As a Pittsburgh bankruptcy lawyer, I get a lot of calls from young people with significant student loan debt. I often hear from folks with over $100,000 in student loans. After reading a blog post this evening in The Atlantic about the prospect of “settling” defaulted student loan debt, here are my three ideas. 1) if you’ve defaulted on a … Read More
2 Quick Tips on How to Rebuild your Credit after Bankruptcy
Here’s a quick case study on one client who recently filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, became debt-free and improved his credit rating in the process. When he came into my office, he was bothered by the fact that he had recently been sued by a credit card company at his local magistrate. By the way, he was particularly miffed because … Read More
What can Donald Trump teach you about filing bankruptcy?
If you’re considering a bankruptcy filing, you’ve probably heard about Donald Trump filing a bankruptcy case as well. He’s actually filed four cases, in 1991, 1992, 2004 and 2009. But, they’ve all been corporate cases. He’s never filed for personal bankruptcy. His New Jersey casinos and hotels had taken on too much debt, and as a result, his corporation, Trump … Read More
Is your mortgage current after a Chapter 13 case?
Notice of Cure in a Chapter 13 case A lot of clients ask how they know that they’re current on their mortgages after their Chapter 13 case has been completed. It’s actually ingenious, but in our district here in Western Pennsylvania, the Chapter 13 Trustee will file a notice with our Court called a “Notice of Cure” which states that … Read More
My Thoughts on Getting a Mortgage Loan Modification
There’s been a tidal wave lately of folks applying for loan modifications with their mortgage companies. All I can say is to be careful about what you wish for. First, the Obama Administration programs for loan modifications such as HAMP are entirely voluntary on the part of mortgage companies. So you can’t sue the bank or force it to accept … Read More
Does My Spouse Have to File Bankruptcy With Me?
I had some new clients today who wanted to save their home from foreclosure. They had been getting a run-around from their mortgage company, Chase, about a possible loan modification. After about 6 months of attempting a modification, they were now $7,100 behind on their mortgage. I talked with them about filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to automatically stop any … Read More
Can I Stay in My Home After a Sheriff’s Sale?
I recently posted a piece about how long mortgage foreclosure takes in Pennsylvania. A different question came to me today from a client, who asked how long he could expect to stay in his home after his sheriff’s sale was completed. Basically, it’s going to really depend on the circumstances. First, you should realize that most foreclosures result in the … Read More
Over 7 Million American Homeowners More than 30 Days Delinquent on their Mortgage
More than 7 million American homeowners are more than 30 days delinquent on their mortgage payments or in foreclosure. So reports DSNews.com today, and they add that of those 7 million homeowners, 2,055,000 are in active foreclosure proceedings, while 4,963,000 are in pre-foreclosure stages of collections.
Pennsylvania Bankruptcy to Change on November lst
On November 1, 2010, the bankruptcy “means test” changes due to changes in the U.S. Census Bureau’s average income totals. The means test in bankruptcy is that portion on the petition in which you must enter your household income totals for the past six months. Your monthly income is then compared to the average monthly income in the State in … Read More
How long does mortgage foreclosure take in Pennsylvania?
First Step for Mortgage Foreclosure If you are a Pennsylvania residence who is behind on mortgage payments, it’s important to know how mortgage foreclosure generally works and what the procedures are. If you are generally three full months behind on your mortgage payments, then your mortgage company will send you a letter entitled “Notice of Intention to Foreclose” via regular … Read More