ClwtrBkAtty-Carol A. Lawson, Esq.

ARMs are Bad !

2011-12-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

A Adjustable Rate Mortgage is bad- no matter how you package it. Most of my chapter 13 homes are either purchased between 2005-2009 during the bubble or their ARMS. Just say NO and get a fixed rate.

Two new packagings for ARMS are:

A 2/28 Mortgage is an adjustable rate mortgage loan where interest is paid for two years at a relatively low rate, and then the interest rate “floats,” or changes, upwards.

With a 50 Year Mortgage the lender gives you a fixed introductory rate for five years, followed by an adjustable rate mortgage for the remaining 45 years

Home Sales

2011-12-22T08:23:00.001-08:00

Economists and real estate experts project U.S. home prices to bottom out late next year or in early 2013, according to Zillow's Home Price Expectations Survey. http://zillow.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=159&item=252'

Shadow Inventory

2011-12-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

The number of distressed properties not currently listed on multiple listing services stood at 1.6 million as of October 2011, according to CoreLogic. This shadow inventory is approximately half of the industry's visible inventory, the company says, meaning for every two homes available for sale, there is one home in the "shadows." CoreLogic's latest shadow inventory assessment represents a supply of five months and is down from October 2010, when it stood at 1.9 million units, or 7-months' supply. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/for-every-two-homes-sale-there-is-one-in-shadows-2011-12-21 Currently, Florida, California, and Illinois account for more than a third of the shadow inventory, CoreLogic reports. The top six states, which would also include New York, Texas, and New Jersey, are home to half of the shadow inventory.

Pay the Mortgage Before you Shop!

2011-12-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

There’s often a balloon in bankruptcy and foreclosures soon after Christmas in part because people “skip a payment” to buy presents. This is never a good idea and now it is even worse. First, if you want to keep your home, the mortgage comes before virtually everything. I tell my clients it comes before they eat!! I know try explaining that to the spouse not handling the budget or the kids.

It may be satisfying to pay several smaller bills first — feels like solving problems, right? — but if the biggest bill you didn’t pay was your mortgage then your problems are getting worse, not better.

It is easy to think “well, I’ll make this up next month, I don’t want to disappoint the kids.” The problem is that you won’t be making more money next month . Your expenses will be the same or maybe higher, given the prices of food, gas and electricity. So where will the “make-up” payment come from? If you are not already in the “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul” cycle, this could start it. Remember the old adage can I pay my Visa with my mastercard?

It is easy for me to sit back and suggest disappointing the kids during the holidays. They’re not my kids. My son would not understand, he's six though and is satisfied with jacks.

Perhaps keeping a roof over their heads is a worthy goal as well. Also teaching the lesson of taking care of “needs” before “wants” could be the best present you can give them this year.

If you do plan on filing bankruptcy in the new year wait three month from your last Holiday shopping and do not use those cards in the mean time.

Do you owe what I owe?

2011-12-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

I found this on the web:

St. Louis bankruptcy attorney Wendell Sherk published his riff on a popular Christmas song – Do You Owe What I Owe?

(To the tune of “Do You Hear What I Hear?”)

Said the neighbor to the young man,

“Do you owe what I owe?

Bills up to the sky, young man,

Do you see what I see?

A choice, a choice, waiting in the night

A new start to end the year alright,

A fresh start for a New Year’s Night.”

Said the collector to the young man,

“I know what you owe,

Bills up to the sky, little debtor man,

Do you hear what I say?

Pay what you can’t pay, little debtor man!

With a voice as big as the sea,

With a voice as big as the sea.

Said the young man to the lawyer kind,

“Do you know what I owe?

In your palace warm, lawyer man,

Do you know what I owe?

An arm, a leg, I’ll be out in the cold–

Help me save a little silver, or gold,

Help me save a little silver, or gold.”

Said the judge to the people everywhere,

“Listen to what I say!

Be at peace, people, everywhere,

Listen to what I say!

A fresh start, a new start, waiting in the night

To bring you peace and goodness,

To bring you quiet in the night.”

With apologies to Noel Regney & Gloria Shayne Baker

http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/a-bankruptcy-riff-on-christmas-songs/

Happy Chanukkah! and Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

Termination of the state-wide Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation (RMFM) Program as of 12/20/11

2011-12-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

Per the Supereme Court AOSC11-44 signed 12/19/11 the statewide mediation program is cancelled effective today.

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

2011-12-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

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***

Two more bankruptcy preparers facing possible criminal contempt charges

2011-12-06T19:21:00.001-08:00

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

Bankruptcy is Not a Dirty Word

2011-12-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-06T19:14:00.001-08:00

. 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

2011-12-06T19:13:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

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

Fannie Mae, banks halt foreclosures for the holiday

2011-12-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-06T19:08:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-06T19:06:00.002-08:00

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

Foreclosure Crisis Isn’t Even Halfway Over, Analysis Finds

2011-12-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

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

Case Update

2011-12-06T19:03:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-06T19:00:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-06T18:59:00.001-08:00

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

HOPE Hotline

2011-12-06T18:58:00.002-08:00

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

2011-12-06T18:58:00.000-08:00

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