Bankruptcy in Sydney - Choices, Choice, Choices

 When it comes to Bankruptcy Sydney, there are a ton of choices that we get given depending on who we are, who we approach, and just what has gone wrong. The most common trouble I see with Bankruptcy is when it comes to selecting between Debt Consolidation, Personal Insolvency Agreements, and Bankruptcy itself.

Should I consolidate my debts?

When it comes to Bankruptcy in Sydney, most of the facts you receive on this subject matter will reflect the interests of the advice giver. That is why, if you call a debt consolidation provider, I can guarantee you they will tell you to consolidate your debts. The debt consolidation operation is a multi-billion dollar industry making money in one very basic way: charging you a fee for helping you wrap every one of your credit card and personal loans into one neat and tidy package.

I hate to tell you this but they aren't going to be doing it free of charge. Please do not misunderstand me: if you think your financial issues in Sydney may possibly be fixed by paying less interest, then go ahead and look into the options. Even a little amount of interest saved over years rapidly adds up.

Generally I find if you are reading this blog you've most likely tried to consolidate your debts already and come to the following realisations like these:

• Your credit rating is no good, and your credit file already has nonpayments on it so nobody will give you a loan, consolidated or otherwise,.

• By the time you work all of it out, you're so far down a hole that saving a small amount of interest just won't make a lot of difference,.

• You've likely gotten to the point where you've had more than enough, you're mentally exhausted, you can't go on yet another day ignoring blocked calls on your phone, ignoring the demands in the mail and so on.

Personal Insolvency Agreements

So when it relates to Bankruptcy in Sydney, what's the huge difference between a Debt Agreement and a Personal Insolvency Agreement?

Overall flexibility is the main point Personal Insolvency Agreements (PIA) have in their favour. They're also administered by a registered and - may I add - regulated trustee featuring the government trustee ITSA, and not a private business that advertises on TV. Basically this process resembles Debt Agreements (DA): The trustee has a meeting with the people you owe money to and these experts arrange a deal on your behalf. You can give a lump sum settlement figure or enter into a payment plan, or perhaps you can offer them assets instead of cash. This can sound fine when it comes to the troubles with Bankruptcy - that is until you realise that one of the difficulties with PIA's is that 75 % of the people you owe money to need to agree on the deal. If they don't, your proposal is rejected or needs to be renegotiated.

Generally the people you owe money really want all their money back plus interest. Sometimes they'll opt for less than the amount you owe them - it's generally a percentage of the debt - but allow me to stress this part: because of all the variables involved in the negotiation process to put together a PIA its difficult to put a figure on what the people you owe money to will really settle for.

Most of the time you'll have to pay back 100 % of the debt owed. This is not because your creditors are greedy or have a mean streak, it's because the administrators take 20 % of whatever is agreed upon with the people you owe money to. That applies whether you use a private company for this process or ITSA, the government body setup to administer to these PIAs.

When it comes to Bankruptcy and insolvency I've heard of creditors choosing less 80 % on rare occasions, but that usually only occurs with a public company going into receivership owing huge sums of money (the kind that makes the news). If you are were owed $10million and you know the people who owe you the money have a team of smart lawyers and some very clever structures in place and they offer 5 % of the debt, you might take it and be grateful. Sadly, ordinary punters like you and me in Sydney aren't going to get that lucky!

If you would like to learn more about what to do, where to turn and what questions to ask about Bankruptcy, then feel free to contact Bankruptcy Experts Sydney on 1300 795 575, or visit our website:bankruptcyexpertsSydney.com.au.