Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans

Re:Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans by amorphid on Thursday December 14, 2017 @12:11AM (#15920095)

USA checking in. I declared chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010. Chapter 7 bankruptcy eliminates 100% of your dischargable debt. When the bankruptcy process had completed, I still owed ~200,000 USD, which was 140,000 USD in student loans and 60,000 USD in back taxes that were less than 3 years old, neither of which were dischargable.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans by verylongname on Thursday December 14, 2017 @03:08PM (#15926448)

In order to owe $60,000 in back taxes, you had to have income. Where did that income go? Were the original loan amounts even higher? Loans of $140,000 sound awfully high for an undergraduate degree. Did you attend a professional school (law school/dental/medical)?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans by amorphid on Thursday December 14, 2017 @08:34PM (#15929044)

The recession happened, and I attempted to find a job while living on money I had set aside for taxes. That was a flawed plan. About 70% of the loans were from grad school.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans by SeoxyS on Thursday December 14, 2017 @10:49AM (#15923167)

At this point, couldn't you just arbitrage it, and take out loans / mortgages / cash advances / credit cards just to pay off student loans and back taxes, after after which you'd actually declare bankruptcy.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans by lotsofpulp on Thursday December 14, 2017 @01:04PM (#15924678)

If a lender is going to approve a sufficiently large loan to someone with $200k in student loans and tax debt, and without a high income, they would not be in business for long.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans by amorphid on Thursday December 14, 2017 @08:35PM (#15929052)

I was already tapped out. There was no more money to be borrowed.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans by notfromhere on Thursday December 14, 2017 @01:44PM (#15925317)

That's called fraud and you will go to prison for it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans by mcntsh on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:45PM (#15927963)

How is that fraud?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Nearly 5M Americans in Default on Student Loans by amorphid on Thursday December 14, 2017 @08:37PM (#15929059)

If you borrow money, and it can be demonstrated you never intended to make a good faith effort to pay it back, you're going to have a bad time.

[ Parent | on HN ]