Brett Weiss, BLN blogger and Maryland bankruptcy attorney, tells why the present mortgage modification programs are “Band-Aids on gaping wounds” and why changing the law to allow home mortgages to be modified in bankruptcy would be a solution to the mortgage foreclosure crisis.
March 2010
For bankruptcy cases filed after April 1, 2010, new dollar limits will apply. The changes can be viewed here: http://www.bkmass.com/misc/output.pdf. Most notably, the homestead cap will increase to $146,450. Also worth mentioning: the Chapter 13 debt limits and the dollar amounts of the federal exemptions will increase. »crosslinked«
Here’s the deal when you file bankruptcy. You tell the truth. You disclose everything. You keep what is exempt. The trustee takes everything else and distributes that among your creditors. In exchange you get a fresh start. The idea of bankruptcy is to get a discharge of all your debts so you get a fresh [...]
Bankruptcy is about budgeting and the $10 for a Pizza Hut pie is not budgeting regardless of how you slice the pie. Pizza Hut is running a new ad that says; hey buy any pizza and it is only $10. First of all in the fine print that most people do not see is that [...]
Today, the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court issued a new, emergency standing order pertaining to mortgage modifications. The order voids provisions in proposed loan modifications stating that the automatic stay will be lifted or waived after default on the loan modification payments. More can be found on my blog, here. The order is an artful one: it [...]
An investigation into a foreclosure defense will include tracing the rights to a mortgage and its underlying promissory note. MERS is very careful to only execute assignments of mortgages and not of notes. I’ve never seen it assign a note, and I’m reliably informed that MERS’ bylaws prohibit it from owning rights to a note. (A [...]
