Just finished a Ch 13...what to do/not do if you've done the same.

[afarr]

Kind of a general question, not specifically in rebuilding credit (got some good answers there).

Come out of a BK (my Ch. 13 was 100% paid, 60 months up in June, already fully paid as of the end of Feb).

I'll need a car in the future (hopefully mine runs for a while longer, so it won't be a rush).

But...what did you do that is worth passing on (throw money into savings, etc. etc.)?

What did you do that you regret doing because you didn't know better?

Thanks!

Edited to add:   I see reference to 'burned' a CC company/issuer and some blacklist you.    If my Ch 13 was 100% paid, would (say) Discover or BOA (included in the Ch 13) be likely to blacklist me in the future?   What if the Trustee was making payments to a (presumably) junk debt buyer such as LVNV funding/Portfolio Recovery Associates (showed as several accounts on my NDC report)?    Discover and BOA are listed as receiving the money from the Trustee, so they'd be different.

[Horseshoez]

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@afarr wrote:

Kind of a general question, not specifically in rebuilding credit (got some good answers there).

Come out of a BK (my Ch. 13 was 100% paid, 60 months up in June, already fully paid as of the end of Feb).

I'll need a car in the future (hopefully mine runs for a while longer, so it won't be a rush).

But...what did you do that is worth passing on (throw money into savings, etc. etc.)?

What did you do that you regret doing because you didn't know better?

Thanks!

Edited to add:   I see reference to 'burned' a CC company/issuer and some blacklist you.    If my Ch 13 was 100% paid, would (say) Discover or BOA (included in the Ch 13) be likely to blacklist me in the future?   What if the Trustee was making payments to a (presumably) junk debt buyer such as LVNV funding/Portfolio Recovery Associates (showed as several accounts on my NDC report)?    Discover and BOA are listed as receiving the money from the Trustee, so they'd be different.

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To answer your questions, sort of, and in no particular order:

• After my Chapter 13 discharge I kept living like I was making payments to the Trustee and just piled that amount into savings; in the last four years I've been lucky enough to accrue a very tidy sum of money which I will be using for a down payment on a new home soon (just have to find it first).
• My single largest regret was not taking my attorney's advice and buy a new car before I filed.  At the time I was driving an old Honda Accord, which was in good shape mechanically, but half way through my bankruptcy corrosion was having its way with not only body panels, but also various systems.  One day I came out and it was leaking coolant, fuel, brake fluid, and transmission fluid; I honestly think all four things started leaking over a long weekend.  I had a small cash reserve by then and had already been shopping for a new(er) ride, and while I spent more than I had (beans and chicken were on the menu for the next month), the new car lasted well beyond my discharge.  Back to my attorney's advice, I should have purchased something like a new Corolla before filing; it would have been a secured asset and been fully paid off by the end of my bankruptcy.  Stupid me.
• I really liked the car I ended my bankruptcy in, a 2006 Acural TL 6-Speed, and managed to keep it in tip-top shape nearly three years beyond my discharge; by then my bankruptcy had fallen off my credit reports and I bought my first new car in a very long time.
• I cannot answer your question about who gets what when junk debt buyers are involved; hopefully other folks will chime in.

[FlaDude]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

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To answer your questions, sort of, and in no particular order:

• My single largest regret was not taking my attorney's advice and buy a new car before I filed.  At the time I was driving an old Honda Accord, which was in good shape mechanically, but half way through my bankruptcy corrosion was having its way with not only body panels, but also various systems.  One day I came out and it was leaking coolant, fuel, brake fluid, and transmission fluid; I honestly think all four things started leaking over a long weekend. 

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No personal experience with BK, but this is a very interesting bit of advice that I don't recall seeing mentioned before.

[Shooting-For-800]

I would suggest 3 decent bank credit cards, no prediction cards, not a million applications.

Check prequals before applying.

GL!

[afarr]

Bumping it up....checked PACER and downloaded the discharge (signed the 11th, filed the 12th).   I should be getting a copy in the mail shortly.   

Made me happy to see it in writing.   

And...I think my Atty said keep the initial filing and the discharge?   Anything else someone would recommend keeping (plan went through a few revisions, so there's a LOT of different paperwork).

Thanks!

[castor4072]

Congrats!!! I'm NEAR the finishing line too! Though, when I log into PACER, it's just a plain account. Do I have to pay to see the results of my case...jw

[Horseshoez]

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@castor4072 wrote:

Congrats!!! I'm NEAR the finishing line too! Though, when I log into PACER, it's just a plain account. Do I have to pay to see the results of my case...jw

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It's been a few years since I signed in to PACER, but if I recall correctly, there is a cost per page (or maybe per document) view, $0.25 if I recall correctly, and you don't get billed until you accrue $30.00 of charges in a single  month (once again, based upon my recollection).  This means you can download a lot of pages for free per month.

[afarr]

@castor4072 

@Horseshoez 

I think it's up to $0.30 a page, but no bill until you reach the 100 pages.

Be careful, one 'document' may have 10 pages (including a lot of garbage).

My Pacer log in expired (used it at the beginning of the BK, and only now to keep up with stuff), so I had to have them re-activate it.

I log in, it asks what court  (District/State, Bankruptcy).   Mine's way down the list because it starts with Appelate courts, then regular federal courts, then finally Bk courts.

Select the court.

It brings up a mostly blank page, but at the very top is a blue link with your Court/State and mine says (court)-Document filing system.

Click on that.

Goes to another page, but on top you'll see CM  ECF logo, then Query, Reports, etc.

Click Query.

I just search by my Social Security number (put the dashes in place).  I don't bother with dates, etc.

Brings up a list of things...I go to History/Documents.

Click.

Then 'Run Query' again

Mine's in reverse order (filing first, last is the most recently filed stuff).

Click on the number of the document you want.  (In my most recent case it was the "automatic order discharging debtor").

It will tell you the number of pages and the 'billable' amount.

Click 'View Document' if you want that one.

I suggest saving it (so you don't get hit with fees again if you need to go back).

Good luck.   Long haul, but I'm glad I'm through it.

Use the back arrow (on your browser) if you need to go back for more documents.