Austin Debt Settlement
Settling debts through negotiation is an ethical method of relieving debt that thousands of Texan consumers have chosen to make use of over filing for bankruptcy. Debt Settlement has helped many debtors throughout Texas cities such as Austin, Dallas, and Houston attain freedom from their unsecured debts. If you’re struggling to keep up with making payments on your debts, settlement could be a solution that could ease the burden and help you get your finances back on track without needing to file for bankruptcy.
Austin Debt Statistics
With less than $5,900 in average credit card debt per household, Austin consumers carry a significantly lower amount compared to Texas’ state average of nearly $7,000/household. The average household income in Austin is $86,281, which is higher than the average income in Houston ($80,950), Dallas ($76,000), and the Texas state average of $81,300 per household.
Across the state, Texans carry an average total debt of around $38,000, well below the national average of $46,000, but Texas is one of the top 5 worst states in the country in terms of the amount of bankruptcies that are filed per 1,000 residents.
Common Debt Relief Methods Used by Austin Consumers
Texans seeking debt relief have access to a wide array of programs and strategies to help them get back to even when it comes to their unsecured debt. These are a few of the methods which debtors make use of in Austin:
Balance Transfer Credit Cards in Austin
Balance transfer credit cards are a low-interest debt relief option that work to reduce the overall amount that is paid into interest. If they qualify, a debtor can open a balance transfer credit card account and use that credit to pay off their existing unsecured debt, leaving only the low interest credit card payment to handle every month. The disadvantage with balance transfer cards is that they can have steep credit requirements which consumers with less than average credit may not be able to meet.
Austin Debt Management or Credit Counseling Programs
Debt management programs can be beneficial for consumers in Austin who are willing to accept financial guidance from a credit counseling agency. In a typical debt management program, a debtor makes a single payment monthly to a counseling agency who distributes the payments among creditors. Ideally, during this process, the counseling agency can negotiate lower interest rates with creditors as well.
The disadvantage with debt management programs is that they cannot reduce the amount of principal debt that a debtor has to repay, but may be able to at least reduce the interest rate of a debt.
Austin Debt Consolidation Loans
Debt Consolidation is a form of debt relief that involves taking out a larger loan with a low-interest rate to repay other unsecured debts that have higher interest rates. With a lower interest rate, a debtor will lose less capital to interest throughout the duration of the repayment. Consolidation is also beneficial in that it can help organize your debts by combining many or all of them into a single monthly payment.
Similarly to balance transfer cards and credit counseling, the disadvantage with consolidation is that it only treats burden of interest and cannot reduce the principal balance of a debt.
Debt Settlement or Debt Negotiation in Austin
Austin Debt Settlement is different from both consolidation and counseling in that it can work to reduce the principal debt balance in addition to negotiating lower interest rates. So, a settlement can reduce the amount that a debtor has to pay in interest and lower the original debt that they were trying to repay by up to 50%.
Debt Settlement can be one of the quickest paths to attaining financial freedom from debt. However, in some cases, creditors may simply not be willing to negotiate a debt anymore, leaving a debtor with little to no other options other than bankruptcy.
Filing for Bankruptcy
When a consumer files for bankruptcy all collection efforts stop, but a debtor may still have to repay all or some of their debt depending on which type of bankruptcy is filed. Bankruptcy often does more damage to your credit score than settlement does as well, but it can be a viable option for those with creditors who are past the point of negotiation.
How Debt Settlement Works in Austin
Debt settlement is a form of debt relief that involves negotiating a lump sum payment with creditors to repay a debt. This payment can amount to much less than the original amount owed with debtors only having to repay 40-50% of the principal debt in the best-case scenarios. Once the creditor has received the full payment, the debt is considered to be repaid.
Generally, creditors will agree to negotiate a settlement rather than losing the entire debt in a bankruptcy proceeding.
Benefits of Negotiating Debt in Austin with New Era
- No upfront or add-on fees. Debt settlement is a service that can only be legally charged for after the debt has been settled. Companies that charge a debtor for anything before this are breaking the law. With New Era, you only pay a fee after the debt has been fully settled.
- All-in-one service. Many settlement agencies are only sales groups that pass their clients along to another company to handle the settlement. This means that multiple parties are getting access to your financial information and the sales group may have little or no control how the settlement turns out in the end. At New Era, we handle cases from beginning to end.
- Experienced settlement firm. New Era Debt Solutions has over 20 years of experience and has settled over $275,000,000 in debt for our clients. Over the years, our firm has built a track record for success because of the relationships we’ve built with creditors which allow for the best settlement deals to be reached. Check out our client testimonials to get an idea of what it’s like to work with our programs.
Start Your Journey to Freedom from Debt in Austin Today
If you’re in need of debt help in Texas, contact New Era for a free analysis with a debt expert. Let us show you how much time and money you can save with the right type of debt relief solution for your financial needs. Contact us at New Era Debt Solutions to figure out your options for debt relief in Austin.