SC credit card debt

[palmettobug]

What is the name of your state? SC

I've been in business for myself for the past 10 years and, due to some bad real estate deals with an incompetent partner and a downturn in my income, I've fallen behind on my credit cards, which now total about $75k with fees, etc.

I've made a couple of payments to each of them over the past 6-9 months but usually just enough to keep it from charge off. My income is up and down and unpredictable or I'd gone to a credit counseling firm and got on a repayment plan.

Asset-wise, I've got maybe $15k in home equity, a 10-year old minivan and a leased Toyota, a couple of rental houses that have about $25k in equity total and that's about it.

I've gotten a couple of attorney letters in the past week about arbitration and pursuing things to the fullest extent of the law but I don't know exactly what that means in SC. Also, I'm in the securities business and filing bankruptcy would damage my business so I'm a little scared of doing that. But, I don't want to have someone forcibly sell my assets, either. I need some advice desperately!

Thanks.

[anon29072]

Believe it or not, S.C. is one of the better states in terms of protecting debtors. Wages cannot be garnished, and your personal property cannot be seized. Exceptions would be if the property item was being used as collateral.

The most extreme thing a creditor can do is file a lawsuit and get a judgement against you. If you own a house or other realestate you will not be able to sell or refinance for a period of 10 years unless you pay off the judgement(s) first. Judgements in S.C. are for 10 years and they are not renewable, so after 10 years they cannot be legally collected - thus making them null and void.

Hope this info helps.

[palmettobug]

anon:
Thanks for the info. How do you know all of this stuff - are you an attorney and can I rely on this info? I certainly don't want to proceed with a wrong notion in mind. Thanks again.

[anon29072]

No, I am not an attorney, but I've been through it. I've done a lot of reading and research and most of my information was learned on forums just like this.

As for waiting out a judgement, ten years can seem like a long time. Sometimes, I wonder if bankruptcy would have been a better way out. You live and learn. I'm in the clear now. I've got my good credit back and I just refinanced my house recently.

Good luck to you!

[Ladynred]

Wait a minute.. there is no prohibition against siezing property in SC if there's a judgment ! I lived in SC for 10 years, believe me, I know what the law says there. You have a certain amount of exemptions just like all other states. If you have any property over and above those exemptions, its fair game for a judgment creditor. You have rental properties - these can NOT be exempted with the homestead exemption. With that much debt, you could be facing a forced sale on one or more of those properties.

The SC Code on exemptions is here:
[url]http://www.scstatehouse.net/code/t15c041.htm[/url]

They cannot garnish wages in SC, but they can levy bank accounts.

You can refuse arbitration and I would suggest that you do so anyway. Even if they go forward anyway and grant an award against you, the award in and of itself is just so much T.P. They would have to go to court to have it turned into a judgment in order for them to do anything.

Arbitration refusal letter can be found here:
[url]http://community-2.webtv.net/YCHANGE/STORAGE/page17.html[/url]

[anon29072]

Ladynred may be correct in terms of rental property that you own. That was not an issue to deal with in my my situation. As for levying a bank account, well I can only state that I had three judgements filed against me from three different creditors and never were any of my bank accounts levied, nor were there any attempts to levy them. The judgements stayed for 10 years and are now expired.

If you want to know for sure, consult a local attorney who deals with bankruptcy, etc. He/she should be able to give you a more definitive answer on how a judgement can affect you here in this state.