Walking Away
Some people are choosing to simply walk away from their homes in which they are underwater (i.e., they owe far more than the home is worth). Here's why:"Brent White, a University of Arizona law...
View ArticleUS bankruptcy filing rate near 5-year high
"The pace of U.S. bankruptcy filings edged up in May to the second-highest daily level since 2005, reflecting the difficulty Americans have in working off excess debt even as the economy...
View ArticleStop paying your mortgage?
"A growing number of the people whose homes are in foreclosure are refusing to slink away in shame. They are fashioning a sort of homemade mortgage modification, one that brings their payments all the...
View ArticleDebtor's Prison Rises Again?
"How often are debtors arrested across the country? No one can say. No national statistics are kept, and the practice is largely unnoticed outside legal circles. “My suspicion is the debt collection...
View ArticleBankrupt butcher's rotting meat
Sometimes business owners in bankruptcy close their business after a bankruptcy, and sometimes their busienss falls into disrepair -- this is perhaps an extreme example."State and county officials are...
View ArticlePersonal BK filings up 14% for 1st half of 2010
Personal bankruptcy filings are up 14% in the first 6 months of 2010. Link to American Bankruptcy Institute article here.
View ArticleHow Canada avoided a housing bubble
"In the United States, [mortgage-backed securities] grew to nearly 40 percent of mortgage originations in the past 10 years. Canada's private securitization market remained constant at less than 5...
View ArticleAutomated Debt Collection Lawsuits Engulf Courts
"No group has definitive statistics on debt collection lawsuits, but federal regulators, collection lawyers and judges say the numbers have increased and are straining the court system.Most consumers...
View ArticleEven the "Real Housewives" file for bankruptcy
Teresa Giudice, of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2009. I have personally verified the filing -- the bankruptcy case is 09-39032-MS, filed in the U.S....
View ArticleHome loan modifications hard to come by
Are you looking for a home loan modification? Good luck -- as it turns out, it really is like the proverbial needle in a haystack. According to the overseers of the federal home loan modification...
View ArticleNPR buys a toxic asset
National Public Radio has an interesting series on its purchase of a "toxic asset," a bond it purchased for $1,000 that is backed by subprime mortgages. They bought the bond back in December 2006, and...
View ArticleTax cut debate heats up
I thought I'd take a break from the bankruptcy posts today and bring you some news about the debate on the George W. Bush tax cuts."Most of the tax cuts that were a signature domestic initiative of...
View ArticleBorrowers Refuse to Pay Billions in Home Equity Loans
"Lenders wrote off as uncollectible $11.1 billion in home equity loans and $19.9 billion in home equity lines of credit in 2009, more than they wrote off on primary mortgages, government data shows. So...
View ArticleToo Much Shopping? Teresa and Joe Giudice of "Real Housewives" speak out...
Joe, a former successful real estate developer, explains that the bankruptcy filing had nothing to do with his wife's excessive shopping, and instead, was "almost all business" related."It was tenants...
View ArticleOctomom Going on Welfare, Faces Foreclosure
"[Nadya] Suleman has repeatedly fallen behind on her mortgage payments and her mortgage holder is ready to begin the foreclosure process "right now." She narrowly avoided foreclosure in April."More at...
View ArticleHow to Fix Bad Credit
"How do I dig myself out of this mess?" Many of my clients ask this -- whether it's because they just filed for bankruptcy, or after years of struggling with not enough income and too many expenses....
View ArticleThe Giudices Get Sued!
Your favorite Muppet-lookalike Teresa, and her husband juicy Joe Giudice (his legal name is Giuseppe; I will call them "T&J" for kicks) of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" fame were sued on...
View ArticleAnother "Real Housewives" bankruptcy
James Bellino, husband of “Real Housewife of Orange County”Alexis Bellino, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for his company...Bellino is president of Global Marine, Inc.— a single-asset...
View ArticleIsn't it Just Paperwork?
So why do we care about the notes, mortgages, and other documents that were supposed to be transferred into these large mortgage trusts that we keep seeing in the news? Well, it could mean Doomsday...
View ArticleLehman bankruptcy - $1.1 billion in fees
"While talk of the end of the bankruptcy boom is fast spreading, every month seems like holiday season in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, the largest in U.S. history. The tab for outside legal advisers...
View ArticleThe struggle between religious freedom and the rights of private associations
Despite the URL of this blog, in the next few months I'll be posting on a variety of other topics. I am now a sole practitioner, and will continue to focus on representing condominium associations and...
View ArticleGeorgia Peach Todd Chrisley (Reality Show Star) Knows Bankruptcy
USA Network just ordered up 8 episodes of a new reality show called "Chrisley Knows Best," following the exploits of Todd and Julie Chrisley and their five children who live in the Atlanta, Georgia...
View Article9th Circuit BAP Awards Sanctions Against HOA
I rarely post here anymore -- just have my fingers in too many projects. Here's the TL;DR summary of an interesting recent bankruptcy case in my current practice area:The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for...
View Article9th Circuit Holds All Debt Collectors Must Send FDCPA Validation Notices
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that all debt collectors must send the debtor the validation notices required under the FDCPA. In Hernandez v. Williams, Zinman & Parham P.C. (9th...
View ArticleHindsight is 20/20: WA Court of Appeals Declines to Invalidate Deed of Trust...
The Washington Court of Appeals, Division I, held on August 15, 2016 in a published decision that acceleration and foreclosure are separate options following a mortgage default, essentially declining...
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