jinxies asked:
We have a 1st mortgage & equity line of credit (maxed) and about $1500 revolving credit balances each month (not including utilities, food and incidentals) with not enough coming in to support it. Looking for a lender in hopes to refinance the 1st & ELOC with no avail. Thinking of asking our current lender to do a Mortgage Modification but not sure if we will qualify. We need to lower our 1st & ELOC to be able to start paying on the credit cards but it’s a lose, lose situation. My husband is talking bankrupcy…we’ve never been late on any payment but it’s now coming close. We have 2 kids & a beautiful home…I’m scared. I’ve been trying to get a job but no one is calling back. Even with that, what I’ll make will only cover groceries and gas for the month.
ANDERSON
We have a 1st mortgage & equity line of credit (maxed) and about $1500 revolving credit balances each month (not including utilities, food and incidentals) with not enough coming in to support it. Looking for a lender in hopes to refinance the 1st & ELOC with no avail. Thinking of asking our current lender to do a Mortgage Modification but not sure if we will qualify. We need to lower our 1st & ELOC to be able to start paying on the credit cards but it’s a lose, lose situation. My husband is talking bankrupcy…we’ve never been late on any payment but it’s now coming close. We have 2 kids & a beautiful home…I’m scared. I’ve been trying to get a job but no one is calling back. Even with that, what I’ll make will only cover groceries and gas for the month.
ANDERSON
BENJAMIN
I would look at this from all angles. You probably can’t get a refi or modification because your debt to income ratio is too high. You should try to look at locking your HELOC, call them to see if you can lock at a lower rate/payment. Call your credit card companies to see if you can lower your interest rate. This can help lower the min payment and allow you to pay more.
Look at what can be cut from your budget ( those incidentals add up), sometimes we really don’t know where our money goes. Try taking lunch to work. Carpool. You can also take on odd jobs like walking dogs, babysitting on weekends or if you have a hobby, turn that into a part time job. Do research online. There are many places that you can get other ideas. Also, bankruptcy will not be much easier as if you want to keep your home, you would have to continue to make those payments anyway. All it does is restructure payments. You can file on the unsecured portion but you won’t have any credit for a long time, You should have an emergency savings if you don’t have credit or you will be back in the same situation. Additionally, $1500 in credit card debt is not a lot considering the national average.
Try Yahoo finanance for more information and suggestions. It is workable, you just have to tighten your belts. I know, I have been there and worked my way out.
Comment by Glynis — February 15, 2009 @ 7:01 am