I Spoke to Renaissance Debt Solutions, Freedom Business Group, Debt Harmony, and Liberty Credit Law But I’m Not Sure What to Do. – Brad

“Dear Steve,

I just found out about your website today while researching debt settlement programs. I invested $155,000.00 with a company, Mantria Corporation, which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and is currently under investigation by the SEC. Anyway, most of the money invested was through credit card companies(10). I know this was a mistake but they promised real estate as collateral backing the investment and promoted this practice of borrowing money. Being young and naive, I believed the company. I even made a visit to inspect the technology which I saw was real. I also own 3 properties, 2 of which are under contract at this time for short sale. I had a plan to pay off the debt with the help of a new law getting back most of my tax refunds from a new law developed from the Madoff Ponzi. But now my wife will be getting laid off from her job as a school teacher.

I make 91,000 a year as a physician assistant. My wife will be collecting unemployment(unknown amount at this time). We have taken measures to eliminate uneccesary payments as we have only 1 car and reside in a rent house. I have spoken to 2 different bankrupcy attorneys who say I make too much money to qualify for Ch. 7 and would have to file for Ch 13. I am current on all payments except for one mortgage for the first time this month which the bank says needs to be delinquent before a short is considered by them.

I have already spoken to 2 debt settlement programs, Renaissance Debt Solutions, and Freedom Business Group aka Debt Harmony. They say I could pay 1600 per month for 36 months with their cheapest plan. My total min payment amount for all credit cards is 1901 per month. I think i can do it while staying current with the credit card companies.

I am looking at American Credit Group as they have the lowest fee of 7.5%, but have also considered a company called Liberty Credit Law as this is a Law firm and may be more legitimate with the work being supervised by attorneys.

Can you give me your thoughts on Liberty Credit Law or offer any insight as to which company you think would be the best? Thank you. It was a blessing to run across your website.

Anyway, I’m going to end up filing for Ch. 13. I have 2 properties, one already approved for a short sale and the other in the process of being approved. I want the short sales to go through as is has been an arduous process for the agents and buyers instead of just letting them foreclose. My attorney does not want to file until the short sales are done. I thought I could do this with the permission of the trustee. Does he not want to do the extra paperwork involved? I really want to file so I can move on with my life. When I start getting lawsuits against me from creditors, I will have no choice but to file for protection. Thanks.

Brad”

Dear Brad,

There is no comfort in going the law firm route for debt settlement. Many of those law firm debt settlement companies provide no legal representation if you are sued and even if they have an attorney licensed in your state, typically that attorney is for record only and does not provide any additional services other than being a name on a paper.

Based on your situation the bankruptcy route would be the most logical to provide you with blanket protections from suits under law. I understand why the attorney would be hesitant to file before the short sale was completed so if there was any lingering deficiency from the sale it could be included in the bankruptcy. More people are being sued by lenders after short sales for money still owed so it is a concern.

If you have not paid your attorney his full fee yet you may want to talk to him about doing so and then be able to tell your creditors you retained a bankruptcy attorney and give the creditors the attorneys name and contact information. They will call the lawyers office to confirm but once they do that it will stall the process and most likely delay any pending suits so you can hopefully get the sale completed.

However, if you wanted to go the settlement route and you were able to save up $1,600 a month while staying current on your cards, you could do that and then tackle the cards as your money was saved. But, I’d look for a performance based debt settlement company that was not going to suck all their fees out up front and only charge you for the work when it is performed. If you are still interested in exploring that option then contact US Debt Resolve, Consumer Recovery Network or New Era and explore your options with them.

Consumer Recovery Network provides the least expensive solution if you are willing to let them assist you in negotiating your own debt.

If you’d like to discuss your situation with an independent debt expert, call Damon Day and he will guide you specifically to resolve this.

Overall, I think the ultimate decision needs to be based on what we know right now, the likelihood of you being able to save $1,600 a month after your wife is laid off may not be realistic unless there is a likely expectation she will replace the lost income quickly.

If the income would not be replaced quickly then a bankruptcy is the logical approach and when her income goes missing you can pay your bankruptcy attorney to modify your payment plan to lower your monthly payments. Out of the two approaches, this would be the surest treatment modality for a quicker recover and goal success.

Please update me on your progress by

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