When you have accumulated a large amount of debt that you find impossible to repay, it can cause severe stress. Fortunately, there are a number of ways that you can examine to get you out of the mess; a common method is debt settlement. This method consists of negotiating with your lenders to make them accept less than that what you owe them to settle your debt in full. Some common questions answered:
What Is the Process of Debt Settlement?
You can either negotiate with your creditors personally or appoint a debt settlement company to do it on your behalf. It is typically better to go through a professional company because they are experts in negotiation and will be able to get a better deal. The company will generally ask you to stop making payments to lenders. Instead, you keep on making payments to the extent you can to a trust fund that only you can administer, till such time the corpus is enough to permit the debt settlement company to negotiate with creditors.
The extent of reduction will depend on the amount and age of the outstanding as well as how well your case is represented to the lenders. Debt settlement companies charge a fee that is a percentage of the savings they manage for you. You should read online debt settlement reviews to find the cheapest company.
Under What Circumstances Should You Attempt Debt Settlement?
It is generally a good idea to examine the possibility of debt settlement when the amount of debt has soared so much that it is beyond your capacity to repay. However, it may be possible for the payment to be made if the amounts were reduced. Typically, a better settlement is obtained if the debts are unsecured, you have not been making your payments for quite a few months, and filing for bankruptcy seems to be increasingly viable.
Is Debt Settlement Legal?
As a method of managing debt, debt settlement is perfectly legal. However, the practice has acquired some sort of a bad image simply because of the many cases where people have been swindled by unscrupulous companies who have just charged exorbitant amounts or simply disappeared with the savings of the people. Fortunately, the stricter requirement for compliance with Federal and State laws has resulted in many of them closing down.
Why Do Creditors Settle Debt for Less?
Even though lenders lose money every time they settle, they do so because it is quite possible that they will lose their entire dues if the debtor files for bankruptcy, as the debt is typically unsecured. Recovering a part of their money is a better option than losing it all.
Conclusion
When you remain in a debt trap even after trying other methods like financial counseling and debt consolidation, it could be wiser to undertake debt settlement as otherwise; you may have to file for bankruptcy. Even though debt settlement has a negative impact on your credit score that remains on your report for seven years, it is still better than filing for bankruptcy.