In 2011, Equifax reported that of the 585 million consumers and 81 million businesses, Americans’ delinquency debt rates were significantly declining in all areas but one- student loan repayments, which were at an increase of 1%. This is good news for the US economy, meaning that there is a decline in the amount of past due credit payments. Not only that, but there is also an increase in the number of credit cards issued by lenders to subprime borrowers (borrowers with credit scores below 660). In October of 2008, overall consumer debt was at its peak of $12.4 trillion. In October 2011, there was an 11% decline.
During 2011:
• Bank Credit Card payments 60+ days past due declined by 29%
• Auto Finance payments 60+ days past due declined by 19%
• Auto Bank payments 60+ days past due declined by 23%
• Consumer finance 60+ days past due declined by 23%
• First Mortgage payments 30+ days past due declined by 13%
• Home Equity payments 30+ days past due declined by 10%
• Retail Credit Card payments 60+ days past due declined by 15%
To read more on this story visit: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-consumers-paid-down-debt-on-time-in-2011-equifax-reports-2012-01-30?reflink=MW_news_stmp
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced 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, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Month: February 2012
Americans Preference to Borrow Rather than Save has Triggered Extreme Debt
Before consumer and housing credit became so readily available in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Americans savings percentages were at economically healthy levels, averaging between 7 and 11 percent. But after the 1986 tax reform, home equity loans became tax deductible, which provided a greater incentive for Americans to borrow. From 1990-2005, housing prices were at extremely high rates, causing more Americans to borrow than ever before, and savings percentages dropped.
After the Housing Market Crash of 2008, Americans found themselves with extremely high mortgage payments, little to no value on their homes, and next to nothing in savings. A couple of years after the Housing Market Crash, Americans slowly began to save more for fear of ending up in extreme debt or possibly losing their homes to foreclosure.
America has the lowest rate of savings of any of the first world countries. Some experts believe this is due to the America’s middle class extreme expenditures on healthcare and education, and a lack of policies insisting on financial education. Many European countries have state institutions that advise people who are borrowing money, before they get into trouble with debt. Another policy America has yet to establish is a policy that would intervene before people become “over-indebted.”
Some experts believe that in order to create a “cultural shift” and create a more financially stable economy, America must pass a federal law that would bring financial education into every education system in the country. The idea is to help young Americans understand the financial risks of borrowing and the different types of credit available to them.
To read more on this story visit: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/16/why-america-spends-while-the-world-saves/
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced 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, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Debt Collectors are now Being Held Responsible for Harassing Debtors
The Federal Trade Commission is giving debt collection agencies a dose of their own medicine in terms of harassment. The FTC is taking strong steps forward to hold these agencies responsible for harassing debtors. In 2010, a reported 140,036 claims of harassment were filed, which was not only the largest in history, but a 20,000 increase from the previous year. The collection agencies are not only in trouble with the FTC for harassment, but also for failure to notify the debtor of their outstanding debt in writing and also for “misinterpreting” the debt.
Many cases such as the one filed by an 85 year-old in Oregon are surfacing and becoming national news. Anne Sessions is suing Wells Fargo Bank for harassment after she was falsely turned in by a debt collector for being in danger of committing suicide. After Sessions was taken into custody by the police and sent to a mental health institute, she was observed and later released due to the fact she was found to be of no danger to herself or anyone else.
Sessions is now suing in hopes to receive compensation for her $1,055 medical bill from the mental health facility. She is also suing for $250,000 in punitive damages. Sessions claims that she made the remark to the debt collector that some people must want to commit suicide from the harassment of the company, and later was drilled with questions by the debt collector such as, “If you did commit suicide, how would you do it?”
To read more on this story visit: http://www.bankruptcyhome.com/bankruptcyblog/2012/02/13/harassment-goes-too-far-in-debt-collection-efforts/
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.
Recent Audit uncovers Extensive Legal Violations and Flaws still Evident in the Foreclosure System
According to a recent report, an audit revealed legal violations and suspicious documentation of approximately 400 foreclosures in San Francisco. The report, compiled by Aequitas Compliance Solutions examined files of properties subject to foreclosure sales from January 2009 to November 2011. Among the legal violations uncovered in the analysis were cases where the loan servicer did not provide borrowers with a notice of default before beginning the eviction process.
The report comes just days after the $26 billion settlement over foreclosure improprieties between five major banks and 49 state attorneys general, including California’s. The report findings raise questions as to whether some foreclosures should be considered void. The audit also raises questions about the accuracy of information recorded in the Mortgage Electronic Registry System, or MERS, which was set up in 1995 by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other major lenders. The report found that 58 percent of loans listed in the MERS database showed different owners than were reflected in other public documents like those filed with the county recorder’s office.
To read more on the story, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/business/california-audit-finds-broad-irregularities-in-foreclosures.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.
Florida Benefits $8.4 Billion from Nationwide Mortgage Settlement
Last Thursday, President Obama along with other government officials announced a $26 billion mortgage plan to help underwater homeowners and those struggling to make their mortgage payments get back on their feet. The five largest mortgage lending banks will pay out appropriated amounts to the government. That money will then be distributed to the states that have been impacted the most by the housing market crash.
Florida will receive $8.4 billion, the largest payout of the settlement. The payout is intended to help all homeowners, not just those who are underwater on their mortgages and behind on payments. The terms of how the majority of the money will be distributed has been released. However, there is still some deliberation for the remainder of the payout.
• $7.6 billion will be used to aid homeowners who are currently in financial crisis and who are underwater on their mortgages.
• $170 million of the payout will be turned into cash payments for those Floridians who have lost their homes due to foreclosure malpractice from their lenders the past three years. The average cash payout is expected to be approximately $2,000 for each individual homeowner.
• $308 million will go to programs for homeowners who are current on their loan payments, but have higher interest rates due to the housing crisis.
• $350 million will go directly to the State of Florida for currently undisclosed purposes.
Although this will be a huge relief for homeowners in the State of Florida, there is still much criticism of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, for a lack of assertion that Florida deserves more than the $8.4 billion payout.
To read more on this story visit: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-02-09/business/os-nationwide-mortgage-settlement-20120209_1_underwater-homeowners-settlement-mortgage-payments
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.
$26 Billion Deal signed to Aid Homeowners and Eliminate Fraudulent Acts by Lenders
On Thursday, February 9, President Obama along with other government officials announced the $26 billion mortgage plan that is said to be the first major step in the right direction for America’s struggling housing market. All 50 states and the five major banks, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Ally, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup agreed upon the plan. There is anticipation that further deliberation will lead to all nine of the major lenders becoming involved in the plan, which would increase the deal to $30 billion.
The majority of the money, $17 billion will go exclusively to aid homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages. State and federal authorities will receive $5 billion to create programs throughout the country to meet specific needs of Americans. Of the last $4 billion, $3 billion will go to the refinancing for those who are eligible to get a portion of their debt reduced and the last billion will be for the Federal Housing Administration.
The plan is expected to not only benefit the millions of Americans who have lost their homes since 2007, but it also creates a sense of relief for mortgage lenders as well. The last week alone, shares in Bank of America have made a 5 percent gain. The plan will also force banks to take a greater responsibility to ensure their mortgage lending practices are done legally in the future.
To read more on this story visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/business/states-negotiate-25-billion-deal-for-homeowners.html
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.
New Initiative Aimed at Restoring Bankruptcy Protection for Student Loan Borrowers
The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) is launching a new initiative aimed at restoring bankruptcy protection for student loan borrowers. 860 members responded to the survey asking about experiences with potential clients who have tried to discharge student loan debt. The message of the survey results was clear: ‘unmanageable student loan debt threatens to reach crisis proportions in the not distant future if Congress does not restore bankruptcy relief.’
Individually, college seniors who graduated with student loans in 2010 owed an average of $25,250, up five percent from the previous year, according to a report from the Project on Student Debt at the Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS). Collectively, the amount of student borrowing crossed the $100 billion threshold for the first time in 2010 and total outstanding loans exceeded $1 trillion for the first time last year. Americans now owe more on student loans than on credit cards, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the U.S. Department of Education and others. Additionally, because there are fewer people with student loans than there are credit card holders, the debt burden on the individual borrower is considerably higher.
Although educational borrowing is up for every age group over the past three years and young people still carry the biggest student loan debt burden, borrowing has grown far more quickly for those in the 35 to 49 age group, according to an analysis by the credit score tracking site CreditKarma. Bills are pending in the House and Senate to restore bankruptcy protection for private student loans. NACBA supports those bills and is asking Congress to go further and restore bankruptcy relief for government education loans.
To read more on the report prepared by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) visit:
http://nacba.org/Portals/0/Documents/Student%20Loan%20Debt/020712%20NACBA%20student%20loan%20debt%20report.pdf
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced 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, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Big Banks Pay Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosure
In an interesting twist, banks are offering delinquent homeowners as much as $35,000 or more in cash to sell their properties for less than they owe. Lenders have routinely delayed or blocked such transactions, known as short sales, in which they accept less from a buyer than the seller’s outstanding loan. With the foreclosure system being bogged down by the number of cases, banks have decided the deals are faster and less costly than foreclosures.
For banks, approving a sale for less than is owed on the home can cut a year or more off the time it takes to sell a property. From listing to sale, the transactions took about 123 days on average at the end of last year, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Housing Pulse Tracking Survey.
Some of the banks that are extending this opportunity to struggling homeowners include: Bank of America, which sent letters to 20,000 Florida homeowners as part of a pilot program, offering incentives of as much as $20,000, or 5 percent of the unpaid loan balance; Wells Fargo, which offers relocation assistance of as much as $20,000 for borrowers who complete short sales or agree to transfer title through a deed in lieu of foreclosure “in certain states with extended foreclosure timelines, including Florida; and Citigroup, which offers $3,000 to most borrowers who qualify for its program.
To read more on this story, visit:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-07/banks-paying-homeowners-a-bonus-to-avoid-foreclosures-mortgages.html
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.
Florida (Un)Fair Foreclosure Act Up for Vote TODAY
Big banks and mortgage lenders are fighting back with new legislation in an effort to defeat homeowners in the foreclosure process. The Fair Foreclosure Act of 2012 will be voted on today and if passed would essentially prevent homeowners from defending themselves if their home is foreclosed upon. It would also dissolve past lending and misconduct of banks, which created many of our country’s economic problems in the first place.
Some of the most disturbing provisions of the act include:
• Non-judicial foreclosures, where the loan balance exceeds 120% of the property value.
• Fast tracking of foreclosure cases once filed.
• Court must enter a judgment within 45-90 days for uncontested foreclosures.
• Automatic return of Promissory Note to lender upon dismissal of foreclosure.
• Challenges to set aside wrongful foreclosures may only seek money damages and not quiet or disturb the title held by the bank or later buyer.
• Sales of foreclosed property founded upon Lost/Destroyed Promissory Notes cannot be challenged by the true holder of the Promissory Note.
This proposed legislation takes away an individual’s right to due process, by excluding the courts from the foreclosure process. If you oppose this bill, it is important that you voice your concerns by going to www.myfloridahouse.gov.
To read more on the bill, visit: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h0213c1.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=0213&Session=2012
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.
Increase in Foreclosure Home Sales in Palm Beach County
During the months of July through September 2011, one in four home sales was the result of foreclosures in Palm Beach County. Throughout the State of Florida, average home sales from foreclosures were approximately 19 percent during the third quarter of 2011. In the third quarter of 2010, the statewide average was at about 39 percent. Just before the housing market crash of 2007, the average of foreclosed home sales from preceding years was around five or six percent. The sizeable percentages are commonly credited to the unfair practices from banks during the foreclosure process.
While the percentage of sales of foreclosed homes is increasing in Palm Beach County, the average selling prices on the homes are decreasing. In the third quarter of 2011, the average sale price was $115,082, which is a 15 percent cut from the third quarter of 2010, which was $135,158. This is an extremely low number in comparison to the national average home sale price that was $165,332. RealtyTrac attributes the high percentage of sales as a positive sign for Palm Beach County due to the depreciation of homes that sat idle too long before being sold.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/1-in-4-third-quarter-home-sales-were-2126425.html
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.