above forty seven thousand (sixty thousand for a Hawaiian household with two members; seventy thousand for a household with three members; eighty five thousand for a household with four members) in the year prior to filing for bankruptcy will find it very difficult to eliminate their collected debts through Chapter 7 protection no matter how great their burdens. If the borrower does find that they still make more than the median earnings of Hawaiian residents, there’s a slim chance that they could still convince the court trustee that (once all monthly utility bills, household expenses, and secured credit accounts are taken into consideration) they would be less than able to come up with one hundred dollars every month for a period of five years – six thousand dollars all told – and they may then be allowed Chapter 7 debt elimination. This “means test” has become far more arduous, though, since the Internal Revenue Service has outlined the costs of living for Hawaiian households with, once again, virtually no wiggle room allowed the Hawaii judge actually studying the borrowers’ financial budget, and, as consumers should presume, the IRS estimates are comically low compared to the realities of many debtor families who happen to live in the more expensive areas of Honolulu or Maui or other premium sites in Hawaii.

Even for those supposedly fortunate Hawaiian consumers that manage to pass through the ever tighter gates toward Chapter 7 debt elimination, there will still be unintended consequences as a result. In the years before the BAPCA legislation was passed, debtors in Hawaii who held significant assets knew that their most high priced possessions could potentially be seized for auction by agents of the Hawaii courts. However, average consumers – since they would only need to list their personals goods by the potential resale value – did not have much to worry about. Nowadays, as yet one more aspect of the damage to the United States bankruptcy code following the 2005 legislation which every Hawaiian consumer thinking about the Chapter 7 program must recognize, borrowers have to compile an exhaustive register of virtually every thing that they own because the items will be valued according to their potential replacement costs. Hawaiians declaring bankruptcy protection are a bit more fortunate on this point when compared to their countrymen. Local statutes designed by the Hawaiian legislature offer a different slate of exemptions with which borrowers can attempt to safe guard their most prized objects. There are still no guarantees for many household furnishings as well as family heirlooms or similarly important objects, but, compared to the minimal exemptions guaranteed by the federal government, they should be considered highly desirable indeed.

Under the Hawaiian homestead exemption, any real property of one acre or less should not be worried over unless there’s a great deal of equity (the precise amount protected will depend upon the borrower’s age), and the household furnishings – which for the Hawaiian statutes shall encompass everything from coffee machines to books and record albums to clothing and jewelry – are protected up to one thousand dollars in total; married couples should double this and most other Hawaiian exemptions. The exemptions also cover a single automobile with a blue book value of less than twenty five hundred, family burial plots along with associated structures (grave stones, monuments, etc), and the filers’ so called tools of trade: physical implements, uniform, commercial library, and vehicles such as cars and boats that could be proven to be necessary for the borrowers’ employment. Workman’s comp, disability payments, unemployment benefits, certain types of retirement plans, life and health insurance takings, and any wages earned but not yet collected by Hawaiian borrowers shall also be taken care of. Once again, when set aside the puny exemptions that have been erected by the national government, Hawaiian debtors thinking about Chapter 7 debt elimination bankruptcy are remarkably fortunate, but, when the family must decide whether to protect their couch or their wedding ring, that may seem to be cold comfort.

The bankruptcy protections that generations of Hawaiian families have depended upon have changed, utterly, and borrowers concerned about their debts should not walk blindly into bankruptcy declarations (or, for that matter, pay the extravagant sums requested by reputable bankruptcy attorneys licensed in Hawaii) without a journey of discovery that takes into account all of the various debt relief alternatives blossoming in the absence of effective bankruptcy solutions. Despite their advertisement fueled popularity around an irritatingly large percentage of Hawaiian residents, Consumer Credit Counseling companies have fallen under suspicion now that most borrowers understand that the approach has been virtually subsidized by the credit card companies for years. Beyond anything else, Consumer Credit Counseling notations look rather worse than even bankruptcy upon credit reports and FICO scores while the system charges borrowers up to four figures for little more than a temporary drop in interest rates. Also, the Consumer Credit Counseling method has the same essential flaw as secured debt consolidation loans – artificially lowering payments by extending the terms of the obligation only means that compound interest (even a relatively low rate of interest) has more time to raise balances – although consolidating consumer debt at the expense of home equity has potentially far more dangerous consequences for home owners: particularly given the current real estate value free fall.

For the right sort of borrower, any of these debt management alternatives (even Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, weakened as the current program may be) could actually seem like a reasonable maneuver, but, when we have talked to the consumers around Hawaii that have found the most success in their attempts to liquidate unsecured debt loads, the approach that comes up time and again is debt settlement negotiations. Under the debt settlement plan, trained and certified debt analysts speak on the borrower’s behalf with credit card representatives and – through a combination of threats (since bankruptcy and the potential liquidation of all unsecured loans always remains a possibility for Hawaiian borrowers) and promises (most debt settlement companies with the best track records ensure that their clients pay back the remaining balances in less than five years) – the debt settlement negotiator will cut their clients’ debt load by as much as sixty percent. The debt settlement strategy comes with its own costs, of course, and nothing looks quite as good on a credit report as paying back the loans in a traditional manner. For that matter, since not all lenders are equally amenable to the settlement option and since many of the borrowers would sadly be unable to repay even a fraction of their collected credit card bills in a timely fashion, many Hawaiian consumers would not even be accepted into the settlement program. However, given the problems with bankruptcy that we have illustrated earlier in this article, any Hawaiian borrower worried about their bills should certainly take the time to examine the alternatives. Unlike the time spent meeting up with bankruptcy attorneys, there will be generally little if any money requested from the settlement professionals for an initial consultation, and many of our Hawaiian correspondents reported great success even from internet companies that better suited their distant location or harried schedule. The settlement solution isn’t for every Hawaiian debtor, it will not offer the fresh start Chapter 7 bankruptcy once promised, but, presuming borrowers have examined all of the alternatives, it should be well worth the time to take a look.

CL Haehl asked:


There are a few basic concepts one should know when looking into refinancing a mortgage after a bankruptcy. Most importantly, you need to know the two different types of personal bankruptcy that you can declare.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, often called “straight bankruptcy”, is an attempt for someone financially overextended to liquidate most of their assets to satisfy creditors, keeping only a few personal assets needed for the basic necessities of life such as an economical car, personal clothing, etc.

In Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, your assets are not liquidated. Instead, you come to an agreement with an appointed trustee where late charges and other penalties are eliminated and you start a payment plan to repay much of the debt owed. This process can take over a year or two, but will allow you to retain belongings (and property). Also, it is looked at more favorably by lenders because you are attempting to repay your debts, not just write them off. Lenders will look at both the date the bankruptcy was filed and when it was discharged.

A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy “buyout” is a refinance loan, taking out a new loan to cover the existing mortgage and some or all of the other debts. This is basically considered a “cash-out” refinance. Most Chapter 13 Bankruptcy refinance loans are limited to roughly 85% of the value of your home.

When refinancing out of a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, or soon after a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, you will almost certainly be working with a sub-prime or “non-prime” lender. These lenders specialize in helping borrowers with blemished credit histories. Often, borrowers refinancing near the time of a bankruptcy will seek the assistance of a mortgage broker, many of whom have experience with this type of loan. If possible, it is best to wait at least two years after the discharge of your bankrupty to refinance your mortgage. This will help you to receive a better interest rate. Start now to pay your bills on time and in full. This will help to repair your credit and give you even better chances of a lower rate.

Law Office Of Goldstein asked:


Individuals who have amassed large debts have many options. However, if an individual finds that non-bankruptcy alternatives are not feasible, a decision then must be then made between filing a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding or a debt adjustment proceeding under Chapter 13.

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing is best described as obtaining a discharge from debts (with some exceptions) while retaining some assets such as a home, household goods and an automobile as long as they do not exceed certain values determined by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 7 is consider a “liquidation” decision however if filed correctly and using the Bankruptcy Code to the best of your ability some assets can be retained while crushing debt is removed.

To be eligible to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy the filer has to reside or be domiciled in the United States. In addition, they can not have been a debtor in a bankruptcy case in the 180 day period prior to filing the current bankruptcy case; they must receive counseling from an approved nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency prior to the filing and pass the “median family income” test. In order to receive a discharge in a Chapter 7 an individual may not have received a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge in the previous eight years or a Chapter 13 discharge in the previous six years.

The element which will fully determine if you can file a Chapter 7, is the “median family income” level. The individual or couple must review income made within the previous six months and average it out. If when the average income is measured against the “median family income” as stated in 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(7) and it falls below, then a Chapter 7 filing is appropriate. If the household income exceeds the “median family income”, then the individual or couple will be subject to the means testing. The means testing calculation takes the average amount of the income received during the six-month period prior to the bankruptcy filing and subtracts it from the average monthly expenses. This determines the margin of excess income. Using this figure you determine if the excess income exceeds the margin allowed by 11 U.S.C. § 707(2)(A)(i) and if you are eligible to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

If you are unable to file for Chapter 7 due to the “median family income” level being too high and failing the means testing, then your other option is filing a Chapter 13. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing allows a person to seek protection of their property and develop a plan of paying creditors by making monthly payments to a Trustee under Court supervision. The plan can be for as little as 24 months or for as long as 60 months.

To be eligible to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy the filer must reside in the United States, have a regular income, have unsecured debt less hand $336,900 and secured debt less than $1,010,650 and receive counseling from an approved non profit budge and credit counseling agency. In order to obtain a discharge in a Chapter 13 an individual must not have been granted a discharge in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the previous 4 years or been granted a Chapter 13 discharge in the last 2 years.

The primary advantage of a Chapter 13 filing over a Chapter 7 filing is that a debtor by paying a portion of his or her pre-bankruptcy debts over the life of the Chapter 13 plan can obtain a discharge of the unpaid balances while retaining all of their asset, avoid foreclosure of a home and more debts are deemed dischargeable in a Chapter 13 verses a Chapter 7.

The disadvantages to a Chapter 13 verses a Chapter 7 is that the filer will have to pay something to unsecured creditors, a reduced amount against entire debt. However in a Chapter 7 filing it could result in a discharge from most or all pre-bankruptcy obligations without any payments. Another disadvantage to a Chapter 13 is that a discharge will not be received until all payments required by the plan are done whereas a Chapter 7 debtor will usually receive a discharge in three to five months from filing.

It is essential that when trying to figure out if bankruptcy is the right option to contract an attorney to discuss the entire matter, review your current financial situation, determine what is most important to keep and let go and decide which is the best plan for their situation.