Category Archives: Bankruptcy News

Debt settlement firms are mostly bogus

By doug | Published: March 30, 2010

Debt settlement companies that prey on the hopes of those behind on their bills often leave their customers in the lurch, to face just as many harassing calls and notices as before. Just ask Gloria Snowden of Baltimore, who signed up with a company that promised to negotiate away her $10,000 credit card debt. Snowden […]

Also posted in Practical tips | Comments closed

Creditors need to read their mail, too!

By doug | Published: March 29, 2010

Around here we are very familiar with the phenomenon of debtors who at some point just give up and stop opening their mail. Every week, they bring in the unopened bills, and I open them and add them up! But what about a creditor who misses something important because they didn’t open the mail? Suprisingly […]

Also posted in Chapter 13, Student loans | Comments closed

Got mortgage trouble? Stay tuned . . .

By doug | Published: March 26, 2010

Business news outlet CNBC is reporting that the Obama administration will announce important new initiatives to deal with the depressed housing markets later today. There will be changes to the battered-down Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), including a new emphasis on writing down the principal on troubled mortgage loans, and financial assistance to unemployed homeowners. […]

Also posted in Chapter 13, Foreclosure, Real estate | Comments closed

Massachusetts mortgage settlement met with skepticism

By doug | Published: March 25, 2010

A settlement agreement between Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and mortgage lenders Countrywide and Bank of America has been met with skepticism by some housing advocates, according to a report filed by Jenifer McKim in the Boston Globe. “Bank of America has been one of the worst loan servicers in offering homeowners help in this […]

Also posted in Foreclosure | Comments closed

Massachusetts supreme court will decide foreclosure issues

By doug | Published: March 24, 2010

The Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts said yesterday that it will hear the Ibanez foreclosure case, which has caused turmoil in the banking and mortgage lending business. In 2009, the Land Court issued the original Ibanez ruling which required that the true mortgage holders be properly identified before foreclosure proceedings could continue. The pace of […]

Also posted in Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Foreclosure | Comments closed

This bankruptcy could be a Blockbuster!

By doug | Published: March 17, 2010

Remember when video rental stores were the hottest thing? Soon they may go the way of telephone booths and manual typewriters. The Wall Street Journal reports that Blockbuster, Inc. is threatening for the second time in a year to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. “It may not be possible to turn Blockbuster’s business around,” […]

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My advice: Don’t load up on debt before a bankruptcy

By doug | Published: March 15, 2010

It might seem more than obvious, but debtors shouldn’t load up their credit cards or take on massive new debts right before they file a bankruptcy case. Doing so risks losing their chance for a discharge, allegations of fraud, and worse. But an interesting side issue made it to the Supreme Court last week: Can […]

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Massive increase in bankruptcy filings

By doug | Published: March 14, 2010

Auld Lang Syne has been sung, the noisemakers put away, but its still time for the bankruptcy court administrators to take a look back at 2009. The verdict? A massive 31.9% increase in bankruptcy filings. Thinking of filing under Chapter 7? If you had done it last year, you would have had more than a […]

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A good review of the new bank overdraft regulations

By doug | Published: March 11, 2010

By this time, most people are getting enough change notices from banks and credit card companies to make their head spin. And now comes the news that new regulations on bank overdraft fees are in the works. To lessen the confusion, the Federal Reserve has a good overview of the overdraft regulations, in simple everyday […]

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Tackling the foreclosure crisis with faith based activism

By doug | Published: March 10, 2010

Faith-based activism is becoming more prominent in the battle against the foreclosure crisis. As one example, Jenifer B. Kim reports in the Boston Globe that Brockton, Massachusetts housing actvist Katie Sandford met yesterday with Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to discuss how a rash or foreclosures are affecting her city. Sandford is a leader of […]

Also posted in Foreclosure | Comments closed
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