It seems like yesterday when there were only a handful of options for dealing with federal student loans: consolidation, deferment, and forbearance. Then, in a matter of a few years, the government created a slew of acronymic hardship repayment programs: ICR, PSLF, IBR, and PAYE. Keeping these plans straight is difficult since they share so …
Government Proposing A New Student Loan Repayment Option: REPAYE Read More »
Just last week, I wrote about LegalZoom’s offer to help sign student debtors onto the federal government’s income-based repayment scheme, even though the process is meant to be done by debtors themselves for free. There were two points from that post: One was that LegalZoom might not be the usurper of traditional legal services as …
New York’s Student Protection Unit Announces Closure of Debt Relief Provider Read More »
One reason people find themselves in New York bankruptcy is that the interest rates on their debts are too high, which raises their monthly payments needlessly.Hopefully this is common sense, but according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) many Americans don’t consider interest rates when buying homes. Specifically, they don’t “shop” for mortgages, often …
CFPB Finds That Few Americans ‘Shop’ for Mortgages Read More »
Liens on underwater junior mortgages survive chapter 7 New York bankruptcy, which means homeowners will need to keep paying them to prevent foreclosure. Often, the response is to file a chapter 13 case after the chapter 7 one to strip the lien, but there are reasons to be cautious about taking that course of action. …
Alternatives to Chapter 13 After Discharging an Underwater Mortgage Read More »
For homeowners struggling with high mortgage payments, there are alternatives to filing New York bankruptcy. One of them, refinancing, is underused by homeowners, according to a report that was recently published by National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). (The NBER is best known for setting the official start and end dates of U.S. recessions.) The …
The big news in the education world is that Corinthian Colleges, a publicly traded company that owns three for-profit colleges, is in deep financial trouble. On June 19, 2014, the Department of Education believed that Corinthian was “falsifying job placement data used in marketing claims to prospective students, and [allegedly] altered grades and attendance.” As …
Beleaguered College Shows the Value of the ‘Closed School Discharge’ Read More »
File under non-bankruptcy options: What are some ways to pay down those credit card debts, stay out of New York bankruptcy, and possibly raise your credit score? Here are some answers: (1) Obtain your credit report. By federal law, you’re entitled to up to three free credit reports from the three credit reporting bureaus for …
Seven Tips for Paying Down Credit Card Debt and Raising Credit Scores Read More »
Although it’s difficult to discharge student loan debt in a New York bankruptcy, there is good news for student debtors: President Barack Obama recently acted to accelerate changes to the underused income-based repayment program for debtors with federal student loans, called pay-as-you-earn (PAYE). Going forward, many people who borrowed a federal loan before 2007 will …
Fed Survey Finds Widespread Ignorance on Student Loan Collections Read More »
If you listen to the collections industry, credit card companies have started employing a lighter touch when it comes to debt collection. An article on CollectionsAndCreditRisk.com says that this strategy is an attempt by the credit card industry to mitigate its losses. However, based on everything I hear from my clients, such genteel behavior by …
Credit Card Debt Collectors: Honey? Or more vinegar? Read More »
I’ve previously warned against working with debt settlement companies on the basis that many of them are scams and just take advantage of people. However, here’s one more reason to be wary of debt settlement companies: 1099-C…. the tax document you receive signifying income when a debt is forgiven. If you negotiate a settlement so …
1099-C and Forgiveness of Debt: Another reason to be wary of debt settlement companies Read More »
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