Do it yourself debt settlement - best debt relief solution
When you owe a lot money in credit card debt and for sometime, it is getting very expensive. Interest rates alone can drive you insane. Add to this fees and penalties and the debt can really overwhelm. Do it yourself debt settlement is by far the best way to get out of debt and enjoy life again. You can and should obtain debt settlement with your creditors on your own. After all, those are your money and your debts. Ultimately you are responsible. It takes time and significant effort, but it is the best debt relief solution and well worth the trouble.
You know your financial situation, such as debt problems and cash resources. You know if you can count on help of your relatives. You can analyze it and follow several steps to fix money and lifestyle problems that contributed in this mess. When instead of do it yourself debt settlement should you seek professional help? Only when and if you get to the point where certain convoluted legal issues get involved, and not many ever encounter such, you need to get an attorney or other qualified professional help. Examples can be business or partnership liquidation, divorce, etc.
Do it yourself debt settlement - when to start thinking of settling
You should start when you feel that even a minimum payment on a monthly credit card bill is about to become a problem. Of course, no lender will consider a debt settlement until you miss a few payments. Certain lenders you can approach once you miss one or two. Others may want to see at least three, just to make sure you are in serious financial hardship and unable to meet your obligations.
Do it yourself debt settlement or file for bankruptcy
If you are drowning in debt and struggling with payments, the thought that seemed almost ridiculous just a short time ago doesn't feel that way anymore. However, unless you qualify for Chapter 7 which could be very hard, you can only file for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy - not the best debt relief solution and surely something you can do yourself and do better.
Do it yourself debt settlement tips
Get your credit report and see if the debts are either with original lenders or sold to third party debt collectors. Usually debt is only sold after it is charged off by an original lender and this does not happen until you miss at least 4 monthly payments. You should also call each lender to verify where your debt is. With debt collectors, you should try debt validation first and hope that collection agency messes up. Here is the debt validation letter.
Try first settle the debts with the highest interest rates or with the highest amounts. It makes sense, because these are the ones that hit you the hardest. If you want to settle for a lump sum payment and can afford one, start at 20%, may be 25% of what you owe and gradually raise it to the point where the lender accepts.
On the other hand you can offer a different settlement with fixed low monthly payments. Many creditors has recently offer 0% interest debt settlement plans for 12 to 24 months. That could be the best debt relief solution you can find, as long as you can afford it. The late fees are also typically waived under such settlement. You can use this debt settlement letter modifying it according to your situation.
More on the topic,
Negotiate credit card settlement, how to settle credit card debt on your own and for less than you owe
Should I pay to debt collectors, pay credit cards, declare bankruptcy or what?
Sun Jan 23, 2011 03:01PM | Copyright: www.bad-credit-advisor.com | More in Relieving Debt | Comments (0)
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