Expert: Regan Shinski - 10/19/2010

Question
Hi,
Our home is being foreclosed on in Arizona, and our date
for it to go to Trustee's Sale was originally April 24th.
The bank has continued to postpone the sale, and our
postponed date is now November 10th. 6 months later! Anyhow,
we have hoped to keep the rest of our credit as clean as
possible by continuing to pay our vehicle loan on time and
settling our credit card debt, and avoid bankruptcy. But I
am starting to feel like the only way we will be able to
start new is to just file bankruptcy because I don't know if
the bank is ever going to take our house back otherwise. We
have offered to give it back, short sale, and do a deed in
lieu. I guess my main question is if you file a Chapter 7
Bankruptcy, how quickly will most banks take your home and
how soon can you move on and start repairing your credit?

Answer
Hi Brytani:

This is a very fluid situation with the banks and foreclosures right now.  I'm sure you have read the news.  At this point some banks are in complete limbo on foreclosures so there really is no way to tell how long this process will take with your bank. Some move incredibly quickly and others are literally on complete hold.

I do believe you have the wrong outlook or attitude on credit repair.  Good, quality credit repair is an ongoing process and should not wait for anything related to your fluid credit accounts.  Credit repair can be used to OFFSET debts as well as delete bad information.

In other words, I would start immediately.  However, you must be careful and I would only do this if you really (and I mean REALLY) know what you are doing.  The reason is with a foreclosure you can do more harm that good by eliminating options for repair at a later date.  But we have also found this a good time to complete aggressive repair because the banks are somewhat disorganized right now.  Remember the goal of credit repair is to identify VIOLATIONS of federal law.  You use these violations to offset debt and/or delete the account.

Regarding the bankruptcy, I would not file a bankruptcy until you tried credit repair.  You can even selectively stop paying accounts and deal with them through the collection process by using repair, settlement, delays, and other tactics and then only file bankruptcy as an absolute last resort if it doesn't work out.  This way you avoid the double stigma of a foreclosure and bankruptcy - two of the most difficult to overcome and delete.

I know credit repair can be a daunting self-help prospect.  You should also consider professional credit repair.  A good credit repair company can show amazing results and really ease the burden and stress you may be feeling.  Go to WWW.FICOFIGHTER.COM for more information.  Regardless of the path you choose, I certainly wish you luck and know that all is not lost.  You have options and things will get better as your credit heals.

Regan
www.ficofighter.com