Debt Relief Solutions
U.S. consumer debt is at approximately $21,900 per household, nearly double what it was ten years ago. Consumer debt today equals 132% of the average household’s annual disposable income. Many families are looking for solutions to their mounting burden of debt. There are essentially two major avenues for relief – non-bankruptcy options and then bankruptcy.
Non-Bankruptcy Debt Relief Solutions
Liquidating assets. This is the most commonly used non-bankruptcy debt relief solution. Because it is easy, many people invade their retirement accounts but there are often tax implications for early withdrawals. Refinancing a house and using the equity to repay other debt is another popular option. But of course you must pay for it plus interest plus any refinancing fees over a 20 or 30 year period.
Credit card cash advances and balance transfers. These are often readily available options but at high interest rates. Too often these solutions are only temporary and if a person’s spending habit hasn’t changed, those individuals will find themselves right back in the same situation of too much debt and too little cash.
Credit counseling. Credit counseling is a surging industry that has come under scrutiny because many of the outfits function like glorified collection agencies, receiving fees from clients’ creditors on recovered debts. Success is low and the payments often exceed what people can afford on a monthly basis. Another issue is creditor participation – not all creditors will participate. Here are some tips if you are considering going this route:
- If you are considering credit counseling, make sure you do it face-to-face. Do not provide a voice over the phone with all of your important information. These days, you can not even be sure that the voice on the phone is even in the United State.
- Ask the credit counseling company if they can assure that all of your creditors will participate. If you have a creditor that is not covered then you have a debt that will have to be settled outside of the credit counseling plan.
- Make sure that you can pay both the credit counseling amount plus the amounts you might have to pay outside of the plan.
- The credit counseling alternative will not address payday loans, secured debts and old liabilities which are in collection.
- Credit counseling will be reflected in your credit report and will impact your credit rating.
Negotiated settlement with creditors. This could take the form of a reduction in principal for a lump sum payment or simply extended payment terms. The risk in this strategy is your creditors taking damaging actions against you before you have time to amass sufficient cash to pay your creditors the settlement amount. Proceed with caution and hire a bankruptcy attorney to assist you. A reduced principal settlement can have possible tax implications. If negotiating extended payments be mindful of the interest rate and know when the debt will be fully satisfied. Insure that you are dealing with someone who has the authority to negotiate a settlement with you. Be certain that all of the debt is settled and released whether through a lump sum payment or extended terms.
Loss mitigation and loan modifications are debt relief options for mortgages. Loss mitigation works to either relieve the homeowner of the mortgage obligation or create a mortgage resolution that is financially feasible for the homeowner. Loss mitigation options include:
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Tags: Credit, debt, Insurance
