Being under financial stress makes people extremely vulnerable to scams, whether in New York or elsewhere. The key is being aware, being educated and being skeptical. And of course, it never hurts to have an experienced New York bankruptcy attorney to check in with. Here are five common mortgage scams that every New Yorker should …
5 common mortgage scams for New Yorkers to beware of Read More »
You may recently have heard that student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt. Currently forty-four million Americans owe some $1.5 trillion in student loans. You may also have heard there’s a proposal in Congress that would make student loan debt dischargeable in bankruptcy just like any other debts. Among the bipartisan bill’s sponsors are …
What are the consequences if I default on my student loan? Read More »
Yes, you can keep your home if you file for bankruptcy in New York. But it’s not a given. And depending on your circumstances, there are a few different ways to do it. If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, then you can keep your home as long as the remaining equity in your home …
Can I keep my home if I file for bankruptcy in New York? Read More »
Debtors usually point to two reasons for not hiring an experienced Brooklyn bankruptcy lawyer before filing a chapter 7 case: affordability and necessity. Obviously, many people who owe significant debts frequently lack the money for a bankruptcy attorney. (As an aside, there are options for debtors who are too poor for bankruptcy filing fees.) The …
Why Hire an Experienced Chapter 7 Brooklyn Bankruptcy Lawyer Read More »
It’s not possible for debtors to cram down or reduce the principal amount of a primary mortgage in a New York bankruptcy case. This was an unfortunate route that Congress chose to take during the Great Recession. Although, debtors do have options for dealing with junior mortgages that are underwater, i.e. not secured by any …
Post-Bankruptcy Options for Underwater Second Mortgages Read More »
During the Great Recession, mortgage-modification programs emerged as an alternative to default or filing New York bankruptcy. The federal government created one of the larger ones, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), but the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also introduced their own versions. A new report by the JPMorgan Chase Institute …
Report: Mortgage Modifications That Reduce Payments Work Best Read More »
Chapter 7 New York bankruptcy is often offered as an option for stopping a foreclosure. However, debtors should ask why it’s worth the trouble if they think they will lose their homes anyway. It’s a fair point: Debtors who are behind on their mortgages might not keep their homes in chapter 7. Ultimately, the answer …
Why File Chapter 7 to Delay an Inevitable Foreclosure? Read More »
Many mortgage lenders probably believe that homeowners default on their mortgages because they have negative equity, i.e. they’re underwater. In other words, these homeowners can afford to repay their mortgages but simply choose not to, and there’s a surprising amount of academic literature to that effect. Why “strategic default” is a bad idea for debtors …
Study: Unemployment Bigger Cause of Mortgage Default Than Previously Thought Read More »
Now that it’s 2017, the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has expired. Maybe that’s a bad thing for struggling homeowners, but investigative reporting found that HAMP was a dismal failure. It rejected millions of applications, and only several hundred thousand made it past that stage. Thus homeowners might want to know about other …
I recently explained why a mortgage modification might be an inferior choice to a chapter 13 bankruptcy. As it turns out, mortgage modifications can stymie a chapter 7 New York bankruptcy as well. Why? Two reasons: the means test and exemptions. I’ve discussed the chapter 7 means test in detail before, but debtors whose household …
Mortgage Modifications Can Stymie Chapter 7 Bankruptcies Too Read More »
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