Archive for February, 2010

U.S. mortgage delinquencies at new high

Aarthi Sivaraman
SEATTLE
Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:22pm EST
Housing Market
Among U.S. homeowners with mortgages, 7.91 percent were at least 30 days late on payments in November, up from 7.76 percent in October, according to the monthly data the credit bureau provided exclusively to Reuters on Wednesday.
Delinquencies are an indication of future consumer bankruptcy filings, according to Equifax.
“(Consumers) [...]

February 26, 2010   Posted in: Bankruptcy News  No Comments

Millions More Are At Risk Of Foreclosure Than Anyone Realizes

Mark Hanson | Dec. 7, 2009, 5:45 AM
Most look to loan type and equity position as two of the most important factors when forecasting loan default. In fact, I believe that epidemic negative-equity is the overarching reason that the default, foreclosure and housing crisis remains in the early innings. But…negative-equity with a caveat.
While [...]

February 22, 2010   Posted in: Bankruptcy News  No Comments

The $555,000 Student-Loan Burden

by Mary Pilon
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
from:

When Michelle Bisutti, a 41-year-old family practitioner in Columbus, Ohio, finished medical school in 2003, her student-loan debt amounted to roughly $250,000. Since then, it has ballooned to $555,000.

Andrew Spear for The Wall Street Journal

Michelle Bisutti borrowed $250,000 to pay for medical school. The debt has [...]

February 17, 2010   Posted in: Bankruptcy News  No Comments

New Treasury Rules to Protect Benefits

Moves Could Keep Banks From Seizing Social Security
By ELLEN E. SCHULTZ (Wall Street Journal)

The Treasury Department is seeking to plug a loophole that has allowed banks to drain millions of dollars in fees from the Social Security benefits of elderly and disabled customers.
At issue are the accounts of customers whose Social Security benefits are deposited [...]

February 15, 2010   Posted in: Bankruptcy News  No Comments

How are Modifications Programs Doing?

On November 30th 2009 The Treasury Department announced it intended to increase the pressure put on lenders and services to move those with a trial loam modification to a full blown restructured loan.
Over the past few months the government has been telling tales of success in the trial modification program.  However, over 650,000 borrowers entered [...]

February 11, 2010   Posted in: Bankruptcy News  No Comments

HOME MORTGAGE FORECLOSURES RISE IN THIRD QUARTER

Banks and government agencies are ramping up their efforts to save troubled home loans, but not fast enough to keep the wave of foreclosures from rising, according to a government housing report released Monday, the Christian Science Monitor reported yesterday. Mortgage problems rose during the third quarter, with 6.2 percent of all loans seriously delinquent [...]

February 9, 2010   Posted in: Bankruptcy News  No Comments

Go Ahead, Walk Away From Your Mortgage!

Mayer Newton

Go Ahead, Walk Away From Your Mortgage!
www.businessinsider.com
Worried about being “immoral”?  How quaint.
Roger Lowenstein gives Americans permission to do what companies do every day:1.  Ask for a better deal, and/or
2.  Walk away.
[V]oluntary defaults are a new phenomenon. Time was, Americans would do anything to pay their mortgage — forgo a new car or a [...]

February 4, 2010   Posted in: Bankruptcy News  No Comments

Tax Transcripts Are Available Where?

Until recently, to obtain a copy of your tax transcript you had to drive to a downtown location, wait and line and quickly fill out forms you might not have all the answers. However our office has just learned that the IRS has recently created a pdf form that one can fill out online [...]

February 1, 2010   Posted in: Bankruptcy News  No Comments