Another credit/BI question

[FLPDwannabe]

I have a question that I haven’t really been able to an answer to.
I’ve been in the process of applying to different agencies for about 16 months now and a lot has changed since and I’m curious how it’s all looked at and weighed.

The company I work for started laying people off and cutting salaries and hours. I was given the choice of losing hours and pay by going to another department or being laid off. Needless to say I choose to keep working for a lot less money (a little under a third) and look for a better job. Job hunting hasn’t been very successful due to the economy.

Now I’m having credit issues due to my current income not covering my bills. I’m actually considering bankruptcy to settle these issues. Almost all of the debt is from mortgages on investment properties. I’ve owned them for about 5 years and never even had a late payment prior to the employment situation. Now the banks are foreclosing and threatening to sue for the delinquencies.

I’m really curious how this is all weighed, I know credit is a major issue. Considering I know my boss is giving me a great review, he is part of the reason I started applying to begin with, all information has been completely honest and I would like to think some details would be viewed favorably. I know some of my background cannot be verified due to record keeping, for example, my old driving history is no longer available. FDLE informed of that so I gave them a copy I had from previous job applications and disclosed things that could not be verified if I didn’t have a copy of my driver’s history. I had an issue with tickets in high school but only 1 ticket in the last 9 or 10 years.

I’ve been told by B.I’s that my background was pretty good before these credit issues started but now can’t get an answer how credit is rated. The other departments I’ve applied to are currently on hiring freezes so I’m sitting in limbo with them and unable to get answers.

Sorry to be so long but I'm really curious and concered how this will all look.

[PhilipCal]

While I'm personally very sympathetic to your situation, it will have to be judged in the light of a given Department's standards. The current economy has been devastating to many people like yourself. My suggestion to you is this. Speak with a Recruiter,or some knowledgeable Officer at an agency you're interested in. Discuss your situation with him/her. In a very general sense, a Bankruptcy may not be a Disqualifier. This will often depend on how recent it is, and on what caused it. Indebtedness, in and of itself, is not a disqualifier. The manner in which an applicant is handling debt at the the time of his application IS important. You know your situation far better than I do, but you might want to look into some debt renegotiation/consolidation. Be very careful here though, as many so called "debt settlement" and restructuring firms have really crawled out of the woodwork since this downturn began. Hope things work out for you.

[FLPDwannabe]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I've tried talking to the recruiters at some of the departments I've already applied to and it's almost like they dismiss the question, they got the application and passed it on to the next department and that's all they want to do with it. I've tried talking to other recruiters and they basically said it will hurt but apply and see. I've talked to a few of the experienced officers that I do know and haven't gotten any answers I like, they all know me and all their answers seem biased in my favor and kind of dismiss as you're a good guy in a bad spot.

Trying to do dept settlement isn't really an option until I get a job with a decent pay check and at this rate it will be to late. I really took a huge pay cut in order to keep working, the check I get now basically pays for food water and electric. I don't do good sitting home and they give me time off for interviews when I need it, and it beats collecting unemployment. I'm not cracking it but I go nuts when I've got nothing to do.