Unlike a Short Sale, Bankruptcy Does Not Depend on Lender Approval
If you are behind on your mortgage payments, you are not alone. Many other people in the San Antonio area are too, as well as millions more nationally. Keep in mind, as you consider your choices, that filing for bankruptcy provides an automatic stay on home foreclosure proceedings. Of course, there are also other potential […]
Secured vs. Unsecured Debt: What You Should Know
Whether you considering bankruptcy or not, it’s important to know the difference between different types of debt. The kind of debt you have can affect your credit score, how much money you can borrow, and the interest rates of those loans. This post will describe the difference between secured and unsecured debt? Here is what […]
Creating and Keeping an Emergency Fund Can Be Tough
Create an emergency fund. Financial counselors are very clear on this point. They want us all to have at least several hundred dollars socked away to deal with unexpected needs. In fact, many counselors believe the fund should have more than a few hundred dollars. Some say it should be big enough to cover your […]
San Antonio Foreclosure Data and the National Economy
The real estate meltdown has affected different parts of the country in very different ways. In over-built areas like Phoenix or Miami, the drop in values, and the high rate of foreclosure, remains acute. Yet there are other regions of the U.S. where prices and home ownership have remained more stable. Even in more stable […]
Fair Debt Collection and the Automatic Stay in Bankruptcy
If you are in need of debt relief, someone may have told you about something called the “automatic stay” – a type of immediate relief that a bankruptcy filing can bring. This post will describe some of the ways this relief can help protect you against debt collection efforts. First of all, it’s worth noting […]
Underwater Mortgages, Bankruptcy and Other Debt Relief Options
Homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments face difficult choices. In theory, a modification of the payment amount is possible. Lenders and mortgage servicers are often unwilling to agree to a mortgage modification – despite financial incentives from the government for them to do so. Bankruptcy is another possible way to stop lawsuits […]
Debt Collection Actions for Medical Bills Take Toll on Consumer Credit
In the wake of the Great Recession, the number of Americans being contacted by debt collection agencies has increased markedly. In 2005, before the recession, debt collectors contacted 22 million people about medical bills alone. By 2010, this had increased to 30 million, according to a When you talk to a consumer bankruptcy attorney, you […]
Feds Investigate ‘Robosigning’ in Credit Card Debt Collection
“Déjà vu all over again” is a phrase commonly attributed to the baseball great Yogi Berra. It can apply in many contexts – most recently in allegations of widespread improper conduct by credit card debt collectors at JP Morgan Chase. To a consumer bankruptcy attorney, this seems a lot like what Time magazine called “robosigner […]
Beware of Debt Collectors Who Try to Collect Old Debts
Debt collectors don’t get to do whatever they want. There are rules they are supposed to abide by – starting with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Credit card harassment and other illegal tactics are therefore not acceptable. And they are still widespread. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission received a record number of complaints about the tactics used […]
Is Bankruptcy Better than a Short Sale?
Due to the sharp decline in Real Estate and the current unstable economy, many people are turning to short sales to solve their financial problems. For many people who have lost their job, or have found a job opportunity elsewhere, selling their house becomes a major priority. It may be that they only have enough […]