Lawyer in Michigan

  Home prices may still be sliding, but real estate experts say the Tennessee housing market is showing signs of recovery. More than 2,000 homes in the Nashville area have sold since May - the highest number in four years, according to Nashville Public Radio. But though it's good news for home buyers, it may not be such welcome news for homeowners. Part of the reason consumers are finally pulling the trigger on home purchases is that a large number of homes are being listed as short sales or foreclosed properties, which usually means they're priced well below market value. As our Tennessee bankruptcy lawyers predicted earlier this year, banks are ready to get back down to the business of processing foreclosures and repossessing homes now that the settlement between states and mortgage lenders has been reached. Nationwide, distressed properties accounted for 26 percent of all home sales in the first quarter of 2012, according to data from RealtyTra...

  There is already an abundance of information flowing on the internet and elsewhere about the flooding and the potential for federal assistance to the victims of the Middle Tennessee flood. However, finding specific information about what types of assistance may be available, whether or not certain damage will be covered by homeowners' insurance, and many other questions is a bit harder to find. As a result, the following information is intended for those Tennesseans who have been affected by the flooding in Middle Tennessee, particularly those in Nashville, Williamson County, Rutherford County, and Maury County. First, the Daily News Journal out of Rutherford County has an   article posted  regarding the issue of whether normal homeowners' insurance will cover the flood damage. In general, the typical homeowners' insurance policy does NOT cover flood damage. However, there are some cases in which coverage might be available. As happened following Hurricane Katrina, ther...

  We are already getting a number of calls from clients and potential clients regarding the possibility of foreclosure if they do not make payments on their homes that have been damaged by the recent floods in the Middle Tennessee area. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") announced that there will be a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of FHA mortgages. As a result, If you have an FHA mortgage that is already in the foreclosure process, you have been given a 90-day grace period on those foreclosure proceedings. However, I do no believe that the moratorium will prevent a foreclosure after this moratorium. As a result, if you have the ability to make your mortgage payments, it is likely in your best interest to make the payments. At some point in the future (maybe longer than 90 days if the moratorium is extended), foreclosure proceedings will be allowed to begin again. However, if you are already facing foreclosure on an FHA mortgage, you need to use t...

  Banks are increasingly playing the moral hazard card to avoid helping troubled homeowners, according to the New York Times. Despite being accused of some moral oversights of their own (robo-signing, anyone?) lenders are now claiming that, by taking steps such as reducing the principal on an underwater mortgage, they would be encouraging more borrowers to behave badly. The concept of moral hazard first came into the national spotlight in 2008, when ordinary American consumers began to question why we should help bail out the banks that sent our economy into a tailspin in the first place. Now those banks are using the same argument to avoid bailing us out of the problems they created. Lenders say that helping homeowners who default will only encourage others - many of whom can actually afford to pay their mortgage - to default as well in order to take advantage of better terms. Yet the data shows otherwise, say Tennessee bankruptcy lawyers. It turns out that 10 to 15 perc...

  Tennessee universities are short on cash, and its students who are bailing them out. While Tennessee funded 55 percent of public college budgets in 2002, a decade later the state is only covering 30 percent, according The Tennessean. As a result, students are being crushed under a load of ever-increasing debt. Students at Middle Tennessee State University, for example, now have a cumulative student debt of $63 million - or $5 million more than the previous year. Meanwhile, scholarships are increasingly more difficult to come by. For college students lucky enough to find financial aid, many programs are covering smaller percentages of expenses. Despite threats by President Obama to withhold federal aid if colleges don't stop hiking costs, tuitions keep going up. Typical student debts can range anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 by graduation time. When economic times are good, it's possible for new grads to pay the bills with an entry-level job. Unfortunately, today's econo...

  Bankruptcy was created to help Americans relieve the burden of impossible debt. Yet for the past 7 years, there was one important type of debt it couldn't ease: student loans. But some legislators are bent on changing that, according to The Wall Street Journal. In 2005, Congress revised bankruptcy laws to exclude the discharge of debt from education loans, except in rare circumstances. Criminal deportation lawyer . The theory was that, without collateral like homes and cars, young graduates would find it all too easy to walk away from their obligations if bankruptcy was a possibility. What Congress couldn't foresee was just how out of control the student debt crisis would get within the next decade. Earlier this year, the collective total of education loan debt reached the $1 trillion mark, higher than the nation's collective credit card debt. Meanwhile, college graduates are finding it difficult to make payments. It's estimated that 27 percent of borrowers who...

  As banks prepare to release a new flood of foreclosures onto the market this summer, already-falling home values will likely get even lower. But while many homeowners are dismayed by the notion of losing more equity - especially if they're part of the estimated 11 million borrowers already underwater - Tennessee bankruptcy lawyers warn against getting too caught up in home values. Pre arrest investtigations and negotiations lawyer . After all, concern with equity is what got many Americans into trouble in the first place. During the height of the housing bubble, homeowners used rocketing real estate values as permission to take out home equity loans and lines of credit so that we could spend well beyond our means. Houses were never meant to be investments - and certainly not get-rich-quick schemes. Our parents and grandparents bought their properties for security, a place to live, and a chance to raise a family. Somewhere along the way, Americans have forgotten that a house...

  American consumers are traditionally pessimistic about the national economy. Yet when it comes to our own economies - our family finances - we can be optimistic to the point of default. From mounting credit card debt to missed mortgage payments, today's average consumer faces big financial troubles. But when it's time to fix our finances, we tend to take baby steps. We chalk the money problems up to a temporary issue, like those unexpected car repairs or that bigger-than-anticipated medical bill. We optimistically hope for a solution, such as that pay raise our boss mentioned last year. Cybercrime lawyer . We might make a few budget tweaks here and there, but for the most part we continue spending as usual, using credit cards to cover the gap between income and expenses. Before long, our credit cards are maxed out, our house is on the verge of foreclosure, and that raise that we were holding out hope for never came through. Half-baked solutions produce half-baked result...

  Banks are increasingly playing the moral hazard card to avoid helping troubled homeowners, according to the New York Times. Despite being accused of some moral oversights of their own (robo-signing, anyone?) lenders are now claiming that, by taking steps such as reducing the principal on an underwater mortgage, they would be encouraging more borrowers to behave badly. The concept of moral hazard first came into the national spotlight in 2008, when ordinary American consumers began to question why we should help bail out the banks that sent our economy into a tailspin in the first place. Now those banks are using the same argument to avoid bailing us out of the problems they created. Cybercrime . Lenders say that helping homeowners who default will only encourage others - many of whom can actually afford to pay their mortgage - to default as well in order to take advantage of better terms. Yet the data shows otherwise, say Tennessee bankruptcy lawyers. It turns out that 10 ...

  Sometimes we're our own worst enemy. Case in point: While many Tennessee consumers are in a position to find financial relief through bankruptcy, most are too afraid to file because of unfounded fears. According to Bankrate.com, many Americans believe filing for bankruptcy will mean losing all their assets, becoming ineligible for a credit card, and dealing with numerous other difficulties. The article goes on to point out that most of our concerns are, in fact, untrue. In reality, a Tennessee bankruptcy may be the most effective way for people to manage debt when other options, such as reducing expenses or negotiating a loan modification, just aren't a possibility. Business torts lawyer in Michigan . While bankruptcy may not be right for every situation, it can be a godsend for those who qualify. Tennessee bankruptcy attorneys have worked with many clients who avoided filing until there was no other solution, leaving them with a rock-bottom credit score and foreclosed ...

  Tennessee universities are short on cash, and its students who are bailing them out. While Tennessee funded 55 percent of public college budgets in 2002, a decade later the state is only covering 30 percent, according The Tennessean. As a result, students are being crushed under a load of ever-increasing debt. Students at Middle Tennessee State University, for example, now have a cumulative student debt of $63 million - or $5 million more than the previous year. Meanwhile, scholarships are increasingly more difficult to come by. For college students lucky enough to find financial aid, many programs are covering smaller percentages of expenses. Despite threats by President Obama to withhold federal aid if colleges don't stop hiking costs, tuitions keep going up. Typical student debts can range anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 by graduation time. When economic times are good, it's possible for new grads to pay the bills with an entry-level job. Cybercrime lawyer help in...

  The last half-decade has been tough on us all. But no one has more reason to complain than one group. According to recently released data from the Census Bureau, people between 35 and 44 years old - often categorized as Generation X - saw the largest percent decline in median household net worth of any age group as a result of the economic downturn. Between 2005 and 2010, Gen X households dropped nearly 60 percent in value. In comparison, the median household net wealth in all age groups fell by 35 percent. The new information comes on the heels of Federal Reserve data that also illustrates a sharp decline in the median net worth of the American family - including a major drop of $126,400 from $77,300 in 2007 alone. As our Tennessee bankruptcy lawyers discussed last week, net worth is now back at 1992 levels. There are a number of reasons Gen Xers have taken a harder financial hit than other groups. They had the misfortune of being the right age to be buying a home, and pe...

  There's a common stereotype that bankruptcy filers are unrestrained spenders. But statistics show that more Americans file for bankruptcy because of medical bills than credit card debt. Hospitals and doctors are increasingly farming out patient bills to debt collection companies, according to a recent Associated Press story. DWI/DUI lawyer in Michigan . Between 2005 and 2010, the number of Americans contacted by debt collection agencies for unpaid medical debts rose from 22 million to 30 million. Of these cases, an estimated 3.4 million Americans still have credit reports that show medical debt, even after the debt has been paid. When your debts get kicked back to collection agencies, it automatically drops your credit score - even if you end up paying the bill. In the AP story, a couple with seemingly good credit applied for a home loan, only to learn that a $200 bill they didn't even know about had been sent to a collection company, sinking their credit score and thei...

  Most of us would rather eat glass than knowingly sign up for a credit card with a 365% APR. Yet consumers are increasingly being tricked into loans with exactly that kind of sky-high interest rate - by their own banks, according to CNN Money. Called advance loans, these short-term loans provide quick cash for bank customers with direct deposit checking accounts. The arrangement is strikingly similar to that of payday loans, which are the cause for a large number of Tennessee bankruptcy filings each year. Both payday and advance loans allow struggling consumers to pay the bills between paychecks. But because the balances and fees are due in full just two weeks to a month after the loan is established, it's common for borrowers to be unable to pay the money back. Lawyer office in Michigan . As a result, many recipients of payday and advance loans are forced to take out an additional loan to pay off the first. What makes the latest advance loans especially dangerous is that ba...

  It looks like a recent drop in Tennessee foreclosures was just a brief calm before the storm, according to The Tennessean. In 2011, approximately 11 percent of Nashville area home sales were related to foreclosures - a one-third decrease from the previous year. Now the number is expected to rise to as high as 15 percent. Though it's still lower than the foreclosure rate at the peak of the mortgage bust, the prolonged downward pressure on prices is sure to have a negative effect on consumer confidence, which is an important factor in economic recovery. Foreclosures were put on hold in recent months as banks were forced to sort through the mess they created by allowing forged and robo-signed documents. Lawyer office in Michigan . Now that the $26 billion mortgage settlement has been announced, lenders are getting back to business. With 864 bank-owned properties in 2011, the Nashville metropolitan area already has one of the highest rates of mortgage defaults, auctions and bank...

  Federal and state governments have struck a historic $26 billion dollar settlement with banks accused of wrongfully handling foreclosures. Of the total, $146 million is earmarked for Tennessee, according to the Memphis Business Journal. The five big banks involved in the deal were part of a nationwide investigation of improper foreclosure practices in which mortgage servicers used robo-signed documents and other potentially incorrect information to unfairly throw people out of their homes. By hashing out the agreement, lenders were able to avoid criminal prosecution. Money resulting from the settlement is intended to help prevent more foreclosure problems, ease the current mortgage mess, and assist some of those who lost their houses. Unfortunately, Tennessee bankruptcy lawyers say it may not do much good for those who need it most. Most of the money is being distributed to help state and local government agencies better enforce fair lending practices. Lawyer office in Mic...

 American consumers are traditionally pessimistic about the national economy. Yet when it comes to our own economies - our family finances - we can be optimistic to the point of default. From mounting credit card debt to missed mortgage payments, today's average consumer faces big financial troubles. But when it's time to fix our finances, we tend to take baby steps. We chalk the money problems up to a temporary issue, like those unexpected car repairs or that bigger-than-anticipated medical bill. Lawyer office in Michigan . We optimistically hope for a solution, such as that pay raise our boss mentioned last year. We might make a few budget tweaks here and there, but for the most part we continue spending as usual, using credit cards to cover the gap between income and expenses. Before long, our credit cards are maxed out, our house is on the verge of foreclosure, and that raise that we were holding out hope for never came through. Half-baked solutions produce half-baked ...