Conditions have never been more favorable for debt settlements than they are now.
For this reason, the question is not whether you should try to eliminate some or all of your secured debt, but whether or not you should negotiate a settlement by yourself, or hire a debt settlements company to represent you.
It is possible to negotiate your own settlements with financial institutions.
However, with that said, it is wiser to use a reputable company to represent you for a multitude of reasons.
The first reason that you should use a debt settlements company, instead of negotiating your own deals, is that legitimate companies already have established relationships with most financial institutions that hold unsecured debt.
This means that the companies that they are dealing with are more likely to not only agree to a settlement, but also more likely to agree to a more favorable settlement for you.
This is very important to you, because it means that you save more money.
Reputable companies, who are members of the TASC (the Association of Settlement Companies), will be able to settle between 50% and 80% of what you owe.
That is huge, as most individuals who try to settle on their own only see 30% settlements on average.
Also, one of the first things that you do when you decide to go with debt settlements is stop paying the bill on those unsecured debts.
If you were to do this without any type of representation, the creditors would definitely start harassing you - calling your home, your job, your friends, and anyone else that they can think of.
But with that representation, this is something that you won't have to contend with.
You can direct all communication to the company that you have hired to work for you instead.
Overall, using a debt settlements company essentially means that you can settle more of your unsecured debt, in a shorter period of time, with little or no harassment from the creditors, and have general peace of mind throughout the process.
With all of those benefits, why would you even want to try to negotiate your own settlements?