Sell house or continue to pay off credit cards?
My credit rating is not all that good due to a lot of late payments. I am also in debt. I could sell my house and pay everything off, but I don’t know if I could get a apartment because of my credit. I could start a payment schedule and fix my credit rating over time. Which is better getting out of debt or fixing my credit rating? And what is the best way to check a credit rating?
Tags: apartment, credit rating, getting out of debt, late payments, payment schedule
July 14th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
To build your credit up you need to make payments on a regular basis. This is much better than having no debt. Plus if you sell your house you could lose some equity that is building. Check out
http://www.annualcreditreport.com and http://www.suzeorman.com (under reference center)
for your fica/ credit report and tips.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
could you take out a second mortgage. or an equity line of credit, to consolidate your bills?
July 14th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Pay off the credit cards. They probably have an interest rate that’s 2 or 3 times what you’re paying on your house.
Even before you pay off the credit card debt, I suggest that you take a pair of scissors and cut up all of the cards except for 1. The only reason to have more than 1 is for you to get yourself back into debt.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
I would definately not sell your home. Especially if you already have a lot of equity in it.
I wish I had more info.
OK, lets assume you have a some equity in your home, and you have a decent job. You ran up a lot of money in credit cards. By the time you finish paying your utility bills and other expenses you don’t have enough for payments on your cards. I bet you have been making minimum payments too, right?
I would not refinance your home unless the interest rate is high. I’d suggest getting a home equity loan. That way you roll all your payments into one, and you can write off the interest on your taxes.
But be warned!!!! You must get control of your spending and quit using credit cards. This is the trap that thousands of people have fallen into, and end up filing for bankruptcy.
The new bankruptcy laws are a lot worse, and will cost you more.
Now, if you don’t have much equity, how is going to sell your home going to pay off your credit cards? By the time you sell it and pay off the existing mortgage, you won’t have anything left to start over with, let alone pay off credit cards. In this situation you may want to look at going Chapter 7 (if you qualify).
Good luck
July 14th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Here’s an option, refinance your home. You may be able to stay in the house and pay your bills off or at least some of them. As you probably already know mortgage interest is tax deductible. Interest paid on consumer debt (credit cards, car loan, etc.) are not. To be honest it sounds like you may have some credit issues but aren’t in total financial ruin. Its a good idea to get a copy of your credit report, http://www.myfico.com has a wonderful site where you can purchase a copy of your report. Also each of the three credit reporting agencies will give you a free copy of your report once a year.
The straight talk: If your decide to refinance your interest rate will likely be higher than the prevailing market rate (Remember: the tax-deduction I spoke of earlier). The benefits credit man off your back and you get to keep your home. Look to a trustworthy mortgage broker or loan officer to help find you a program that fits your needs and wallet. Good luck