The sheriff of Wayne County Michigan, which includes Detroit, made national news last week by halting all foreclosure sales. The other shoe has fallen, as Towne Mortgage has sued the sheriff in Federal District Court in Detroit to force him to resume foreclosure sales. One of the weasels at the U. S. House hearing said [...]
February 2009
San Francisco bay area bankruptcy attorney Cathy Moran brainstormed with her fellow bankruptcy practitioners today to discuss how judicial modification of home mortgages will work in chapter 13 bankruptcy if pending legislation becomes law. Moran compiled a list of questions: What is the risk premium for interest rates? Is the modification binding if the Chapter [...]
In a curious move, two of Florida’s legal aid organizations joined mortgage industry lawyers in filing with the Florida Supreme Court an emergency petition to require mediation in all residential foreclosure cases. The two legal aid offices involved are Legal Services of Greater Miami and Florida Legal Services of Tallahassee. Conspicuously absent from the emergency [...]
Congress is considering changes to the Bankruptcy Code that would allow the same judicial modification of home mortgages that is currently allowed for vacation homes, business property, and other assets. Letting families keep their homes by reducing principal and interest to market value would let tens of thousands of homeowners resume making their mortgage payments, [...]
Over 46,000 foreclosures are filed per week in the United States. Per week! In my own state of North Carolina, it is estimated that over 1,000 foreclosures per week will be filed for 2009! Credit Suisse estimates that 8.1 million mortgages will be in foreclosure over the next four years! With the housing sector responsible for [...]
To qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy you must pass the median income test. Chicago bankruptcy lawyer David Leibowitz blogged how Chapter 11 is an option for some people who have above-median income, in his article “Chapter 11 is for People Too.” He said that you are presumed to abuse the system if you make more [...]
