Filed Bankruptcy, but not on my house! my report says different, how?

Hello Red Phoenix Nation!!! Hope everyone has a smile on your face when you're checking out your nations credit blog!!!

Questions about bankruptcy and the mortgage have been coming up a lot. I can't go into a lot of detail, but I can shed some light from the credit side of life and what things mean and what could have happened. I'll also give a quick hit on why your score may still be low a couple years after filing.

You own your home, but you file bankruptcy. You tell your attorney that you want to keep your house and you don't want it included in your bankruptcy. A couple years go by and now you want to refinance and take advantage of great rates. After talking to your mortgage professional you come to learn your mortgage is reporting in your bankruptcy. Odds are you told the judge you wanted to keep your house, however when the paper work showed up you didn't understand you needed to reaffirm the debt. It could be that your attorney didn't do it for whatever reason, but not usually the case. So how did you keep the house? You can file on your mortgage and continue to pay for it. Your lender isn't going to argue with you on that at all and will appreciate it. The term that's used a lot is called a ride through mortgage. Means you filed on the property but still are paying on it and keeping it. Your lender or any creditor can't report information to the bureaus if an item is included in a bankruptcy. It goes against the bankruptcy laws and has something to do with the fair debt collections practices act. It can be fixed but there are some variables and it depends on your lender and the bank you're trying to refinance with. Unfortunately it is very difficult to give general advice on this subject, each situation can be and usually is different. Time to start talking to your professionals!

People also often wonder why their credit stays so low after they file when others have rebounded so easily. Again, there are a lot of variables to cover but I'll give a few points for you that might give reason to you. A lot of times, your items inside your bankruptcy aren't reporting correctly which can hold down your FICO score. You may have items in your bankruptcy that aren't reporting that you filed on them. Any negative items, late pays, collections ect. after a bankruptcy are going to crush you. Last free one for you is that you never re-established credit after you filed. It could also be a combo platter of the above mentioned. If any of this is you and you need help please reach out and do it now. If I can't help you, I have the team of professionals that are experts that can. Make it a successful day and think of yourself as limitless! If you need me, I'm always around....

john@redphoenixco.com