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Here is a useful guide to bankruptcy. It should be noted that bankruptcy is not to be entered into without first having sought professional advice.

Bankruptcy is seen as the last resort. Bankruptcy is perceived to be the only way to escape the ever-constant demands for payment by bill collectors and credit companies alike.

Bankruptcy is not something that should be rushed in to. Certainly there are times when it can be very useful, but there are other times when declaring bankruptcy would be a big mistake.

The purpose of bankruptcy is to convert your possessions, and any wages you receive, into lump sum and instalment payments for creditors. A debtors purpose to apply for their own bankruptcy is to form a moratorium (a group of creditors) to agree part repayment of all outstanding debts, and when the agreed repayment has been met, to have a ‘clean slate’.

The constraints which are put upon you once you are declared bankrupt make it only a viable option in the most extreme of cases. It is more likely that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement will be the answer to severe debt problems, since it provides much of the relief offered by bankruptcy but without the severe constraints which bankruptcy imposes.

Individual creditors cannot take action against you. They must make a claim through the ‘trustee’ (the name of the person who controls a bankruptcy) or write off their debt.

When appointed the trustee will advertise your demise in a number of newspapers to give all of your creditors a chance to make a claim against the bankruptcy.

It is also the responsibility of the bankrupt to make an honest list of all creditors: as a bankruptcy is also a chance to start again the bankrupt should ensure every creditor is notified. Not that a creditor could make a claim against you after a bankruptcy, but it will get all your creditors of your back.

A bankruptcy order takes precedence over all other forms of debt recovery. All creditors have the right to be included in the list of creditors, and benefit from any payment arrangement.

If you own your home you would be fortunate to keep it. You can keep household ‘essentials’ such as, bed, fridge, heating appliances but not, TV’s, video recorders, computers - unless used for work, or used to get work.

All ‘tools of trade’ are protected, but will be scrutinized.

A bankruptcy will normally last until the third anniversary of the bankruptcy order. During this time you are not allowed to hold a public office, become a company director (or in all but name run a business) and you must not apply for credit over £250 without notifying the lender of your bankruptcy.

Your credit file will show your bankruptcy for six years from the bankruptcy order.

You may freely reprint this article provided the author’s biography remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help UK homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

If you are thinking about using the equity in your home to consolidate your loans and take control of your debt, then you have a few different options available, with considerable different and terms and conditions. Before committing to a certain path, do some research and educate yourself on the differences between a Home Mortgage, a Home Equity Loan, an Equity Line, and Home Refinancing.

Obtain a first mortgage on your home

If you haven’t already, obtaining a first mortgage on your home is usually the first step, and the best choice overall.

Obtain a loan on the equity in your home

A Home Equity Loan, also called a second mortgage, doesn’t require you to refinance your entire home loan. The rates and costs of Home Equity Loans are usually more attractive than most credit cards or other unsecured lines of credit and the amount available is usually up to 85% of the value of your home. Obtaining a second mortgage is very similar to a first mortgage process.

Home Equity secures an Equity Line

Instead of drawing one lump sum amount with a Home Equity Loan, an Equity Line allows you to write checks and borrow against your equity for smaller amounts, over an extended period of time, and usually at lower rates than an unsecured credit line. In essence, your home becomes the security for your new credit line, but be careful, although this may feel like a wonderfully large credit card, if you are unable to pay your home is in jeopardy.

Refinancing your home

Refinancing your home usually provides a lower interest rate than a second mortgage or Home Equity Loan, and the mortgage term can be longer, resulting in lower monthly payments. However, it can be more costly to refinance a home than to obtain a second mortgage. Check to make sure that interest rates are low enough to make refinancing the best choice and remember that a lower interest rate means less to deduct on your taxes and in the end can increase your tax payments, which decreases your overall savings.

To view our recommended debt companies companies online, visit this page:
Recommended Home Equity Debt Consolidation Companies.

Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan
Guide, an informational website about various types of loans.

Debt seems to have become the buzz word in today’s world. We can’t blame it on people. After all it’s human to fall for it. However, it surely isn’t good for you. If you have fallen into a debt trap, you can take comfort from the fact that you are not the only one. Getting out of debt trap is not impossible either. You just need to have some patience and exercise restraint on the bad spending habits that you have developed over a period of time (assuming that the debt has not resulted due to some difficult circumstances).

Analyze the situation properly and prepare a strategy for debt elimination. Here is a list which you could reference to pave the path to debt elimination:

1. Controlled spending: The first thing to do is prevent the situation from getting worse i.e. stop the debt from growing further. So exercise control and try and remain within 70% of your credit limit. You might also resort to spending cash instead of plastic, just as a control mechanism.

2. Consolidation: Debt consolidation is another instrument which is very much in use as an important step towards debt elimination. This involves switching over to a new credit card which has a lower APR. However, if you intend to keep spending like mad, this will result in a debt trap and will not help you at all.

3. Negotiate: You might as well talk to your existing credit card company about the situation and check if they are able to help by reducing the APR for a period of time. This does work sometimes because these companies too want to retain their customers.

4. Pay off some debt: If you have some cash handy, you might as well pay off some debt, especially the one that is on higher APR credit cards.

5. Seek professional advice: If you are not able to find the way out by yourself, you should take professional advice. There are consultants who would not only give advice but also detail you about what offers are available in the market and which suit you the best.

6. Resist offers: Credit card companies keep putting up new offers to lure more customers. These could range from getting a discount if you shop with them, a free gift etc. Do not fall for such offers. Just treat them as ‘Not for me’, because these are really not for you until you come out of your current debt. These are more to induce spending than anything else. Moreover, this will just add to the annual fees that you pay on your credit cards.

7. Reduce the number of credit cards: If you have a large number of credit cards, you will always be tempted to using one or the other till the credit limit is reached on them. This creates a debt trap. So, if you can, then close off some of your credit card accounts.

The key to debt elimination, however, lies in ‘Restraint’. If you are able to control your spending then you are already moving in the right direction.

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