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It's real now
The attorney has cashed my retainer check and I am printing out the forms to declare bankruptcy.
There was a time in 2009 when I was nearly entirely out of debt - thanks to my 1st time homebuyer tax credit. But then in November of 09 I lost my job, and it took 13 months to find another one. Debt built back up (mostly from COBRA and medical costs) until I again found work in December of 2010. I had paid off one large debt, gotten current on my mortgage and condo assessments, and transferred most of one card's balance to another interest free and closed the initial account. I was getting ahead.
Then unemployment struck again 11/30. While I have been and continue to be looking for work, and even have an interview tomorrow morning, I have to accept that it's not likely that I'm going to find anything any time soon. With unemployment benefits as my only income, I can afford to either pay my mortgage or my credit - not both. ( And of course I can't afford COBRA with the payments being nearly half a month's unemployment income, so I am also uninsured now)
So I am filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. Waiting longer would mean only that I'd be looking at foreclosure as well as bankruptcy - this step should enable me to keep my home, as long as I keep making payments. I am likely to get behind on my condo assessments for some months because I will need to pay the attorney. But I have already informed my property management company and as long as I am making regular payments they won't do anything.
I did everything like I was supposed to do, but it wasn't enough. Time to cut my losses as best I can.
There was a time in 2009 when I was nearly entirely out of debt - thanks to my 1st time homebuyer tax credit. But then in November of 09 I lost my job, and it took 13 months to find another one. Debt built back up (mostly from COBRA and medical costs) until I again found work in December of 2010. I had paid off one large debt, gotten current on my mortgage and condo assessments, and transferred most of one card's balance to another interest free and closed the initial account. I was getting ahead.
Then unemployment struck again 11/30. While I have been and continue to be looking for work, and even have an interview tomorrow morning, I have to accept that it's not likely that I'm going to find anything any time soon. With unemployment benefits as my only income, I can afford to either pay my mortgage or my credit - not both. ( And of course I can't afford COBRA with the payments being nearly half a month's unemployment income, so I am also uninsured now)
So I am filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. Waiting longer would mean only that I'd be looking at foreclosure as well as bankruptcy - this step should enable me to keep my home, as long as I keep making payments. I am likely to get behind on my condo assessments for some months because I will need to pay the attorney. But I have already informed my property management company and as long as I am making regular payments they won't do anything.
I did everything like I was supposed to do, but it wasn't enough. Time to cut my losses as best I can.