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Archive for October, 2008

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Thursday, October 30th, 2008

R.I.P.? Foreclosure Purgatory: Deceased Kicked Out in Funeral Home Evictions

Five bodies and the cremated remains of 22 people were evicted last week from a funeral home in suburban Detroit.

The deceased remains were removed from the House of Burns Memorial Chapel in Pontiac and shipped to the county medical examiner’s office for storage.

The county will ship the bodies to another funeral home if a family makes the request. Some of the remains date back to the ‘90s.

Detroit TV news stations aired video of caskets being hauled out of the building.

It was later reported that there were no bodies in them.

---Are you alive and facing foreclosure? Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be able to help you.

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Posted in Home Foreclosure | 1 Comment »

Thursday, October 30th, 2008

America’s Credit Card Defaults Increasing

The Washington Post reports that Americans are increasingly unable to pay off their credit card debt, which forces banks to not only lend to fewer people, but to also stockpile cash to guard against future losses.

Recent Federal Reserve data shows that the rate of credit cards defaulting increased 54 percent in the second quarter of 2008 from the same period a year ago.

Capital One recently announced that that their clients’ default and delinquency rates are climbing, especially in the credit card and auto loan departments.

It further reported that 6.34 of its credit card loans went into default in September, which was up from 5.96 percent of newly defaulted loans in August. It expects defaults will rise up to 7 percent of loans going bad each month.

JPMorgan Chase reported that the number of their credit cards in default status rose 45 percent in the third quarter compared to the same time last year. The company also predicts that default rates will continue to rise to total 7 percent of credit card loans going bad each month by 2009.

Are You In Credit Card Trouble?

Are you having trouble making ends meet, much less paying off your credit card debt? Did you know that Chapter 7 bankruptcy can eliminate unsecured debt like credit card debt?

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Posted in Your Credit Score | No Comments »

Monday, October 27th, 2008

Filing Bankruptcy Updates for October 27, 2008

Be in-the-know and check out the latest in bankruptcy news:

Mass Layoffs Cause Unemployment Rate to Spike Economists predict that more mass layoffs could soon push the unemployment rate to 7 percent. How could this affect you?

2008 Presidential Election: A Look at the Foreclosure Crisis As election day nears, Total Bankruptcy breaks down the candidate’s stances on financial issues that matter to you.

Poor Economy Spawns Violence We’ve all heard about how the economy is tied to violence.

So, what’s going on in the country today? Read about how in many cities, mental health hotlines are flooded with calls, domestic shelters are overflowing and counseling services are in high demand.

Economic Tidal Wave: Cities React to Dropping Property Values The financial crisis is hitting a lot of us hard. Total Bankruptcy examines how cities are reacting to the U.S.’s financial quandaries.

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Posted in Bankruptcy News and Events | 1 Comment »

Friday, October 24th, 2008

Bankruptcy Report: September Foreclosures Up 71% From Q3 2007

A RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows the third quarter foreclosure activity is up 3 percent from the second quarter and up an astounding 71 percent from the same time last year.

However, there is good news: September foreclosures decreased 12 percent from the previous month.

Most financial analysts attribute the decline to newly passed state legislation aimed at keeping homeowners in their home. Also, many homeowners are using the unique home protections offered by bankruptcy, which may save a home from foreclosure.

We all hope to continue to see more of a decline.

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Posted in Home Foreclosure | No Comments »

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

Another Huge U.S. Bank Making More “Mistakes”

After AIG was bailed out by taxpayers and subsequently had a $440,000 AIG spa retreat, Americans were mad.

I’m sure many of us could have used a shoulder rub and spa treatments too after our taxpayer dollars were ripped out from under us.

As we’re recovering from that wave of outrage—we get a bit more outrageous news that we’re supposed to swallow: Countrywide Home Loans Inc. is refusing to follow an Illinois state ruling.

Last week Illinois bank regulators tried to stop Countrywide (which is now owned by Bank of America) from creating new home loans in the state, according to a Chicago Tribune article.

The regulators said they would only allow the company to restructure loans of its existing clients.

Countrywide blatantly said it will continue to be “open for business” and does not intend to follow the state’s ruling.

Haven’t we been hearing that much of the financial crisis is due to unregulated companies acting in their own self-interest?

---Do you need a bailout? Check out this filing bankruptcy information to see if bankruptcy could help you get out of debt.

Will these corporations ever learn that their rebellious actions not only hurt the people of this nation but they also ultimately come around and bite them in the derriere?

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Posted in Predatory Lending | No Comments »

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Alternative to Bankruptcy May Mean Job Cuts for Circuit City

Circuit City Filing Bankruptcy?

Richmond-based Circuit City is considering shutting down 150 stores and cutting thousands of jobs in an effort to avoid filing bankruptcy.

The 59-year-old consumer electronic retailer has already turned to bankruptcy lawyers. If it decides to file bankruptcy, it will be following in the footsteps of Linens ‘N Things and Sharper Image and would be the largest retailer bankruptcy filing in several years.

As of August 31, 2008, Circuit City employed 45,000 people and had 714 stores in the United States, with 772 stores and dealer outlets in Canada.

The Wall Street Journal said the main contributor to Circuit City’s financial mess appears to be the declining credit market, which has kept the company from securing debtor-in-possession financing and helps companies in bankruptcy pay for their daily operations.

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Posted in Your Credit Score | No Comments »

Friday, October 17th, 2008

Filing Bankruptcy News This Week, Oct 17, 2008

As the week comes to an end, check the latest in bankruptcy news from Total Bankruptcy:

Middle-Class Foreclosure Crisis Looms It’s not just people who fell victim to subprime mortgages who are now facing mortgage foreclosure—the middle class is also feeling the heat.

Data Breaches on the Rise in the U.S. A recently published report warns that from January to September 2008, about 30 million consumer records have been exposed. That means 30 million Americans could be potential identity theft victims so far this year.

Cook County Sheriff Taking Foreclosure Law Into His Own Hands A county sheriff refuses to evict tenants from foreclosed homes because many innocent renters were put on the street because of their landlords’ nonpayments. His foreclosure moratorium has led to changes in the court.

Can the Hope for Homeowners Program Save Your Home? Learn about the Hope for Homeowners program and find out if it can help you save your home.

AIG Sends Execs on Luxury Retreat After Bailout Right after AIG was bailed out by the federal government (with taxpayer money), company big wigs went on a $440,000 luxury retreat complete with spa rubdowns, manicures, golfing and parties.

Be sure to also check out our new Save My Home section, which details how homeowners may be able to save their home from the foreclosure threat.

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Posted in Bankruptcy News and Events | No Comments »

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

Which Countries May Be Filing Bankruptcy?

As of the result of the current lending and failing-bank crisis, financial tremors are being felt all over the world.

A recent article in The Telegraph discussed some of the countries that may be facing bankruptcy.

Some of the countries at risk for filing bankruptcy include:

  • Ukraine
  • Kazakhstan
  • Hungary
  • Argentina
  • Pakistan
  • Iceland

There are obvious political and social issues concerning any country filing bankruptcy.

This is just one more example of how interconnected we all are on this planet.

Check out a recent Total Bankruptcy article about Sweden’s past economic crisis:

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Posted in Economic News: How Are We Doing? | No Comments »

Monday, October 13th, 2008

The Bankruptcy Blog Week in Review

For the latest on bankruptcy, economic and foreclosure matters, check out Total Bankruptcy’s recent bankruptcy articles:

Corporate Bankruptcy & the Bailout Plan—What it Means to The Rest of Us As Wall Street gets handed billions of taxpayer dollars, other American businesses are filing bankruptcy. How does this affect Americans?

Lessons from Sweden: How They Saved Their Economy and Paid Back Taxpayers Not too long ago, Sweden faced an economic crisis similar to the current situation in the United States. Find out what they did that boosted their economy and helped out the taxpayers who footed the risk.

States Will Soon Receive Foreclosure Fix Funds The government will soon be handing out $3.92 billion to states and cities around the nation to rehab foreclosed houses. Read about the plan and the controversy surrounding it.

What Does the Bailout Mean For Homeowners Facing Mortgage Foreclosure? Find out what the bailout bill really says about mortgage foreclosure. Have struggling homeowners been left out?

Also, be sure to check out our Business Bankruptcies section, which has up-to-date information about the Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers, Luminent Mortgage and Paper International bankruptcies.

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Posted in Bankruptcy News and Events | No Comments »

Friday, October 10th, 2008

September 2008 Personal Bankruptcy Filings Up

Consumers are increasingly filing bankruptcy, according to recently released data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.

Nationwide, personal bankruptcies were up 28.6 percent this September over the same time a year ago. However, there is some good news: personal bankruptcy filings were down 8 percent from the previous month.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings represented 33.5 percent of all the consumer cases in September.

Unfortunately, with the dragging economy, this news isn’t so surprising.

Check out Total Bankruptcy’s article Bankruptcy Filers in 2007 for more information on bankruptcy trends.

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Posted in Bankruptcy News and Events | No Comments »

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