Around 2012, bankruptcy lawyers began reporting a strange trend: their clients’ bankruptcies were hijacked by third parties, causing significant problems for the debtors’ cases. The fad didn’t reach the East Coast to a significant degree, but New York bankruptcy hijacking is possible. Debtors, especially those who’ve gone without lawyers, should learn what the signs are …
Bankruptcy Hijacking: A Scam on the Unwary Debtor Read More »
In the last few years you may have heard something in the news that has not happened for a while: The Federal Reserve is gently raising its target interest rate, the effective “federal funds rate.” The Fed held this rate at about zero from late 2007 until the end of 2015, but fearing an overheating …
How Do Fed Rate Hikes Affect Debtors and Bankruptcy Filings? Read More »
Too often, debtors see grace periods offered by lenders as free benefits. “Grace” makes it sound so innocent. However, debtors who routinely rely on grace periods when making payments will find themselves facing financial difficulties that might lead to bankruptcy. The reason is that although creditors offer grace periods to debtors, they also use them …
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued a press briefing along with the update to its Household Debt and Quarterly Credit Report. It highlighted new research into the relationship between student loans and homeownership. At the same time, the update provides some insight into topics relating to New York bankruptcy. Beginning with the good …
NY Fed: More Student Loans Lead to Lower Homeownership Rates Read More »
It’s an unfortunate fact of Chapter 13 that it does not allow debtors to cram down their mortgages to the market value of their properties the way they can auto loans. Specifically, debtors can’t cram down their principal homes’ mortgages, but cram-downs are possible for investment properties. One question that’s been popping up recently in …
New York Bankruptcy Court Prohibits Lien-Stripping of Debtor’s Duplex Read More »
In February, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Liberty Street Economics blog published five posts on housing and homeownership. I won’t discuss the findings from every post, nor write five in response, but I will hit on the major points that might be salient to New York bankruptcy. In its first post, the Fed’s …
NY Fed: ‘Household Sector Remains Vulnerable to Severe Price Declines’ Read More »
When debtors have too few funds to pay too many debts, they don’t try to distribute their money among all their debts. Rather, they prioritize some debts over others. The insight, courtesy of a blog post at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Web site, can help debtors and New York bankruptcy lawyers determine …
I just wrote about the new study renewing the debate on whether underwater homeowners are stuck in their communities due to the “lock-in effect.” The hypothesis states that underwater homeowners are so reluctant to leave their homes at a loss or file bankruptcy that they stay put and try to find work locally, even if …
No ‘Lock-In Effect’ Stopping Millennials From Moving Read More »
If a homeowner’s equity goes negative, will the homeowner feel stuck and unable to find better work? Or, will the homeowner search for new work elsewhere and take the loss? It’s an important question in New York bankruptcy because if the so-called “lock-in” effect is real, homeowners would probably be better off in the long …
The ‘Lock-In Effect’ Revisited: Underwater Homeowners Stuck in Communities Read More »
I recently wrote about research showing that race sometimes influences New York bankruptcy chapter choices, and lawyers might misdirect black clients to chapter 13 when chapter 7 would be more appropriate. A new study from the Pew Research Center offers insight as to why black (and Hispanic) borrowers struggle with debts, specifically mortgage debts. Pew …
Pew Study: Blacks, Hispanics Struggle in Mortgage Markets Read More »
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