Kindly share your experiences with successful rebuilding. Any tips or suggestions appreciated. Bankruptcy from mortgages that had variable rates and banks that would not negotiate.
Thanks for any tips.
Bankruptcy is something that affects a lot of people. That being said, because of this there is a lot of help out there to help people make a good comeback after a bankruptcy.
I personally have not experienced bankruptcy but I would definitely like to know where to turn if I ever did.
I found this great article by Lending Tree that shares tips on how to recover from it.
Nerd Wallet has also published some good information about rebuilding credit after a bankruptcy.
There is a lot of more information online that can be found with a simple Google search.
Hopefully these two articles are good starter info.
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I filed bankruptcy and it was finalized in 2012. My mother put me on her Kohl’s card as an authorized user and by her having that card for years, plus her excellent pay history and minimal usage, slowly put my credit score up into the 600’s. Fast forward to 2014 and I was able to get my own store card b/c I was already associated with her card and I carefully built my credit from that. In 2016 I was able to purchase a home with my husband, credit was in the 700’s, even with the bankruptcy still showing up on my report–and he also had previously filed bankruptcy in 2014.
For me, it was being an authorized user that boosted my credit back to a respectable number so after my husband filed bankruptcy, I added him to my credit card as an authorized user and his credit score is in the low 700’s now.
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@ladylxd thanks for sharing your story. It is great to see someone who has been through this journey and come out successful!
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@ladylxd Thank you for sharing with us and i’m glad you came out
ok.
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We went Chap 7 in 2008, due to my wife becoming disabled. After that, I quit using credit cards for a while. Then we moved in 2012 and was approved for another house loan. This was despite having a mortgage on another house. I’m not sure I understand how that happened. Divine intervention maybe.
Since then my score has raised up to around 810. If I use cards, I pay them off every month. We have no debt. Our house is paid off and we have no car payments.
To me the key is time. There are no quick fixes. It just takes being patient and consistent.
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Yes @friardave, I was going to say the same thing- time is a major component. I went through a bankruptcy with a divorce and illness, and time has slowly brought up my score. I went without credit cards for many years and was in no rush to get any, but I wanted to buy a house on my own so I started building my credit. I went through a credit rebuilding not-for-profit program to purchase a vehicle at a reasonable rate, started off with a secured card, and monitored the credit. I paid the card in full every month, and switched that to a regular credit card. I use it ONLY for gas and make sure its paid in full monthly. Of course bills are paid on time every time. My credit score has kind of stalled now in the “good” range, and I think that I just need to wait till the bankruptcy drops off, since I’m not interested in obtaining more credit even if it does increase my score. I’m liking having as little debt as possible. That peace of mind is more important to me than a better score.
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Kelly. Good for you. Peace of mind is a very powerful thing.
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I just went through a foreclosure going on two yrs. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and couldn’t make 1 payment. The bank immediately dismissed me and sent me to other organizations like save your home Calif…of course they denied me because I was still employed. I finally hired lawyers and was I’ll advised to start a chapter 7 to give more time to the underwriters to do another review of my paperwork. I did not owe any debtors and the bankruptcy was dismissed 10 days later because it was just to stall the underwriters not to do a full blown bankruptcy…but guess what? I am now stuck with it on my credit report. I have tried to dispute it. I even sent the creditors proof of dismissal and they won’t take it off.
First I took legal advice at Cohen & Mizrahi, here’s their site https://cmcreditlawyers.com/. And then we started working on the solution. It’s better to ask lawyers for help, not people on forums.
This thread is asking people for experiences after bankruptcy. While lawyers are helpful, they’re not free and advice from them comes at a cost that not all can afford–especially after bankruptcy.
I appreciate hearing from actual people who’ve experienced bankruptcy to get a realistic view of what happens next and what worked for them.
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