Archives for October, 2008

It is very hard to deal with any financial problem in isolation. If you are behind on your mortgage payments, you need to look at what the rest of your financial situation is like. If it is a mess, then you need advice on how to deal with your other liabilities and your finances as a whole. Being behind on your mortgage payments probably means you have a bigger problem than just your mortgage payments. You have probably missed your payments because you have been putting money toward other debts, or over-spending in other areas.

If you have only missed a couple of payments, mortgage lenders are usually fairly good to deal with as long as you communicate with them. They are in the power position because they have security over your home, butthey will probably be willing to make a deal with you to pay back your missed payments.

For example, if you have missed two monthly payments of $800, you might offer to make payments of $1000 for eight months until those missed payments are covered. Although this sounds easy, you need to ask yourself where the extra $200 per month is going to be coming from. Looking at your monthly budget, you need to figure out how much you earn and after covering your bills and what you need to pay for your mortgage, how much you have left over to pay off your other debts. If you cannot afford to pay them all off, you may need to sit down with a bankruptcy trustee and create a plan to deal with your debts and get back on financial track. It may be possible for you to file a proposal to your creditors to pay back what you can afford, even if it is less than what you owe.

If it is simply that you are not making your mortgage payments but all your other finances are fine, you need to look at your monthly budget and determine whether the place is realistically affordable for you. After you miss more than a couple of mortgage payments, the lender will not be as willing to cooperate with you so it is best to deal with the problem as soon as possible. If you are falling far behind on your mortgage payments, call us today in Toronto at 310-PLAN (no area code required) or e-mail us to arrange a meeting with one of our professionals so we can help you make a plan to deal with your mortgage and other debts.

I’m Douglas Hoyes, and today Ted Michalos and I appeared on AM 640 Toronto Radio to discuss How to Survive the Economic Crisis.

I gave my opinion that the economy is weaker now than it was a year or two ago, so it’s important that we all reduce our debt to give us maximum flexibility to survive the tough times ahead. (I’ve written a detailed article on How To Reduce Your Debt).

We also took a number of phone calls. Patrick phoned in to warn people not to fall for those "low introductory rate" credit card offers, because eventually the rates go up. Ray from Toronto called in to ask if, after filing bankruptcy in Toronto, would his debts to Canada Revenue Agency be discharged? I said yes, CRA debts can be included in a bankruptcy.

Based on the calls we received it appears that credit card debts are a serious problem, so we gave some tips on how to reduce your credit card debt. First: stop using them. Pay cash or use your debit card, and then work hard to pay them off.

If your debt is too large to simply cut your expenses and pay them off, it may be necessary to consider a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy.

For a detailed assessment of your personal situation, call our Toronto bankruptcy team at 310-PLAN (that’s 310-7526, no area code required anywhere in Ontario) or E-mail us to arrange a free initial consultation, and let’s get started.  

At Hoyes, Michalos & Associates we truly believe that all you need to get out of financial trouble is a plan.

You need a plan that is going to work for you given your personal and financial circumstances. All of our trustees have years of experience and have helped many people with their financial problems. I am fully confident that if given the chance to sit down with a person or family and review their financial situation, I can create a plan to deal with it. Even if you have read about all of the options available to get out of debt and you think that none are going to work, I guarantee you we will find something that will. There IS a plan out there that is going to work, and we can find it together.

All of our bankruptcy trustees are focused on helping people create the right plan to meet their individual and family needs. In order to do this however, we have to be given the opportunity and this is where you come in. When you call call us today in Toronto at 310-PLAN (no area code required) or when you e-mail us, you will be put in touch with one of our professionals who can get all the background information needed to start mapping out the plan. There is a way for you to get a fresh start, and with the help of a professional from Hoyes, Michalos & Associates, you will be able to find it.