If you’ve ever lived in Beaver County, you know about Van Buren Homes. It’s the landmark housing cooperative community in Vanport, just off of the Beaver exit of I-376, and it has been in existence since 1955. Upon buying into the cooperative, residents can live in the community as long as they would like for a small, monthly maintenance fee.
Van Buren Homes recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing problems with tax payments and a couple of pending lawsuits. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy will allow Van Buren to restructure its debts and stay in operation. Luckily for Van Buren residents and all of Beaver County, there is no reason why Van Buren Homes won’t continue to be a Beaver County institution for years to come.
This story provides a valuable reminder that financial troubles can happen to anyone, but it is not the end of the world. While Chapter 11 bankruptcies are usually used to restructure debts for businesses, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be used to restructure debts of individuals. Here’s an example: Judy has a good job as a teacher making $50,000 per year. She is a single mom and, while her kids are older now, she had to turn to credit cards to pay for things over the years like clothing, books and college tuition. Now, Judy finds herself paying so much money for minimum payments on credit cards that she is short on money for car repairs, home repairs and other necessary expenses. She has some money that she can use to repay the credit cards each month, just not as much as what they are asking for.
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy would be perfect for Judy. She can repay what she can afford to the credit cards for 5 years and have the rest of the debt forgiven at the end. This means that she will be able to comfortably pay for her living expenses each month and not pay be paying off her credit card debt until she is 90.
By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Van Buren Homes will be able to get a handle on its debts and ensure that it will be able to provide quality, affordable housing to Beaver County residents for years to come. If you find yourself overwhelmed by debt, give Steidl & Steinberg a call at 800-360-9392 to see if a reorganization of your debt is in order. By reorganizing your debt, you can get some financial breathing room while still making your best effort to repay your creditors, which is the best of both worlds.