What does it mean when collectors threaten you with ‘charge off’. Sounds serious doesn’t it? The dirty little secret is that a “charged off” debt has nothing to do with what is owed. ”Charge off” means that the creditor is taking a tax deduction from their income tax. With $450 million earned each day on [...]
February 2009
Depending on the homestead exemption applicable in your state, the Bankruptcy Code allows a Debtor to void and nullify certain judicial liens against a residence if the lien interferes with the homestead exemption. While it is possible to reopen a closed case to avoid a lien, do not wait too long to do so or [...]
A new law aimed at stopping debt collectors who violate fair debt collection standards was proposed by the Oregon attorney general and has been passed by the state senate. Oregon Senate Bill 328 will give the Oregon Department of Justice the authority to enforce existing Oregon law prohibiting illegal debt collection practices. For many years [...]
One of the areas of the Bankruptcy Code that was significantly changed by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) was the placement of a dollar cap on the amount of a homestead exemption that a debtor could claim based upon the length of time that the debtor owned the home.
Despite reports of higher-than-expected losses to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Obama administration’s effort to stem the burgeoning foreclosure crisis, Democrats in the House could not muster the votes needed to pass a key element of those proposals. Foreclosures also were an issue in the House, where an expected vote on a housing [...]
Often, when consumers are sued for an outstanding debt, they contact the lawyer for the company (or the company) who sued them seeking to work out a payment plan. If a payment plan agreement is reached, the consumer assumes that the pending lawsuit is no longer an issue. That is not the case!
