August 2011 - FREE CONSULTATION

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Student Loans go Unpaid as Younger Workers Face Difficult Conditions in the Labor Market

Posted on August 30, 2011by Admin

According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 11.2% of student loans were more than 90 days past due and the rate was steadily rising. Only credit cards had a higher rate of delinquency at 12.2%. Younger workers have continued to face the most difficult conditions in the labor market. Workers between 20 and 24 years old have a 14.6% unemployment rate, compared to the national average of 9.1% recorded in July.

Student loan debt outpaced credit card debt for the first time last year and is likely to top a trillion dollars this year as more students go to college and a growing number borrow money to do so. According to reports, two-thirds of bachelor’s degree recipients graduated with debt in 2008, compared with less than half in 1993.

Education policy experts expect that the mounting debt may have extensive implications for the current student borrower. Individuals finishing or leaving school with a lot of debt, may find their choices to be different than the generation before them. Things like buying a home, starting a family, a business, and saving for their own children’s college education may have to be put on hold for those with insurmountable student loan debt.

Students who borrow to attend for-profit colleges are especially likely to default. They make up about 12% of those enrolled in higher education, but almost half of those defaulting on student loans. According to the Department of Education, about a quarter of students at for-profit institutions defaulted on their student loans within three years of starting to repay them.
To read more on this topic visit:
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/08/16/more-student-loans-are-past-due/?KEYWORDS=student+loans
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/education/12college.html?_r=1

If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy attorneys at (305) 285-9100. 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, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Trend Alert: Decrease in Bankruptcy Filings May Signal Financial Struggles

Posted on August 22, 2011by Admin

An eight percent decline in bankruptcy filings nationwide may appear to be a positive economic sign. However, some industry experts attribute the decline to individuals not being able to afford to file for bankruptcy. The result may be a mass of pending bankruptcy filings, not unlike the shadow foreclosures feared in the real estate business. If the economy does not take a sharp turn for the better, those individuals who have been on the brink of bankruptcy will eventually be forced to file.

It is predicted that the number of bankruptcy filings will rise when the employment situation improves. When these individuals on the verge of bankruptcy return to work, they will be able to afford the filing fee and the necessary legal representation.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Five Tips to Help you get out of Debt

Posted on August 22, 2011by Admin

Between the first quarters of 2009 and 2010, consumers made $72 billion more in payments on their credit cards than in purchases. Many individuals are picking up second and third jobs to pay off surmounting debt; others are relying on balance transfers on high interest credit cards, garage sales, and even selling unused household items on Craigslist. Reducing consumer credit-card debt is a surefire way to eventually stimulate the economy.

Here are four tips to help you get out of debt:
1.) Track your income and spending: To find cash to pay down your debt, you must know exactly what’s coming in and what’s going out. Write down everything you spend for 30 to 60 days with a pen and paper, an Excel spreadsheet or online software.
2.) Get the details: Determine the difference that an extra $100 or $200 a month can make in your progress. Then focus on saving small amounts that day, week or month.
3.) Call your lenders: List your cards in order of interest rate, from highest to lowest, along with the amount of the debt and phone number of the lender. Then call and ask if they would be willing to reduce your interest rate by 10 percentage points, indicating that you’ve received more competitive offers in the mail. (Make sure the representative who answers is authorized to reduce the rate. If not, ask speak to someone who is.)
4.) Snowball it down: As soon as the card with the highest-interest rate is paid off, direct that payment to the next card until that one is paid off, and work your way down the line. Although some pundits suggest that paying off the smallest balance first will motivate you to keep paying your cards off, studies have shown that method isn’t as effective as paying in order of interest rate. You’ll get out of debt faster by paying off the highest-interest-rate debts first.
5.) Build a cushion: Once you’ve snowballed your way through the credit card debt, steer that monthly amount into a savings account until you have at least three months’ of cash to cover living expenses. That will prevent emergencies from sending you back into the debt cycle.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Trend Alert: Decline in Foreclosure Activity in U.S. Metro Areas

Posted on August 11, 2011by Admin

It has been reported that the nation’s largest metropolitan areas are seeing a sharp drop in foreclosure activity as banks take longer to move against homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments. According to Realty Trac Inc. in the first half of this year, 84 percent of metropolitan areas with a population of at least 200,000 saw their foreclosure rate drop versus the same period last year.

In total, foreclosure activity declined in 178 of the country’s 211 largest metropolitan areas during the first six months of the year. The decline is due to delays in the foreclosure process as lenders work through foreclosure documentation problems that first surfaced last fall. Those problems prompted them to resubmit paperwork on many properties that had been slated for foreclosure and led to a slew of government investigations of the mortgage industry. Mortgage banks also have put off taking action against newly delinquent borrowers in order to try loan modifications or other tactics aimed at avoiding foreclosure.

This has resulted in some 1.7 million potential foreclosures being held up. The slowdown in foreclosure activity has been pronounced in states like Florida, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois, where courts play a major role in the foreclosure process and are only beginning to sort through the backlog of cases.

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, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Credit, Timothy Kingcade Posts

What the U.S. Credit Rating Downgrade means for Consumers

Posted on August 11, 2011by Admin

The global rating agency Standards & Poor’s recently downgraded the United States esteemed “AAA” debt rating, a rating it has held since 1917. The nation’s credit rating has now been reduced to a less favorable “AA+,” after S & P said the compromise made by Congress and President Obama to cut spending and boost the debt ceiling fell short.

S&P repeatedly warned the U.S. rating was at risk if Washington did not agree to reduce deficit spending by $4 trillion over 10 years. This week’s agreement would cut spending by about $900 billion and create a joint congressional committee to find $1.5 trillion more by Thanksgiving.

The downgrade comes at a treacherous time for financial markets, which are already unnerved not only by mounting concerns about government debt and the economy in the U.S., but also in Europe. The move could undermine confidence in our country and has the potential to pull the rug from under investors who are already on the edge. Financial experts say American consumers will most likely see higher interest rates in adjustable rate mortgages, car loans, student loans, and credit cards.

To read more on this topic visit:
• http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/130177/13/What-the-US-Credit-Rating-Downgrade-Really-Means
• http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2011-08-05-s-and-p-downgrades-credit_n.htm

If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy attorneys at (305) 285-9100. 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, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.