SELLING SMALL STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS

Not everyone who has a structured settlement necessarily has a very large one. In fact, some people may have a structured settlement that is under $10,000 that they want to sell off. Some people have settlements that are above $10,000, but not by much, and may want to sell them off. Here are some of the reasons that you may want to consider doing so.

The Payments Don’t Amount to Much

With smaller settlements, you may get payments that really don’t count for much in your monthly budget. In fact, the payments may be small enough that you can’t use them for much during the course of any given month. This slow trickle of cash inflow might actually be more frustrating than it’s worth and it may be more convenient to just get rid of it.

If a small structured settlement is being paid off in very small increments, it may be because the person who is responsible for paying it had very little financial wherewithal and was allowed to pay it off very slowly. That person may, at some point, not make those payments at all, for various reasons. By selling off the settlement, you can eliminate this risk. You’ll just get a lump sum of cash and you no longer have to worry about the checks rolling in.

Small Settlements Can Sometimes Make a Big Difference

If your settlement was small, it may be because whatever accident or injury entitled you to it was not that severe. This may well mean that you have medical bills and other expenses that are too high to pay off all at once but not so high that they cost that much on a monthly basis.

Yet, every month, there you are, signing checks or paying online for a bill that you could just get rid of and be done with in one shot, if you had the money. This is one of the most common reasons that people choose to sell off their small structured settlements.

Consider the Time

If your structured settlement is essentially going directly to bills related to whatever court case or out of court settlement got you the settlement, you’re probably investing a lot of time in managing the debt. If you waited out the full term of the structured settlement, you may find that you got a bit more money than you would by selling it, but it might not be that much, given that the amount is so low already. It might just be easier to sell it off and here’s why.

With the lump sum of cash, all of the time and energy you’re spending managing that debt can go away. It might cost you a bit to sell off the settlement, but that money is easily recouped by freeing up the time you’re probably spending dealing with paying for medical expenses and so forth. The convenience factor here is definitely worth mentioning, as it’s a prime motivator in why people sell off their settlements.

Will the Buyers Be Interested?

With smaller settlements, you—and the agency that buys the settlement—will be doing more work for less money. There’s really no way around this, given that the settlement amount is smaller. This is something that you’ll have to figure out by contacting us to see if your settlement is one that we would be interested in buying.

If the settlement is sufficient and if there is a mutual benefit in selling it off, it can be sold in the same way that any other settlement can be sold off. You’ll have to go through the process that applies in your state, including a court hearing, if necessary. Once that is all taken care of, you’ll be ready to go.

Weighing the Options

Is waiting for the small settlement to pay off in full over the course of months or year’s worth it? That’s really up to you. If the money you get every month seems so little that you’re basically using it for spending money and, thereby, wasting it, there is something to consider.

It’s a lot easier to spend $5,000 in $100 chunks than it is to spend it in $2,500 chunks. This is just the way human brains work. If you’re worried that you’re just wasting the smaller checks you get every month from your settlement, getting it all at once and putting it into an investment or savings account might be a very good idea. It can prevent you from spending your entire settlement nickel by nickel without even realizing what you’re doing.

With smaller settlements, the sums are sometimes excellent amounts to have around in case of an emergency. For instance, if you sell off your $10,000 settlement and you get into a car wreck, you’ll be glad that you have it in your savings so that you can replace or repair your car quickly and handle most of the other emergency expenses that come up. If you were waiting on small payments, they really wouldn’t be that helpful, in most cases.

I Heard I Should Wait

There is so much financial advice on the Internet that it’s easy to get confused about any given issue, selling settlements included. You’ll find strong opinions advocating for and against selling off your structured settlement. Should you or shouldn’t you? It’s not an insignificant question.

The answer, however, is something that you should determine for yourself. When you’re reading financial advice, remember that it’s a bit like medical advice. You can give it generally, but it’s not always useful in that form. If your financial situation means that waiting around for $10,000 or so to pay off over a long period of time is really not worth it, you may want to sell. If you want to wait for it to pay, go ahead and do so. Whatever you do, make sure that you’re making the best possible decision for you and for your financial future. There is a great deal of information and advice out there, but your situation is unique and only you know what’s best for your financial future.

Source : http://cashfuturepayments.com/blog/selling-small-structured-settlements/