Purchasing a Home

“If I file bankruptcy, I will not be able to buy a house for at least ten years.”

Actually, if you do not file bankruptcy now, even if you can barely afford the minimum payments on your credit cards, you will probably never be able to buy a home since the rest of your life will be dedicated toward making minimum payments on credit cards. 

Credit cards are designed to never be paid off.  After all, a paid off credit card makes the bank $0 dollars, whereas a credit card carrying a balance makes the bank interest; free money on money they never lent out in the first place.  The United States of America is a credit nation.  Our fundamental core values have shifted to consumerism and instant gratification.  We are now witnessing the ramifications of this shift with the credit crunch and the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage industry. 

Grandma and Grandpa were able to buy a modest house on a modest single income-earner’s salary after years of saving their hard earned money.  They were able to buy a house they could afford, with very clear and simple payment terms.  They did not have credit card debt, for there was no such thing as a credit card back then. 

So if you file bankruptcy today and wipe out all of the dischargeable debt, gain control of your spending, and set up a tight budget, you may be able to buy a home within a couple of years of Discharge if you are diligent in reestablishing your credit and meet the lender’s requirements, in spite of the bankruptcy.  The bankruptcy will have actually helped you to the extent it eliminated all or most of the debt, and allowed you to begin saving again, like Grandma and Grandpa did.

Several of the Doan Law Firm lawyers are also Real Estate Brokers.  We can help you rebuild after bankruptcy and assist you in purchasing a home when the time and finances are right.