Wednesday, December 7, 2011

End of Year Special! - Chapter 7 for $750 plus filing fee

End of Year Special! - Chapter 7 for $750 plus costs!!
Call 727/410-2705 to schedule your free consultation today!! 
Must pay in full by 12/31/11.  
Must mention this blog, Merchant Association Ad or Google Ad  at consultation.


 
 
*** No Motions or mediation included***

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Two more bankruptcy preparers facing possible criminal contempt charges

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/135034883.html

Bankruptcy is Not a Dirty Word

While bankruptcy has become business as usual for businesses  personal bankruptcies are still highly stigmatized.

I don’t think I’ve met more than a hand-full of people who aren’t troubled, or even traumatized, by the prospect of facing bankruptcy, even if their bankruptcies are the result,  of the actions of employers, or health care providers.

Individual debtors facing bankruptcy often feel further traumatized by a system which treats them as inept at best, or criminal at worst. Having learned something from the debtors’ prisons of Europe, as well as the “broken bench” of the guild system, both of which left a debtor’s family dependent on the alms of the church or wards of the state, our founders realized that aallowing a debtor to periodically discharge overwhelming debt, and retain the tools to support his family and rebuild his financial future is a better outcome for us all.

 





 

Of Interest 2

. The organization's analysis of 27 million mortgage loans originated over a five-year period found that 6.4 percent of mortgages made between 2004 and 2008 have ended in foreclosure, and an additional 8.3 percent are at immediate, serious risk. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/foreclosure-crisis-is-only-halfway-over-study-2011-12-05






http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/155570/Disclosure+Electronic+Discovery/Be+Careful+What+You+Ask+for+Loser+Pays+Prevailing+Party+Electronic+Discovery+Costs+Again&email_access=on




http://www.abajournal.com/blawg100

Law Loans

In 2010, 44,245 ABA law school graduates took on $3.6 billion in student loans, a sum that increased from $3.1 billion in 2008, American Law Daily reported yesterday. Law students are allowed to fully finance their legal educations (and living expenses) with a combination of $20,500 in Federal Direct Stafford Loans and Graduate in addition to loans that cover the remaining cost. Projections show that total annual graduate law school debt will double by the end of the decade ($7 billion/year). Public law schools will supplement subsidy shortfalls with tuition increases and alumni donations. Factoring in attrition adds about 4  percent to the debt totals, increasing the ten-year sum to $54.3 billion. http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2011/12/law-school-debt-bubble-part-ii-education-department-to-lend-543-billion-to-americas-law-schools-by-2.html

Of Interest

http://tampabankruptcylawyer.info/?gclid=CNXxxtyZ66wCFQKMtgod4xd0XA





http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/county-recorders-vs-the-mers-machine-11032011.html




http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/business/major-banks-face-new-foreclosure-suit.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1323098117-sSAkRrcl/0CtvvlRC3LPGw




http://www.loansafe.org/congresswoman-waters-renews-her-call-for-mortgage-servicer-accountability




http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sign_me_in.jsp?article=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.law.com%2Fjsp%2Fnlj%2FPubArticleNLJ.jsp%3Fid%3D1202534258263&et=editorial&bu=Law.com&cn=Law.com%20newswire%20-%20Dec.%205%2C%202011&src=EMC-Email&pt=LAWCOM%20Newswire&kw=Another%20Attorney%20General%20Takes%20Aim%20at%20Banks%20Over%20Foreclosure%2C%20Mortgage%20Practices&slreturn=1


http://www.law.com/jsp/lawtechnologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202534260112





http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/04/lobbyists-stealing-government.aspx?e_cid=20111204_SNL_Art_1

County Recorders vs. the MERS Machine

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/county-recorders-vs-the-mers-machine-11032011.html

Fannie Mae, banks halt foreclosures for the holiday

shttp://money.cnn.com/2011/12/01/real_estate/fannie_mae_foreclosure/



Moratorium will run from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2.

The average loan in foreclosure has been delinquent for 631 days. That’s nearly 21 months

http://moneyland.time.com/2011/12/02/foreclosure-timeline-lengthens-to-record-21-months/



Florida, for example, has gotten slammed in the foreclosure crisis. LPS shows that a whopping 22.8% of loans there — nearly one out of four — are not being kept current. Of those, 8.4% are delinquent and 14.4% are actually in foreclosure.

REO prices for the big Florida metro areas reflect the problem: In Tampa, for instance, prices were down in October by 6.7% from the year before, while in Miami, they were down 4.0% from the previous year. http://www.housingwire.com/2011/12/01/average-time-to-foreclose-sets-new-record-of-631-days

FHA has 7.3 million loans outstanding, a delinquency rate of 17 percent means over 1.2 million loans are delinquent. What's worse is FHA insures 100 percent of the losses on loans it insures, and as a result its loss severities are extremely high. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57335131/fhas-financial-condition-worsened-in-october/

The national median average price has dropped less but still substantially, from $248,000 in 2006 to $176,000 in this year’s third quarter. Another factor is continued low interest rates. Rates for a 30-year conforming loan (that is, a loan with a balance of $417,500 or less) were 4.23% last week, according to data released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association. http://moneyland.time.com/2011/11/28/home-affordability-near-highest-level-in-20-years/?iid=pf-article-editpicks

PMI Files For Bankruptcy

http://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news27411/pmi-group-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy

Foreclosure Crisis Isn’t Even Halfway Over, Analysis Finds

http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/foreclosure-crisis-isnt-even-halfway-over-analysis-finds/


While most of those who have lost their homes are white, the report found, African-American and Latino borrowers have been disproportionately affected. Roughly a fourth of all those borrowers have lost their home to foreclosure or are seriously delinquent, compared with just under 12 percent for white borrowers. Certain types of loans have much higher rates of completed foreclosures and serious delinquencies. They include loans originated by brokers; hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages, option ARMs, loans with prepayment penalties and loans with high interest rates (subprime).

Number of US households rated 'economically insecure' hits record high

A record 1 in 5 U.S. households saw their available household income decline by 25 percent or more from one year to the next from 2008 through 2010.



Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/12/01/131863/number-of-us-households-rated.html#ixzz1ffjhu400

Supreme Court hears arguments on Chapter 12 bankruptcy, insider trading

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/11/supreme-court-hears-arguments-on-farm-bankruptcy-insider-trading.php

Case Update

Sikes v. Crager,


2011 WL 4591889 (W. D. La, Sept. 30, 2011) (Hicks)

A Chapter 13 plan proposing to pay only attorney’s fees and with little or no meaningful distribution to creditors is a plan not proposed in good faith.

Kindle and ePub Versions of Bankruptcy Code

http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2011/11/kindle-and-epub-versions-of-bankruptcy-code.html

University of Illinois College of Law bankruptcy professor Robert Lawless and his research assistant, Scott Cromar, have created electronic versions of the Bankruptcy Code and Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.

IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGES TO BANKRUPTCY RULES 3001(c) and 3002.1 WEBINAR till 12/9/11

http://considerchapter13.org/implementation-of-changes-to-bankruptcy-rules-3001c-and-3002-1-webinar/

HOPE Hotline

Applying for a modification through HAMP is free, and homeowners interested in pursuing a modification can call the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline at 1.888.995.HOPE for more information and to make sure they receive help from a legitimate source.

GMAC stops buuying homes in MASS

Ally Financial Inc.'s GMAC Mortgage unit stopped buying home loans in Massachusetts after the state accused the five biggest mortgage lenders of conducting illegal foreclosures, Bloomberg News reported. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-12-02/ally-financial-will-halt-mortgage-purchases-in-massachusetts-after-lawsuit.html http://www.dsnews.com/articles/gmac-counters-lawsuit-with-decision-to-pull-lending-in-massachusetts-2011-12-02

Bankruptcy Filings Down

U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings totaled 100,980 nationwide during November, a 12 percent decrease from the 114,587 total consumer filings recorded in November 2010. NBKRC.com Chapter 13 filings constituted 31 percent of all consumer cases in November, a slight decrease from October.