The Debt Settlement Florida Cure

The credit crisis has flourished financial hardships for many Floridians. Tapped out of the equity on their homes, many homeowners have exhausted their options to refinance high-interest debt. Debt consolidation programs offered through credit counseling agencies haven't helped to alleviate much of the problem. However, a debt settlement Florida cure seems to be providing the right relief.

Also called "debt negotiation", debt settlement is assisting people in the sunshine State that struggle with the minimum payments. Debt settlement is a powerful bankruptcy that can help you become debt-free in about three years. If you are considering this debt negotiation approach, be aware of the following pros and cons:

By far, bankruptcy causes the most damage to a consumer's credit score. A credit counseling debt management plan (DMP), which can take from 4-6 years to complete, appears on a consumer's credit report as a "debt management hardship plan", which warns creditors that a debtor was unfit to manage his debt. Continuing the minimum payment approach can also hurt your credit score since people that struggle to make the minimum payment generally have a high debt-to-credit ratio. In comparison, a debt settlement Florida cure can also cause a consumer's credit to decline as a result of "late payments", which constitute 35 percent of the credit score.

However, the objective of a debt settlement Florida cure is to clear your debt as quickly as possible. Although the process does hurt your credit, an actual debt settlement lowers the debt-to-credit ratio, which is responsible for 30 percent of the credit score.

One drawback of a debt settlement Florida cure is the likelihood of collection calls. But to fend off collection calls, a debtor can send to a third-party debt collector a cease and desist letter. Under the Fair Debt Collections Practices act Section 805, whenever a third-party debt collector receives this letter, they must honor your request not to be called. In most states, a cease and desist letter does not apply to the original creditor. However, in Florida, the cease and desist letter also applies to the original creditor.

A debt settlement Florida cure cannot stop a lawsuit. However, the debts negotiated under a debt settlement Florida cure are "unsecured" accounts like credit cards, signature loans, and medical bills. These are debts with no collateral that a judgment creditor can attach. People in Florida are also exempt from a wage garnishment since they reside in a "wage garnishment-exempt" state. Finally, Florida homeowners can be protected from a property lien since they are allowed a 100 percent homestead protection on personal property.

In closing, in Florida it makes more sense for a creditor to negotiate a settlement of a debt in lieu of taking a debtor to court.

Read More Articles....