Chaos could benefit homeowners, candidates for bankruptcy protection [Editor's Note: This is the first of seven parts.] by Mike Hinshaw What began as a trickle in 2004 has swelled into a flood as major banks suspend foreclosures because of shoddy record keeping  attendant to risky securitization of mortgage loans. According to a Reuters piece posted today, [...]

As we mentioned in two preceding posts (here and here)  the Great Recession is officially “over.” Yet the effects linger. Bankruptcies still rising From the Sept. 27 Chicago Sun-Times, under the headline “Bankruptcies soar despite stiffer laws, higher costs”: The recession has left consumers in its wake. In the metro Chicago area, 48,510 individuals filed [...]

This personal bankruptcy story was posted on the internet in February of 2010 as a blog in a discussion on bankruptcy: “My wife and I have managed our money poorly, no doubt. Especially when we were both in college. My wife’s mother was dying out of state so she used the credit cards to pay [...]

Last time, we discussed the official declaration of the end of the Great Recession, tagged as June 2009–and how such a declaration seems at odds with this month’s Census Bureau report that shows even as the crisis bottomed out the U.S. poverty rate increased. If you are contemplating filing for bankruptcy protection, you may be [...]

Cover of Psychic: My Life in Two Worlds Many of you may remember Sylvia Browne, an American author and famous self proclaimed psychic guru. At 73 years old, she recently made the New York Times bestselling list with the release of her autobiography entitled Psychic: My Life in Two Worlds. Whether you believe in psychic [...]

According to excerpts taken from a news article posted in the San Francisco Chronicle, dated September 2, 2010 and written by Victoria Colliver, an Alameda County report showed home foreclosures were related to creating health problems. Colliver wrote, “The report found foreclosures have not only economic consequences, but create health problems for the people and [...]

This personal bankruptcy story was posted on the internet in May of 2010 as a blog in a discussion on bankruptcy: “I have two friends who recently had their bankruptcies discharged. They have not experienced any negative effects. In fact, they both discussed how it was so awesome that they got to keep two Rolex [...]

OK, now it’s official: The Fat Lady of the Recession finally sang–in June of 2009. So we were correct in calling the National Association for Business Economic’s (NABE) announcement premature. NABE, sourced in an Oct. 12 Reuters piece (with a headline saying the U.S. unemployment rate was 10 per cent) cited “survey of 44 professional [...]

This personal bankruptcy story was posted on the internet in March of 2010 as a blog in a discussion on bankruptcy: “My husband has been laid off for 19 months. Our mortgage payment is 1,000 a month plus I have [taken] some loans out of cash expresses. We are behind on our mortgage and we [...]

According to news articles posted in June of 2010, the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) successfully resolved litigation against Countrywide Home Loans Inc. in its ongoing efforts to protect homeowners in bankruptcy in the state of Kansas. Over a two-year period, the USTP worked closely with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to carry out parallel investigations [...]