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The TransUnion Industry Insights Report, released on Monday, May 18, 2015, reveals that the rate of borrowers 60 days or more delinquent on their mortgages declined to 2.95% in the first three months of 2015 – the first time the variable has been below 3% since prior to the recession in 2007.
This also marks the 13th consecutive quarterly drop in the mortgage delinquency rate.
The quarterly overview summarizing data, trends and perspectives on the U.S. consumer lending industry, isn’t all wine and roses. The delinquency rate for subprime consumers remains at 27.23%. This is down from the peak of 40.48% in 2010, but is still shows that we’ve got a long way to go on the lower end of the spectrum.
Los Angeles has one of the lowest delinquency rates in the nation at a paltry 2.07% – tied with Phoenix and just slightly higher than San Francisco.
On the high end New York stands at 5.71%, beaten by only Miami at 6.15%.
A few other notable points of the report:
Average mortgage balances per consumer also continued to increase on both a quarterly and yearly basis to $187,175 in Q1 2015. Mortgage balances were at $186,836 at this same time last year, and at $187,139 in Q4 2014.
The share of mortgage balances held by consumers who are currently subprime and near-prime dropped by 9.8% and 2.9% respectively, which is consistent with recent years. Subprime and near-prime consumers currently hold only 32% of the total balances they held at the beginning of 2010. By comparison, prime, prime plus, and super-prime consumers hold roughly the same amount of mortgage balances as they did at the beginning of 2010.
What does it all mean?
- More people are paying their mortgages than was the case even a few months ago
- Fewer people have subprime mortgages – due in large measure to the fact that so many subprime borrowers lost their homes to foreclosure in the 2007-2014 period
- Those who do have mortgages are paying more than they were last year, which means prices are going up again
- Subprime borrowers continue to struggle with past due mortgage payments far more often than others
The post Mortgage Delinquencies Fall To Lowest Level Since 2007 appeared first on Bankruptcy and Student Loan Lawyers - 866.787.8078.
On May 18, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a debtor who converts to Chapter 7 is entitled to return of any postpetition wages not yet distributed by the Chapter 13 trustee.
The Court, in Harris v. Viegelahn, involved the case of Charles Harris III who filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy after he fell behind on his mortgage payments. Though his Chapter 13 Plan provided that he would repay his mortgage arrears over time while making new payments to the mortgage company, he fell behind on those new payments within a few months.
Just nine months after filing his Chapter 13 Plan, the mortgage company got court approval to move ahead with foreclosure. The house went back to the mortgage company, but the Chapter 13 trustee kept receiving the Plan payments.
Without mortgage arrears, the Chapter 13 trustee held onto the funds. And when Mr. Harris finally decided to convert his bankruptcy case to one under Chapter 7 he wanted his money back.
Rather than giving Mr. Harris back his money, the Chapter 13 trustee got rid of the money by sending $1,200 to Harris’ lawyer for unpaid legal fees, paying herself a $267.79 fee, and distributing the rest of the money to Harris’ creditors.
The Court noted that absent a bad-faith conversion, §348(f) limits a converted Chapter 7 estate to property belonging to the debtor “as of the date” the original Chapter 13 petition was filed. Postpetition wages, the Court held, do not fit that bill.
As to postpetition wages held by a Chapter 13 trustee at the time the case is converted to Chapter 7, Court concluded that they must be returned to the debtor because §348(f)(1)(A) removes those earnings from the pool of assets that may be liquidated and distributed to creditors.
In other words, conversion takes the money out of the trustee’s control unless there was bad faith on the debtor’s part. A Chapter 13 trustee is no more – he or she is now only a former Chapter 13 trustee. And a former Chapter 13 trustee has no authority to distribute payments in accordance with a Chapter 13 Plan.
The brilliant minds at the National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center submitted an amicus brief in support of the debtor’s position. If you’re in a position to do so, you should consider contributing to NCBRC.
Check out the decision by clicking here.
The post Supreme Court To Chapter 13 Trustees: Give Back The Money! appeared first on Bankruptcy and Student Loan Lawyers - 866.787.8078.
Many individuals and families are filing bankruptcy due to medical bills. If you are overwhelmed by medical bills, you are not alone. The Center for Disease Control released a report in 2012 that 1 in 4 American households are struggling with medical debt. Even households with public or private insurance are having trouble paying off medical debt. The research data demonstrates a growing number of households facing financial hardship due to medical bills. See the CDC report data below.
“Data from the National Health Interview Survey, 2012
• In 2012, more than one in four families experienced financial burdens of medical care.
• Families with incomes at or below 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL) were more likely to experience financial burdens of medical care than families with incomes above 250% of the FPL.
• Families with children aged 0–17 years were more likely than families without children to experience financial burdens of medical care.
• The presence of a family member who was uninsured increased the likelihood that a family would experience a financial burden of medical care.”
“Recently published data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) found that 1 in 5 persons was in a family having problems paying medical bills, and 1 in 10 persons was in a family with medical bills that they were unable to pay at all.”
” More than one in four families experienced financial burdens of medical care.
• In 2012, 26.8% of families in the United States experienced any financial burden of medical care (Figure 1).
• Almost 1 in 6 families (16.5%) had problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months, 1 in 10 families (8.9%) had medical bills that they were unable to pay at all (a subgroup of those having problems paying medical bills), and 1 in 5 families (21.4%) were paying medical bills over time.
Figure 1. Percentage of families with selected financial burdens of medical care: United States, 2012
Families with lower incomes were more likely to experience financial burdens of medical care.
• Those families with incomes at or below 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL) had the highest levels of any financial burden of medical care (Figure 2).
• The percentage of families having problems paying medical bills and the percentage of families with medical bills that they were unable to pay at all (a subgroup of those having problems paying medical bills) decreased with increasing family incomes.
• Families with incomes ranging from 139% through 250% of the FPL were most likely to have been paying medical bills over time.
Figure 2. Percentage of families with selected financial burdens of medical care, by poverty level: United States, 2012
Families with children were more likely than families without children to experience financial burdens of medical care.
• One in three families with children (36.0%) experienced any financial burden of medical care (Figure 3).
• One in four families that included two or more adults with no children (25.2%) experienced any financial burden of medical care.
• One in five families with only one adult and no children (adults living alone), or 20.1%, experienced any financial burden of medical care.
• Families with children were more likely than families without children to experience problems paying medical bills, to have medical bills that they were unable to pay at all (a subgroup of those having problems paying medical bills), or to have medical bills that they had been paying over time.
• Adults living alone were less likely than families with two or more adults and no children to experience problems paying medical bills or to have medical bills that they had been paying over time.
Figure 3. Percentage of families with selected financial burdens of medical care, by number of adults and children aged 0–17 years in the family: United States, 2012
Families with an uninsured family member were more likely to have financial burdens of medical care.
• Families with a mixture of coverage types within the family and families in which some or all members were uninsured were more likely to have experienced any financial burden of medical care in the past 12 months than were families in which either all members had private insurance or all members had public coverage (Figure 4).
• Among families in which all members had private insurance or all members had public coverage, approximately 21% experienced any financial burden of medical care.
• Among families in which some members had private insurance and some members had public coverage, 35.8% experienced any financial burden of medical care.
• Among families in which all members were uninsured, 39.7% experienced any financial burden of medical care.
• Among families in which some members were insured and some members were uninsured, 46.0% experienced any financial burden of medical care.
Figure 4. Percentage of families that had any financial burden of medical care in the past 12 months, by family health care coverage status: United States, 2012”
As outlined above, you can see the problems families are facing when it comes to paying for medical bills. The demand for medical bill payment is placing a strain on other financial obligations, such as credit card bills, utilities, and even grocery money. In some cases, your choice may be to make a medical bill payment or feed your family. In addition, the large payments required in most payment plans are not helping families find any relief. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is a sure sign you need some relief.
If you are facing a financial hardship due to medical bills, bankruptcy may be the right step for you. Shannon Wynn, Elkhorn bankruptcy lawyer, states, “Bankruptcy is a great option to relieve yourself of the financial burden brought about by medical bills. The bankruptcy code was created for individuals and families in these types of situations. Medical and hospital bills are not expenses people plan for. They are usually unexpected. Bankruptcy allows individuals and families a fresh start.”
There are different types of bankruptcy. Our Elkhorn bankruptcy lawyer will answer all your questions, guide you through the bankruptcy process, and qualify you for specific bankruptcy filings. If you would like to learn more about filing bankruptcy due to medical bills, please contact our Elkhorn bankruptcy lawyer for a free consultation. You can reach our Elkhorn bankruptcy law office by phone at 262-725-0175 or by email via our Elkhorn bankruptcy website’s contact page.
Find out if you qualify for bankruptcy.
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*The content and material on this web page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU LAUNCHES PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LOAN SERVICING PRACTICES
Bureau Seeks Information On Industry Practices That Can Create Student Debt Stress
Here is an announcement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is launching a public inquiry into student loan servicing practices that can make paying back loans a stressful or harmful process for borrowers. The issues that the Bureau is seeking information on include: industry practices that create repayment challenges, hurdles for distressed borrowers, and the economic incentives that may affect the quality of service. The CFPB is also re-launching an enhanced version of its Repay Student Debt online tool to help borrowers figure out their options for affordable repayment.
“Student debt stress can make borrowers feel like they are walking a tightrope where any false move in paying back a loan can cause them to fall,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Today’s inquiry seeks information on the pain points in student loan servicing that make repayment a more difficult and stressful process.”
The Request for Information.
Student loans make up the nation’s second largest consumer debt market. The market has grown rapidly in the last decade. Today there are more than 40 million federal and private student loan borrowers and collectively these consumers owe more than $1.2 trillion. The market is now facing an increasing number of borrowers who are struggling to stay current on their loans.
A factsheet about student debt stress is available. Read more….
The post Student Loans – The Latest Financial Nightmare & How CFPB is Helping appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU LAUNCHES PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LOAN SERVICING PRACTICESBureau Seeks Information On Industry Practices That Can Create Student Debt Stress
Announcement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is launching a public inquiry into student loan servicing practices that can make paying back loans a stressful or harmful process for borrowers. The issues that the Bureau is seeking information on include: industry practices that create repayment challenges, hurdles for distressed borrowers, and the economic incentives that may affect the quality of service. The CFPB is also re-launching an enhanced version of its Repay Student Debt online tool to help borrowers figure out their options for affordable repayment.
“Student debt stress can make borrowers feel like they are walking a tightrope where any false move in paying back a loan can cause them to fall,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Today’s inquiry seeks information on the pain points in student loan servicing that make repayment a more difficult and stressful process.”
The Request for Information.
Student loans make up the nation’s second largest consumer debt market. The market has grown rapidly in the last decade. Today there are more than 40 million federal and private student loan borrowers and collectively these consumers owe more than $1.2 trillion. The market is now facing an increasing number of borrowers who are struggling to stay current on their loans.
A fact sheet about student loan stress
Income Based Repayment Plans
The post Student Loans – CFPB Helping Deal with Financial Nightmare appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.
You can file a bankruptcy case on your own which is known as filing pro se. However, I would not recommend this and I would certainly never recommend it in a chapter 13 bankruptcy case. Approximately once per month, someone will come into my office who has filed a bankruptcy case on their own behalf+ Read More
The post Filing Bankruptcy On Your Own: It’s Not That Simple appeared first on David M. Siegel.
I highly recommend this great article in the New York Times. Everyone should understand the issues related to protecting your own or your parents’ hard earned retirement funds when faced with a financial crisis. A good portion of every client I meet has dipped into their retirement funds to pay off debts, only to find the debts never end – default interest, late charges, attorney and collection fees…… the list goes on and on.
The following is a brief clip of the entire article.
For some older Americans, bankruptcy can bring much-needed relief from debt brought on by medical expenses or helping needy children, and experts say it can be a valuable tool to protect retirement assets, after negotiating with creditors. But with reliable statistics on current bankruptcies hard to come by, anecdotal evidence suggests that shame at being in financial turmoil frequently prevents retirees from getting help early.
“People usually postpone bankruptcy for several years before filing,” said Deborah Thorne, an associate professor of sociology at Ohio University, who has studied older Americans and bankruptcy. “When finances head south, they should file right away.”
By spending retirement assets, Ms. Thorne said, retirees risk a downward financial spiral from which they are less likely to recover than younger people. A better strategy is to defend assets at all costs, she said.
Read more…
The post Bankruptcy Can Help Seniors Protect Their Assets appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.
Bankruptcy Can Help Older Americans Take Control of Their LivesMany elderly live in terror of a debt collector calling.
I highly recommend this great article in the New York Times about bankruptcy and the elderly. Everyone should understand the issues related to protecting your own or your parents’ hard earned retirement funds when faced with a financial crisis. A good percentage of every client I meet has dipped into their retirement funds to pay off debts, only to find the debts never end – default interest, late charges, attorney and collection fees…… the list goes on and on.
“Bankruptcy can bring much-needed relief from debt brought on by medical expenses or helping needy children…”
The following is a brief clip of the entire article.
For some older Americans, bankruptcy can bring much-needed relief from debt brought on by medical expenses or helping needy children, and experts say it can be a valuable tool to protect retirement assets, after negotiating with creditors. But with reliable statistics on current bankruptcies hard to come by, anecdotal evidence suggests that shame at being in financial turmoil frequently prevents retirees from getting help early.
“People usually postpone bankruptcy for several years before filing,” said Deborah Thorne, an associate professor of sociology at Ohio University, who has studied older Americans and bankruptcy. “When finances head south, they should file right away.”
By spending retirement assets, Ms. Thorne said, retirees risk a downward financial spiral from which they are less likely to recover than younger people. A better strategy is to defend assets at all costs, she said.
Click here for the entire article....
The post Bankruptcy Can Help Seniors Find Peace of Mind appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.
Did you get called by Bayview Legal for CashNetUSA? Elle came to talk to me yesterday about bankruptcy. At our meeting, she told me about Bayview Legal. She said she had made payment arrangements with “Bayview Legal” to pay a debt to CashNetUSA. She wanted to file bankruptcy, but figured she had to pay Bayview. […]The post CashNetUSA, “Bayview Legal” calling from 855-849-6256 by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.
According to an article in the New York Times, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase are finally agreeing to properly identify debts that were discharged in bankruptcy. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have agreed to update borrowers’ credit reports within the next three months to reflect that the debts were extinguished.
There has been a fierce battle over the lawsuits, brought by Charles Juntikka, a bankruptcy lawyer in Manhattan, and George F. Carpinello, a partner with Boies, Schiller & Flexner.
Judge Robert D. Drain, who is presiding over the cases, has repeatedly refused the banks’ requests to throw out the lawsuits. In July, when he refused to dismiss the case against JPMorgan, he said, “The complaint sets forth a cause of action that Chase is using the inaccuracy of its credit reporting on a systematic basis to further its business of selling debts and its buyer’s collection of such debt.”
At a hearing in April, transcripts show, the judge criticized Citigroup for not changing the way it reports debts to the credit reporting agencies. “I continue to believe there’s one reason, and one reason only, that Citibank refuses to change its policy,” the judge said. The reason, the judge went on, is “because it makes money off of it.”
This problem has plagued close to a million people who have filed for bankruptcy protection, only to find their debts incorrectly reported. To exacerbate the situation, Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup and Synchrony Financial, formerly GE Capital Retail Finance sold these discharged debts to collectors, and did not disclose they were discharged in bankruptcy. Why?? Because they could sell the debts for more if they failed to disclosed the were uncollectable debts.
The consequences of these debts still appearing on a credit report without any reference to the bankruptcy discharge? People lose their jobs or cannot get a job because of this “bad” debt. People are denied the right to rent or purchase as house, or buy a car. Harassing calls from these debt collectors “zombie debt buyers”. These debt buyers call without regard to the truth of the discharged debt.
It is about time someone (thank you Judge Robert. D. Drain) stood up to these greedy companies who flagrantly ignore the law because they think they are too big to be caught. You can only hope there is a special place for these folks in the afterlife.
The post JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America Agree to Correctly Report Debts Discharged in Bankruptcy appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.
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