Due to my wife and I losing our jobs two years ago, plus my heart surgery, we can no longer pay our CC debt (we were current on $123,000 in CC debt until 5/08). Our savings are gone. She now has a part-time job and I do what I can on eBay, but it's barely enough to pay our expenses, not counting the CC debt.
Since we see no way to pay the CC debt, we assume bankruptcy is our only option (we're in Illinois).
We have a house with some equity (maybe 30K), but with the current housing market we don't think we can sell quickly enough to get the equity out. It's our "dream" log home we built 10 years ago, they're hard to sell in normal markets!

We need advice from experts, as it's difficult for us to think clearly & dispassionately at this point.

Should we try and hang in there until that new Federal home loan program starts?
How will $3-$5000 in inventory affect the bankruptcy proceedings?
I operate as a sole proprietor.

Thanks in advance for your help.

You are allowed some exemptions, some value to a home ( not based on your equity idea but on current appraised value of the home, you may find you owe more on it that it could sell for now) And certain other items, it is hard to tell exactly until you sit down with a bankrutpcy attorney and go though list of items after lists of items against the current exemptions in Ill.

You are allowed to retain up to $100,000 equity in the home if you file bankruptcy.

If it really is impossible to get caught up on the credit cards, you should discuss bankruptcy with a good attorney.

You could wait, and see if any of the credit cards attempt to sue you before you file though.

You might be able to work out a settlement with them, and if not, you can always file once you get served with a court date for the suit, if it happens.