MORTGAGE RESCUE FRAUD: WHY CHOOSE SCAMS OVER CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY?

MORTGAGE RESCUE FRAUD: WHY CHOOSE SCAMS OVER CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY?             More sad news for distressed homeowners recently. Mortgage foreclosure scams are still prevalent and still costing people their homes. Two recent articles point out the dangers associated with these scams: http://www.presstelegram.com/general-news/20160825/long-beach-pastor-admits-to-running-3-million-mortgage-scam http://www.housingwire.com/articles/37821-florida-attorney-general-fights-alleged-foreclosure-fraud-firm             Unfortunately, the story is all too familiar: A family is in […]

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RISING CREDIT SCORES BRING MORE DEBT

A recent Wall Street Journal article looked at the falling percentage of consumers with “sub-prime” credit scores. The article can be found here. This is certainly good news for anyone wanting to buy a home, car or take out a loan. However, the good news seems to mask some stubborn trends in consumer lending. First, […]

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NEW PHONE SPOOFING SCAMS TARGETING BANKRUPT INDIVIDUALS

  I recently had a couple in my office who alerted me to an ongoing scam against people who have filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This couple had filed for Chapter 13 protection pro se (without an attorney) and immediately began to receive calls from the “clerk of the court” – at least that was […]

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MORTGAGE DELINQUENCIES AFTER CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY

            As we approach the middle of 2016, it is interesting to look back and see the effects of the bulge of filings from 2009-2011. During that time, the filings in Jacksonville routinely approached 12,000 cases per year.             With the end of the boom now approaching five (5) years, it is particularly interesting to […]

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BEHIND ON YOUR UNDERWATER CAR?

Two recent articles highlight both the good and bad of the recent auto sales explosion. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-14/subprime-auto-bond-delinquencies-highest-in-20-years-says-fitch   http://mishtalk.com/2016/03/13/60-day-delinquency-rate-in-packaged-subprime-auto-loans-highest-in-nearly-two-decades/         Both articles speak to the easy credit access that has allowed new car sales to top 17 million vehicles annually. However, that easy access to credit has come at a price. As a […]

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Good News! Fannie Mae Lowers Waiting Period After Bankruptcy

Good news for people who filed bankruptcy and are back on their feet and hoping to obtain a mortgage. Fannie Mae recently reduced the mandatory waiting period after a bankruptcy from 4 years to 2 years. The FHA mandatory waiting period remains the same at 1 year. To read more, click on the link below: […]

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Bankruptcy: There’s an App for that!!!!

      BANKRUPTCY: THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT!!!! This past weekend I read an interesting article on healthcare and expectations of people of various ages for delivery of health services: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/02/07/heres-how-millennials-could-change-health-care/79818756/             The premise of the story was that the younger generation expected rapid delivery of health services, along the lines of shoes, electronics […]

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Refiling Chapter 13 in Jacksonville

  REFILING CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY When I started practicing bankruptcy law 20 years ago, Chapter 13 was a revolving door of refiling. A case would be dismissed and we would immediately have the client in our office to re-file and start a new 60 month plan. Sometimes it seemed that the 5 year Chapter 13 […]

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FRAUDULENT STUDENT LOAN CANCELLATION AND DISCHARGEABILITY IN BANKRUPTCY

  FRAUDULENT STUDENT LOAN CANCELLATION AND DISCHARGEABILITY IN BANKRUPTCY            I had written previously on the issue of potential changes to the student loan crisis and the potential for change in relaxing the strict rules to discharge student loans in bankruptcy. Both Public and Private student loans are currently nearly impossible […]

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STUDENT LOANS, BANKRUPTCY AND THE ELDERLY IN 2016

STUDENT LOANS, BANKRUPTCY AND THE ELDERLY IN 2016 What if you knew that a loan that you were going to make was not likely to be repaid 50% of the time? Would you make the loan? Would you consider it a smart investment?             Right now, 50% of education loans held by people age 75 […]

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