Bankruptcy Equity Home Loan Facts
For some of us, bankruptcy looks like the only option to get out of debt in anything resembling a reasonable length of time. This is never an easy decision to reach. It is also very difficult to get credit again afterward. Difficult, but not impossible. One type of credit that can be obtained even during a bankruptcy is an equity home loan. There are however, some facts regarding bankruptcy equity home loans that people should be made aware of.
Bankruptcy equity home loans can be used to discharge a chapter 13 bankruptcy ahead of schedule. The court system gives a person three to five years to discharge all their debts under chapter 13. Under certain circumstances, the person’s attorney can file paperwork requesting the right to incur a new debt in order to pay off the old ones faster and at a lower interest rate.
Once approved, the attorney can then negotiate with banks to find a home equity loan that has terms the person can pay off on time and will provide enough money to discharge a good share of the unsecured debts against this person.
If one already has a home equity loan outstanding when filing bankruptcy, it is important to note that this is a secured form of credit. This means that the only way to discharge this debt through bankruptcy, under any chapter, is by surrendering one’s property and leaving the home.
The same holds true for home equity loans obtained while covered under a bankruptcy proceeding. The only way to discharge this debt is to pay it back according to the terms agreed to when signing the loan papers or to surrender the property.
This fact can work to the advantage of homeowners who are going through a bankruptcy. Banks are more willing to consider making a loan to someone with sufficient security to cover the amount of the loan and sufficient reason to ensure that it gets paid back on time.
A bankruptcy equity home loan can also provide the basis on which to begin rebuilding good credit when one emerges from bankruptcy. As long as the loan payments are made consistently and in a timely manner, this will be reported to credit reporting agencies as a positive mark on one’s credit report and will increase the credit score.
Even though obtaining credit while one is in bankruptcy is difficult at best, a bankruptcy equity home loan can be the step up that a person needs to get back on track and emerge from the bankruptcy in a better position than would have been thought possible. It can help to pay off creditors much more quickly than would otherwise be possible. It can also help to make the payments easier to afford by giving one more time than the allowed three to five years to pay the loan off in full. One must simply remember that this loan must be repaid regardless of what else gets done because it is a lien against real property that can and will be taken if the loan is defaulted on.