Welcome to the Howard Hayes Bankruptcy Cambridge Site

A bankruptcy will stay on your record for approximately six years after it is discharged and will make it more difficult for you to borrow money. Despite this, there are things that you can do to gradually rebuild your credit after the bankruptcy is over.

You need to show financial institutions that you are a responsible and effective money manager. Most importantly, make sure you make your regular bill payments on time, don’t have any cheques bounce and do not overdraw your bank account even if you have overdraft protection.

Having a stable job history also helps so if you can, try to stay in the same job for at least a year. Even with the bankruptcy on your credit report, many banks will lend you money that is secured so that there is no risk to them. The important thing is that if you are borrowing it is because you want to, not because you need to.

There are many ways that you can borrow secured money. If you can, get a car loan or a mortgage and make all of your payments on time. Make a deposit to a bank and use it as security on a credit card. Then, if you don’t make your payments, the bank will just take it from the money in the deposit. Some banks will loan you money but instead of giving it directly to you, they put it into an RRSP and ask you to pay it back over time. If you do not, they will report it to the government as income and you will be required to pay taxes.

If you are able to get a small line of credit, use it to pay your regular bills and then pay back the line of credit right away. All of these things show future lenders that you are responsible and know how to manage your finances.

Rebuilding your credit takes hard work, dedication and money management skills. The two credit counselling sessions you will be required to complete during your bankruptcy is a great place to learn these skills. There are many good credit counselling agencies in Cambridge where somebody would be happy to help you learn to stay on top of your finances.

If you would like to find out more about how bankruptcy will affect your credit rating, or how you can improve your credit please call me at 519-622-3773 or send me an e-mail and I would be happy to answer your questions.