January 2015 - Page 2 of 2 - FREE CONSULTATION

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Timothy Kingcade Posts

CFPB Issues Warning about Student Loan Debt Relief Scams

Posted on January 12, 2015by Admin

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued an advisory warning to consumers about student loan debt relief companies. While the CFPB warns all student borrowers to stay away from companies with aggressive marketing tactics that promise savings of thousands of dollars on their loans, it is also taking steps toward stopping these companies from engaging in illegal practices.

In a recent lawsuit against Student Loan Processing, the CFPB and Florida’s Attorney General shut down student loan debt relief company College Education Services for its illegal practices. These scams are all too common. The CFPB has provided some useful tips to help student borrowers recognize the red flags associated with student loan debt relief scams.

1.) Upfront fees. No upfront fees should ever be charged by a student loan debt relief company. In addition, you should not be required to sign a contract with the company. The CFPB notes that free assistance is available through your student loan servicer and advises that oftentimes taking upfront payment before debt relief services have been provided is illegal.

2.) Promises. Student loan debt relief companies will often promise borrowers loan forgiveness or even complete cancellation. The false promise of negotiating with your lender under federal student loan programs is a flat out lie.

3.) Signing documents. Student loan debt relief companies should not require that you sign a “third party authorization” or a “power of attorney.”

4.) Requests for your Federal Student Aid PIN: Borrowers should be extremely cautious of any student loan debt relief company that asks for this information. The CFPB states that, “honest companies will work with you to come up with a plan and will never use your PIN to access your student loan information.”

For borrowers who are struggling with student loan debt, relief options are available. Many student loan borrowers are unaware that they have rights and repayment options available to them, such as postponement of loan payments, reduction of payments or even a complete discharge of the debt. It is important you 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 http://www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Bankruptcy Filings Decrease 12% in 2014

Posted on January 8, 2015by Admin

Continued low interest rates and high filing costs have deterred consumers and businesses away from filing bankruptcy, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. Bankruptcy filings in the U.S. totaled 910,090 in for calendar year 2014 (Jan. 1-Dec. 31), a 12 percent decrease from the 1,032,572 total filings during the same period a year ago. Noncommercial filings, were 875,635 during calendar year 2014, and represented an 11 percent decline from the 988,489 noncommercial filings during calendar year 2013, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

In December 2014, total bankruptcy filings declined 5 percent to 63,090 when compared to the 66,530 filings in December 2013. There were 60,625 total noncommercial filings in December 2014, also representing a 5 percent drop from the December 2013 noncommercial filings, which totaled 63,621.

The ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 released a report in December containing recommendations for modernizing chapter 11 business reorganizations. The final report recommends, “Improvements to the code to account for today’s evolving corporate climate and to encourage debtors to file before they have to liquidate.”

Click here to read more on this story.
http://www.acainternational.org/creditors-bankruptcy-filings-decrease-by-12-percent-in-2014-34672.aspx

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. 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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Housing Outlook 2015: Predictions from the Experts

Posted on January 5, 2015by Admin

It’s been an interesting year for the nation’s housing market. The ‘Polar Vortex’ was blamed for the decrease in home sales in early 2014. Price gains for previously owned homes slowed significantly. However, builder confidence for newly constructed, single-family homes has increased for six straight months. What does it all mean? Experts attribute these confusing signals to a shift out of rapid recovery and into a more stable phase that economists are calling the new normal.

Below are 10 predictions from the experts for the housing market in 2015:

1. Prices will rise more slowly. Housing price gains slowed dramatically in 2014 and are expected to continue in 2015. Easing housing inventory levels and the exit of investors from the market are helping put the brakes on home price escalation. Nationally, prices are near their spring 2005 levels.

2. Affordability will worsen. Unfortunately, for those looking to buy this year, slowing housing prices does not mean that home ownership will be more affordable. Housing experts predict homes are just 3% undervalued now, leaving little room for them to rise without becoming overvalued.

3. The buying frenzy will fade. With more investors leaving the market, the home buying process should be a bit easier in 2015, thanks to a lessened inventory and credit requirements. With rising prices, fewer bargains are on the market, making housing less attractive to investors.

4. Mortgage interest rates will rise. The Mortgage Bankers’ Association predicts that rates will rise to 5% by the end of 2015. For most of 2014 interest rates were flat or declining. A great reminder that economists can make predictions, but not to bet the farm on them.

5. Millennials overtake Gen X as homebuyers. Zillow predicts that by the end of 2015, Millennials (those under the age of 35) will overtake Gen X (35-50 years old) to become the largest group of homebuyers in the U.S.

6. Rent increase will outpace home value growth. Housing experts forecast that rents will rise 3.5% in 2015, outpacing the predicted 2.5% for annual home price gains. This, in turn, may push some Millennials to become buyers. The allure of fixed mortgage payments and a stable housing market is expected to entice more renters to become homebuyers.

7. Multi-family construction will dominate. Trulia’s research indicates that more people will try to sell their homes in 2015 and Realtor.com predicts that existing, or previously owned, home sales will grow 8% this year. The entry of these previously owned homes into the market could suppress the demand for more expensive newly constructed homes. The vacancy rate for single-family homes is still near its recession high, which is likely to further depress construction of new single-family homes. So builders will continue to meet the demand for apartments–and multifamily housing could have another strong year.

8. Builders shift to cheaper homes. In recent years, builders have chosen to build fewer, more expensive homes instead of cheaper homes in larger quantities. The trend—driven in part by a limited supply of land during the recovery–has left a price gap between more expensive new homes and less expensive existing homes. Experts agree that new home sales will top the 500,000 mark in 2015.

9. Foreclosures will match pre-recession levels. From January through November 2014, there were 1,256,070 foreclosure filings in the U.S., according to RealtyTrac, down about 17.2% from the same period the previous year, when there were 1,516,332 filings. In 2015, expect foreclosures to fall to pre-crisis levels.

10. The housing market will be driven by fundamentals. In 2015, the housing market is expected to be driven by underlying economic fundamentals (i.e. – job growth, incomes, and household formation). Mortgage interest rates and price recovery have driven the housing market for years, but now experts predict these factors will not be nearly as important as local economics in 2015.

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.