Making a Choice among Debt Relief Options

by | Feb 14, 2013 | Law Services

Facing overwhelming indebtedness is one very stressful and challenging experience for anyone. You heart starts to jump once the telephone rings or someone knocks on the front door in anticipation of more harassment from credit card companies and bill collectors. Instead of reducing your debts, they seem to increase because you have only been paying for interest and not the principal loan amount. Your only option to keep your sanity is to seek for debt relief in Woodland Hills. If you don’t undertake this process, it is for certain that you will all the more be buried under this tremendous indebtedness.

It is easy to consult with lawyers regarding debt relief but you can also try credit counselors. These professionals understand the plight of debtors who are being harassed with threats of litigation, wage garnishment or repossession. You need not be ashamed of your present financial circumstances since this is a common scenario for these professionals. The fact is many bankruptcy lawyers are up to their necks with work due to the number of individuals seeking debt relief Woodland Hills area through Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

Solutions for Debt Relief:

* Debt consolidation programs – in this process, all your bills are consolidated and you are required to make single monthly payments depending upon you capacity to pay. This solution is workable since interests and penalties can be reduced or waived so that your monthly payments can be lowered. With debt consolidation, you will no longer undergo having multiple creditors harassing you to make payments.

* Debt settlement with credit card companies – these creditors are more than too willing to settle with debtors in order to avoid lawsuits. The over-all credit card balance is reduced since penalties for late payments are removed. Instead of hiding and ignoring the calls from collection agencies, it is better to face the circumstances and make a deal. Collection agencies are even worse than credit card companies when it comes to harassment. They can use all kinds of threats just to make you pay which includes wage garnishment or litigation.

* Debt management programs – a credit counselor negotiates with your creditors for a reduction in your debt payments by lowering or removing interest rates and penalty charges for late payments. However, under this scheme, all your credit is frozen until all your debts have been fully paid. If you are thinking of getting a new car, you might have to defer the plans until you have fully satisfied your obligations.

Disadvantages of debt relief programs

Options for debt relief have certainly its advantages due to the reduction of overall indebtedness; however, consolidating your debts means you put all your debts under one roof. Suppose you default in one monthly payment, what happens? You will certainly default in all your accounts in the consolidation. If you have included your home mortgage and car payments under the consolidation, they can be severely affected unlike when they are individual accounts you have to deal with. You might be better off filing for bankruptcy instead.

Before you reach a decision on what debt relief Woodland Hills is best suited for your particular circumstance, it is important to get legal advice to avoid any future regrets.

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