Ok, this is unconventional – My mom is disabled. Her home was affected by Katrina. Her home is finally fixed. However, during the past two years, she’s accrued close to 0,000 in credit card bills to pay off some of the repairs since a lot the funds from the insurance and the government were not enough. Additionally, since she is disabled and receives little from the government, she has been unable to pay enough or on time. Her interest has gone up to 25-30% on 4 cards. I have good credit. I own a condo. I want to at least help her by getting a home equity loan (basically a second mortgage) even though I want to get a loan in a couple of years to buy a house. She’s considered bankruptcy with Chapter 13 in order to not jeopardize her home, which she paid off with some of the funds received from Katrina. It seems she has no way out; and I hate to be in this situation from my own financial balance. What can be done? She needs serious help; and I don’t want to jeopardize my credit.

(more…)