Are you struggling to come out of debts and looking for an avenue to settle it? But you might seem to be confused whether to opt for a debt settlement company or to file bankruptcy for eliminating your debts. Filing bankruptcy can blemish your credit report for around 10 years and it will prevent you from loan approval in future. And the rising reports of scam companies with the FTC might have further multiplied your dilemma.
You can still settle your debt without turning to a debt settlement company and filing bankruptcy. However, settling the debts by yourself will be less expensive for you, as you do not have to pay to a third party for their service.
Here are a few crucial steps that will assist you while settling your debts by yourself:
1. The first step should be to initiate a saving. You can start saving for paying off your debts once you have convinced your creditors for settlement. Put aside a stipulated amount each month for the sole purpose to wipe out your debts. Once you have saved enough, you can negotiate with your creditors and offer them a lump sum to settle your debts.
The creditors will reject your proposal if your offer is not profitable to them. He can very well reap more profit on claiming the debt as tax loss or ask a collection agency to collect the outstanding balance. Therefore, ensure that your offer is productive to the creditor.
2. Make an honest rendition to your creditors that due to your extreme financial upheaval, you are able to pay only a fraction of the owed amount. Then offer them the debt settlement proposal that you can afford to pay off effortlessly. If the creditors are convinced that you are serious about paying off your outstanding balance, you will be able to strike the deal. Additionally, try to be patient and rational in your approach so that you can successfully settle your debts yourself.
3. Once you have fixed the terms of negotiation, check if your creditors demand a settlement amount that goes beyond the sum offered by you or not. If it is so, then you may suggest them that you can pay a lump sum amount initially and pay the remaining balance in installments.
4. Do remember to get your credit report updated as “paid” instead of “settled” once you pay off the settled amount. With “paid” note you can easily avail the loans in future. You can also request the creditors to inform the credit bureau to remove the late payment notification. But the credit card companies might not be willing to modify your credit report. However, if you are more persistent in your approach, you can taste the success of settling your debt effortlessly without having much impinging credit scores.
5. While dealing with the creditors on the settlement amount, ensure that you have a document of the agreement before you start paying him. The agreement document will help you in case the creditors fail to keep up with the terms included in the clauses. If the creditors go against the settlement term then you can take legal help to safeguard your position.
Therefore, don’t you think settling debts by yourself is a simple task? You do not need to look for settlement companies as well as you can avoid getting duped by fraud companies. If you follow the above strategy, you can easily manage to settle your debts much economically.
About The Author
Anya Bennett, a financial writer, suggests ways to eradicate debts on your own, without taking debt settlement companies and bankruptcy into consideration.
Added to http://www.be-debt-free.info/ on March 15, 2011.