Overwhelmed yet hopeful in Tucson

[Sandra S.]

Hello All, 

We are an early 30's childless (except for two fur babies) married couple who recently moved to Tucson from New York City. We are new to investing, and trying to soak up as much information as possible. Feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment but trying to stay upbeat. We fell into a dismal financial situation in NYC (medical bills, costly immigration fees, snowballing living expenses...) and decided to move to Tucson where the cost and pace of living is more manageable. After much thought and many tears, we decided to declare bankruptcy to discharge $60K in debt. While I feel like a huge failure for conceding to bankruptcy (we  worked so hard to always pay every single bill on time without fail and maintained 711 credit score until filing) the stress of the rat race was affecting our sanity and health. 

SO NOW.... I'm afraid that having declared bankruptcy leaves us very little options in the arena of real estate investing. 

We have $8K cash, and $30K in an IRA that I rolled over from 401K when I left my employer in NYC. So we don't have a lot.

Caveat to the bankruptcy: Only I am actually filing bankruptcy. My husband is not filing, however all debts will be discharged in both our names since they were incurred since we married. We still expect his credit to be decimated though.

My husband also has 1/3 ownership with his father & brother in a multi family building in London worth at least $1M, with a $400K mortgage which is more than covered by tenant rents. His grandfather owns a few other properties in London that are positive cash flow from tenant rents, and a $1M+ house that is owned outright as primary residence. His family is open to investing/helping us here.

Where do we start???

Or have we closed all avenues since declaring bankruptcy? (for the next 7 years at least).

My husband is currently working a sales management job (that he absolutely hates) with a $40K salary, and I am currently not working yet here in Tucson (though receiving $425 weekly in unemployment from NYC). We have exactly enough money to cover our monthly bills. Both of us are looking for jobs here we don't totally hate and will allow us to save at least something to put towards investing. (We left $80K jobs each in NYC so this is humble pie for us, however living expenses are much less here). We are renting a 1 bedroom for $765 (versus $2100 in NYC).

Just not sure what avenue to pursue now to maximize what (little) we do have and get kickstarted on the right path in real estate. ANY advice very much welcomed! 😊