Time Magazine's recent story entitled Where are All the Foreclosure Lawyers? reveals to the country what many Florida residents already know – Florida's foreclosure laws are convoluted and confusing and most struggling homeowners cannot afford representation to mount a defense.
Because there is generally no financial aid for homeowners facing foreclosure, many mortgagees are unable to defend their homes from bank actions. Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop a foreclosure, but it o... Read Full Story
Time Magazine's recent story entitled Where are All the Foreclosure Lawyers? reveals to the country what many Florida residents already know – Florida's foreclosure laws are convoluted and confusing and most struggling homeowners cannot afford representation to mount a defense.
Because there is generally no financial aid for homeowners facing foreclosure, many mortgagees are unable to defend their homes from bank actions. Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop a foreclosure, but it o... Read Full Story
The Chattanooga Free Press reports that Chapter 13 debtors in Tennessee pay more back to creditors than much larger states like Texas, California or New York. As of September 30, 2008, Tennesseans had paid back over $558 million in active Chapter 13 cases. Texas Chapter 13 filers were second on the list, paying back $528 million, with Georgia third at $412 million.
Unlike most states, Tennessee debtors file a higher percentage of Chapter 13 cases. Here, 56% of debtors in 2008 filed Chapte... Read Full Story
*Note: For those unfamiliar with the bagel reference, you can find the explanation in this NY Post article along with some additional modern bankruptcy cultural history in this NY Observer article.
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*Note: For those unfamiliar with the bagel reference, you can find the explanation in this NY Post article along with some additional modern bankruptcy cultural history in this NY Observer article.
A reminder that we are always open to STR.I.P. Financing to help us continue to publish future strips of Bankruptcy Bill (ideally with more frequency). Please contact us to discuss sponsorship. And thanks to everyone who has purchased a bit of merchandise.
“Facebook #1”
Posters - now availab... Read Full Story
The U.S Federal Reserve anticipates that in FY2009, the economy may shrink by a figure anywhere between 0.5% and 1.3%. It may be attributed to increase in unemployment, crisis in the housing market and credit crunch. Owing to the subprime mortgage crisis, incidence of foreclosure and bankruptcy have increased manifold. In fact, one of the reputed subprime lenders BNC Mortgage LLC, a subprime lending unit of Lehman Brothers had to close down.
The economic slowdown in United States and in the h... Read Full Story
The Associated Press reports that the Federal Reserve Bank will be offering a "relief plan" to qualified homeowners whose loans were guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Under the Fed's new foreclosure prevention effort, homeowners may get a reduced interest rate, longer loan term or a lower total mortgage amount. The Federal Reserve policy statement is set out in general terms at the Federal Reserve web site.
It is unclear exactly how the Fed's policy will be imple... Read Full Story
The Associated Press reports that the Federal Reserve Bank will be offering a "relief plan" to qualified homeowners whose loans were guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Under the Fed's new foreclosure prevention effort, homeowners may get a reduced interest rate, longer loan term or a lower total mortgage amount. The Federal Reserve policy statement is set out in general terms at the Federal Reserve web site.
It is unclear exactly how the Fed's policy will be imple... Read Full Story
One of the more interesting features of Chapter 13 law is something called the "co-debtor stay." Set out at Section 1301(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, the co-debtor stay disallows collection action on consumer debt against co-debtors of the person filing for bankruptcy. A typical scenario - you file Chapter 13 and include a debt to Best Buy for a new television. Your mother co-signed the loan with you. Your Chapter 13 protects your mother from collection efforts for as long as you ... Read Full Story
The Los Angles Times recently ran a feature story about payday loans - those short term, high interest loans that service customers who need a cash advance in advance of their regular paychecks to cover emergency expenses. According to the story, Cleveland is where W. Allan Jones founded Check Into Cash, the granddaddy of modern payday lenders, which cater to millions of financially strapped working people with short-term loans — at annualized interest rates of 459%.
As attorneys and ... Read Full Story
