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Yesterday I met with Michelle Miranda, the Manager of Credit Counselling at the Family Counselling Centre of Brant, located at 54 Brant Avenue (about a five minute walk from my office at 218 Brant Avenue).
The Family Counselling Centre of Brant is the only not-for-profit credit counseling agency in Brantford that offers one-on-one, face-to-face meetings with people experiencing financial problems. Michelle and her team can help people learn to budget, and they can negotiate payment arrangements with your creditors, called a debt management plan.
As described in our article on credit counselling in Brantford, a debt management plan typically involves your creditors agreeing to a reduced or zero interest rate, provided you repay them in full over no more than a five year period.
According to Ms. Miranda, the typical debt management plan they do in Brantford would be for a person with between $10,000 and $20,000 in debts, and would involve payments of $200 to $400 per month over a period of up to five years.
Family Counselling Centre of Brant has a great deal of success negotiating debt management plans with various types of debts, including credit cards, bank loans, and even finance company and payday loans.
In my experience debt management plans are a great option if you are able to pay your debts in full, but you need some time, say two to five years, to make the payments. Debt management plans work best if you have a good income, and a manageable amount of debt.
If you have more debt than you can repay over a two to five year period, then a consumer proposal or a bankruptcy may be a better option.
Whether it's a debt management plan, consumer proposal, or bankruptcy, help is available, and the sooner you get help, the sooner you can get your financial life back on track.
For more information on credit counselling or debt management plans, contact Family Counselling Centre of Brant in Brantford at (519) 753-4173. For information on consumer proposals or bankruptcy, please call the Hoyes Michalos office in Brantford at (519) 770-4440.
Filed as: credit counselling, debt management plan, personal bankruptcy, bankruptcy Brantford, consumer proposal
I had a meeting today with Tom Mattice, a real estate agent with Royal Lepage Action Realty here in Brantford. Tom told me that since the beginning of September he has seen a definite softening of the real estate market here in Brantford. According to Tom, "the last three years have been booming, and we are now starting to return to more normal activity, like we had five years ago in Brantford."
The real estate market has not increased as much in Brantford as it has in areas like Toronto, so Brantford's real estate market will "soften", but probably not experience significant declines.
However, Tom pointed out that CMHC is projecting that mortgage interest rates will increase over the next year from around 5.5% to 7.25%, which mathematically is an increase of over 30%! That means if you are paying $1,000 per month in mortgage interest now, that could increase to $1,300 per month when you renew your mortgage next year.
Since most people have not had 30% pay increases this year, that will take a big bite out of everyone's budgets, and that doesn't include increases in property taxes, heat, hydro and other costs.
If interest rates continue to increase, and house prices in Brantford do fall, it is possible that some people will be forced to sell their homes at a loss, which may lead to an increase in the bankruptcy rate in Brantford.
Tom's advice? If you have a lot of debt and you are thinking about selling your house to use the equity to repay some of your debts, now is probably the time to sell. If you wait until next year, it's possible that house prices will be lower.
If you live in the Brantford area and want an independent evaluation of the value of your home, or if you are thinking of buying or selling a home, Tom Mattice can be reached at his Brantford office at (519) 753-7311.
If you have more debt than you can handle, and want advice on strategies to deal with your debt, please call our Brantford office at (519) 770-4440 or e-mail us a question and we would be happy to set up a no-charge initial consultation.
Filed as: personal bankruptcy, bankruptcy Brantford, bankruptcy Ontario
Collection agents are very good at collecting money. (In fact, there is a large collection agency right here in Brantford). Collection agents will use "every trick in the book" to get you to pay what you owe. They will threaten to take you to court, and may even tell you that you will go to jail if you don't pay your debts.
It is true that if you don't pay your debts, they can take you to court. If they win in court, they can request a Garnishment Order from the Judge, which allows them to garnishee your wages. If they get a Garnishment Order, you have three choices:
1. let them garnishee your pay until the debt is paid in full;
2. file a consumer proposal; or
3. declare bankruptcy.
However, they cannot put you in jail for not paying your debts. In Canada, thankfully, you only go to jail if you are charged with or convicted of committing a criminal offense. If you kill someone, you will go to jail. Not paying your debts is not a criminal offense, so they won't put you in jail for that.
If you commit fraud, you can go to jail. If you rob a bank, you can go to jail. But using a credit card, fully expecting to be able to pay it, and then losing your job and not being able to pay it, is not a criminal offense.
Of course collection agents generally only call you if you owe money, so if you cannot make payment arrangements with them directly, it may be time to consider outside help, so please give our Brantford trustee office a call at (519) 770-4440 and we can discuss your options for dealing with your debts, including debt consolidation, credit counselling, consumer proposals or a bankruptcy.
Tagged as debt consolidation loan, credit counseling, consumer proposal, personal bankruptcy, bankruptcy Brantford, bankruptcy Ontario
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This site is sponsored by Hoyes Michalos
& Associates Inc.
If you're having financial difficulties and live in the Brantford area, call (519) 770-4440 today to meet with one of our experts, or complete the ask a question form to send us a message and we'll get in contact with you.
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