Sarasota bankruptcy attorneys are not responsible for your conscience when you choose to walk away from real people who loaned you money.
In the forums the other day, I received the following question from a member about bankruptcy and getting hired after filing bankruptcy:
This question forced me to relive painful memories. As I stared at Washtocal’s question, I didn’t expect to answer as I ended up answering. I thought it would be a quick response.
Not so…as you soon will see.
Click Read More below now more for my personal experience with bankruptcy and personal responsibility. Before you file for bankruptcy, PLEASE think about the damage your bankruptcy will inflict on the (real) people who lent you money & relied on you to pay them back. Can you really walk away from people who trusted you to repay your obligation?
BANKRUPTCY IS NOT FRESH START FOR EVERYONE!
“Washtocal,” clearly NOT everyone else is getting bailed out!
As you will see in just a moment, I never got bailed out when “friends” filed “discharged me” in a bankruptcy.
Reality Check: NOT everyone who owes money is discharging their debt obligation in bankruptcy.
It only appears that way.
To your question, YES, more and more employers are pulling credit before hiring. Whether financial services or janitorial positions, (many) employers believe a person’s credit correlates with job performance.
Employers care about your credit!
Right or wrong, employers legally and morally can reject (your) job application or even your (expected) promotion based on credit. In fact, employers legally (in many instances) can FIRE you for negative marks on your credit file. They’re doing it, and there’s NOTHING to change this…even if you wanted to do something.
Therefore, bad credit will keep some people from getting hired or promoted.
Bankruptcy hurts the little guy too….
Here’s why this topic is so personal to me. For 16 years I was a high school teacher and coach. You may or may not know this, but teachers do not make much money.
My wife and I lived well below our means, so we could save money to pay for our kids’ college.
With this money, my wife and I (mainly “me”) chose to help some (good?) people get the keys to their homes. When Sarasota Real Estate exploded, I was one of the stupid ones who thought he could make money.
I used my credit and money saved for my kids’ college and for retirement to help people buy their homes.
We helped people rent to own (aka “lease option”) their homes. It doesn’t matter now, but I didn’t see what my wife and I were doing as “speculating.”
You see, I truly BELIEVED in the people below we had chosen to help:
- Kevin Inman and his wife Daphne Lash Inman of Parrish, Florida.
- Julio Compre and his wife Nancy Compre of Davenport, Florida
- William (Billy) Keim and his wife Sherry Keim of Fort Myers, Florida.
- Brian Copeland and his wife Kendria Gardner of Fort Myers, Florida.
- Steven Phillips and his wife Carmen Phillips of Sarasota, Florida
Clearly, as you will see, I underestimated their resolve in repaying a debt obligation.
I STUPIDLY put my kids’ college and my wife’s and my retirement on the line. I thought these were honorable people who NEVER would walk away from their debt obligation. Even more painful, these were not strangers. I *thought* they were FRIENDS.
If someone can/will “walk away” from a friend, what will that person do to his/her employer? This, “Washtocal,” is the consequence of one’s decisions. Bankruptcy relieves a person of financial obligations. However, bankruptcy (can) put a noose around a person’s neck for many years.
Why?
There’s a public record. That public record is picked up by the 3 main credit reporting agencies, who will report it for up to 10 years. That’s why employers care about credit and what’s on your credit reports.
Trust (is) a 4-letter word
I trusted these people and they turned their backs on my wife and me when it benefited them:
- Kevin Inman & Daphne Lash of Parrish, FL, filed bankruptcy (chapter 7), walking away from a $66,772.00 mortgage I held. I sure as hell am not wealthy. I’m not a bank or banker. I’m just a guy who taught and coached high school kids for 16 years, working 2 jobs and saving money. This was money (about $40,000) my wife and I had saved for our kids’ college. I honestly thought Keven & Daphne were good people, who never would stiff us. I thought Kevin & Daphne were friends. I trusted them. I stupidly used my kids’ college money to help Kevin and Daphne get the home they wanted (and could afford). You see, at the end of their lease term, they still weren’t able to bank qualify to purchase on their own. I didn’t hesitate to agree to carry back a seller mortgage for $66,722.00. How did they repay my trust? They filed BANKRUPTCY. No apology. No promise to repay the money even at $20.00 a week. NOTHING! Gone: $66,722.00.
- Julio & Nancy Compre of Davenport, FL, disappeared, owing me something like $6,700 in a signed Promissory Note after I helped them relocate to Florida from New York. I helped them rent-to-own their home. Looking back, I wonder how I could have been so stupid. I thought that in a worst-case, my money would be protected by the house (as with Kevin & Daphne). I never saw coming the Great Real Estate Crash of 2006. I never saw it coming. Gone: $6,700
- William Keim & Sherry Keim of Fort Myers, FL, needed me to help them rent-to-own their home. When they did nothing during the 14 months to improve their credit, I stupidly did NOT kick them (and their children) out of the house as a real business man would have done. Nope. I extended their lease, giving them more time to save money and improve their credit. In return, they trashed (and I mean they TRASHED) the house and disappeared. I lost over $25,000 + the house to short sale (at least it wasn’t lost to foreclosure). You see, this is what I get for trying to help people. Gone: $25,000
- Brian Copeland and Kendria Gardner of Fort Myers, FL, rented to own a home in the same neighborhood as the Keims at the same time. Guess what? They too stole off in the middle of the night, forcing the house into foreclosure. Copeland did nothing to improve his credit during the lease term. As I did with the Keims, I stupidly extended the lease term. When I didn’t receive the May rent, I drove to the house to find out why they weren’t answering my calls. You might not believe this (I certainly didn’t want to believe it either) but they had moved out of my house and into the house next door. Un-frickin-be-liev-able! How much loss? I lost over $25,000 + the house to short sale as well. Gone: $25,000
- Sarasota attorney David Rosenberg (who had handled some real estate closings for me) called me one night at home asking for help. Turns out, one of David’s childhood friends (Steven Phillips and his wife Carmen Phillips) was in a difficult position and needed $6,000. On David’s word for a childhood friend, I agreed to lend this money to Mr. Phillips of Sarasota. Secured by a mortgage to Steven and Carmen’s Sarasota home, the money should have been safe…right? I thought it was a safe, easy investment to help David’s friend. Once again, I screwed up. I trusted people to do what’s right. Steven Phillips made one or two payments to pay me back and then stopped paying. When I began calling Attorney David Rosenberg about his childhood friend, David pretended it was my problem…that he had nothing to do with the Phillips not paying me back. The Phillips lost their house to foreclosure. Gone: $6,000
Total LOSS: $129,422
The bottom line is that (I) screwed up. I NEVER should have gambled with my money put away for my kids’ college or our retirement. I blame myself for trusting and believing in people.
What I discovered with these painful experiences (I am forced to relive) is NOT to gamble on people. It appears to me, most people don’t give a damn about the other guy. It’s all about THEM.
Bankruptcy is NOT just about wiping off debt owed to nameless, faceless banks, bankers & corporations.
Bankruptcy wipes out debts owed to little people like me, my wife and our kids. Is this the price of doing business? Perhaps.
I’ll never be allowed to forget this. I also never will allow myself to help people as I once believed.
If you or someone you know must file bankruptcy, try to pay back the REAL people who helped you.
“Washtocal,” if your friends cannot make arrangements with all creditors, bankruptcy might be the only solution. In which case, your friends will have to face potential consequences…for up to 10 years.
YES, some employers can/will NOT hire and/or will FIRE based on credit.
Bottom line: bankruptcy helps people recover from financial hardship. Certainly, that’s good (for people who need the help). HOWEVER, keep in mind (some) creditors who are “discharged” in bankruptcy are real people with a wife and kids. Some of (us) creditors invested money in people, believing with all our hearts those people would pay us back. I had no intent of sharing such as personal tragedy. I certainly am embarrassed to admit such costly and stupid mistakes. Easy to say now, isn’t it? You’d think after 16 years of teaching that I’d know people (and risk) a little better than this…. For the rest of my life, I will have to live with the stupid decisions I made, affecting my wife and kids.
Sarasota bankruptcy attorneys quickly recommend bankruptcy (that’s okay; it’s their job), leaving you to clear your conscience when walking away from real people like me who helped you. Think carefully before you file bankruptcy. If you must discharge money owed to real people like me, my wife and kids, PLEASE promise us you will pay us back when you get back on your feet…and then follow through with your promise.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Why would you invest your kids college fund on such risky clients?
I would NEVER do that!
Tami, hindsight is 20/20. I clearly can see now why that was one STUPID mistake. Thank goodness you never have made a mistake you regretted. At the time, some mistakes do NOT appear risky. I relied on a combination of the PEOPLE and the PROPERTY. It was the perfect storm – the people flaked out & the property values plummeted. I expected one of the two to flake. I didn’t see both happening.
Good luck to you.