COVID-19, Foreclosure Defense, Foreclosures

Emergency Mortgage Relief Could Extend Through 2022

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of homeowners have benefited from the mortgage relief programs offered by the federal government, and some private lenders.  Now that a year has passed, approximately 2.5 million homeowners are still enrolled in some sort of mortgage relief program, whether it be payment suspension or mortgage forbearance, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) 

It is for this reason that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants to extend these provisions and programs further into the future to ensure that these homeowners are not forced into foreclosure.  

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Mortgage Delinquency Rates Decline Nationally, But Florida Shows Increase Due to Irma

Mortgage delinquency rates have declined on a national level, as reported by the monthly Loan Performance Insights Report published by CoreLogic. However, despite the national decrease, Florida residents have seen an increase, which is attributed mostly to Hurricane Irma and the 2017 hurricane season.

According to CoreLogic’s report, as of April 2018, 4.2 percent of mortgages nationwide are in some stage of delinquency. A delinquency means that the mortgage is 30 days or more past due and includes those mortgages that are already in foreclosure.  This number shows a 0.6 percentage point decrease in the overall delinquency rate as compared in April 2017. At that time, the percentage was at 4.8 percent.

The report also provided information on the foreclosure inventory rate, which measures the share of mortgages that are in some stage of the process of foreclosure. The rate as of April 2018 was at 0.6 percent, which is down 0.1 percentage points from where it was in April 2017. The foreclosure inventory rate has been steady at the rate of 0.6 percent, which is the lowest rate that has been reported since June 2007, when the rate was last reported at 0.6 percent. The April 2018 rate is the lowest that it has been in the past 11 years.

The purpose of measuring delinquency rates during the early stage of the process helps in analyzing the health of the mortgage market. CoreLogic’s report looks at all stages of mortgage delinquency and transition rates, including the percentage of mortgages that are reported as moving from one stage of delinquency to the next step in the process.

Early stage delinquency occurs when a mortgage payment is 30 days to 59 days past due. This early-stage delinquency was reported at being at 2.2 percent in April 2017 and was reported at 1.8 percent in April 2018. The figures in the early-stage delinquency category can be volatile, so it is for this reason that CoreLogic looks at the transition rates, meaning the number of mortgages that transition to the next stage. The transition rates for mortgages reported in the early-stage to later stage went down from 1.2 percent in April 2017 to 0.8 percent in April 2018. To provide some perspective, at the start of the financial crisis the early-stage delinquency transition rate was at 1.2 percent in January 2007 and 2 percent in November 2008.

The percentage of mortgages at the 60 to 89 days past due remained the same during this time. The mortgages that were reported in the serious delinquency stage at more than 90 days past due were down from 2.0 percent in April 2017 to 1.9 percent in April 2018. It should be noted that this is the lowest the serious delinquency rate has been since 2007 when it was reported at 1.6 percent.

However, despite these decreasing numbers, two states were reported as showing significant gains in the serious delinquency stage. These two states, Florida and Texas, were showing serious negative effects from the 2017 hurricane season. Of the two states, Florida has the most densely populated areas and the longest coastal area. This long coast leads to more exposure to storm surge flooding, putting almost 2.7 million homes at risk during hurricane season. After Florida, Louisiana is second to Florida with 817,000 homes in the “at-risk” area. Texas is right behind in third with 543,000 at-risk homes. Of these three states, Florida and Texas are the ones currently still struggling following Hurricanes Irma and Harvey which hit in 2017.  Both states are finding themselves with higher mortgage default rates due to the natural disasters that have hit those states. The percent of mortgages that are in the serious delinquency category with loans that are 90 days past due are doubled than what they were reported in the previous year. In Puerto Rico, another area hit by hurricanes in 2017, the foreclosure rate or 90-day delinquency rate has quadrupled.

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Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade Garcia McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Credit Card Debt Approaches Post Recession Levels

 According to the Household Debt and Credit report released by the Federal Reserve Bank, total household debt balances grew slowly throughout the second quarter of this year. As of June 30, 2016, total household debt had reached $12.29 trillion, up $35 billion from the first quarter of 2016.

At the same time, the nation’s cumulative credit card balance reached $729 billion, which is up $17 billion from the first quarter. While still below its peak of $866 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, economists say that the numbers are on track to reach pre-recession levels of credit card debt around the second quarter of 2017. However, economists also say that conditions might change and previous numbers do not necessarily mean we will enter into another recession.

While credit card debt is up, credit card usage is actually down substantially from previous highs. Credit card usage peaked in 2008 at 68 percent of borrowers, then swiftly declined to 59 percent during the recession due to banks reactively and proactively closing accounts.

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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Student Loans, Timothy Kingcade Posts

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Handled One Million Complaints in Five Years

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently published the September 2016 Monthly Complaint report. The report revealed that more than five years after opening its doors, the CFPB has handled more than one million complaints.

“Since opening our doors in 2011, we have handled over one million complaints from consumers about their problems with financial products and services. Not only have we achieved substantial relief for consumers, but hearing directly from consumers is fundamental to our mission. We can better protect all consumers because of what we learn from those who have submitted complaints and shared their experiences with us,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

The CFPB was initially handling complaints regarding credit cards, upon opening its doors in July 2011. However, it later expanded to handle complaints in several other areas of finance, such as: mortgages, bank accounts and services, private student loans, vehicle and other consumers loans, credit reporting, money transfers, debt collection and payday loans.

Debt collection recently surpassed mortgages to become the top complaint the CFPB receives. Out of the one million complaints, the CFPB has received 244,008 mortgage complaints and 264,123 complaints regarding debt collection.

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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com

Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

New York Attorney General Fights Against Zombie Foreclosure Crisis

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman recently announced a grant initiative to fight against the zombie foreclosure crisis. The growing problem has affected hundreds of neighborhoods and towns across the state of New York since the housing bubble burst. The initiative known as, the Zombie Remediation and Prevention Initiative, will give $13 million in grants to local governments across the state through a competitive application process.

The 100 communities dealing with the greatest problems of zombie foreclosures and vacant homes have been invited to apply for the funds. The money will address housing vacancy and the damage to property value in neighborhoods by supporting municipalities’ capacity for housing code enforcement, tracking and monitoring vacant properties and providing legal enforcement to ensure banks and mortgage companies comply with local and state law.

The initiative will also have preventative benefits due to the requirement of communities to develop innovative programs and policies and connect at-risk homeowners to services so they can avoid foreclosure. It also coincides with the recent enactment of the Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act.

The initiative will be funded by the $3.2 billion settlement agreement with Morgan Stanley that was settled in February. The settlement resulted in $550 million in cash and consumer relief for New York residents.

“Too many communities across this state have been hit hard by the proliferation of zombie properties. This new grant initiative puts tools directly in the hands of towns and cities across the state to reverse course, rebuild from the foreclosure crisis and put zombie homes in the rear-view mirror,” Attorney General Schneiderman said.

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Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

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