Tonight at 10:00 p.m. the lead story on Channel 13 inTampa is about the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys’ survey that came out today warning of an emerging student loan debt bomb. News Reporter Jeremy Campbell interviewed me about this study and the future impact of student loan debt.…
I speak with many clients in the Tampa Bay, Florida area who have heard of cancelled debt and 1099-C forms but they do not really understand the impact of the taxable events that occur in a short sale. An understanding of how a 1099C works in a short sale is…
Our Florida clients have recently been asking me if there is a new law allowing them to reduce their mortgage balance to the value of their home. This is not accurate and I am not sure where this is coming from. My guess it may be from somewhat misleading and…
Mortgage modifications are often determined by whether the owner (not servicer) is either a participant in HAMP or a recipient of TARP bailout funds. Here’s how to check on your lenders: First, use our Resource page on our website to look up who likely owns your loan by doing a…
The Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, has recently implemented a mediation program for homeowners wishing to modify their first mortgages. The Orlando Division has had a similar program in place for a year or more and reports a success rate of 70%, unlike the state…
Let’s put into perspective the recent S&P debt downgrade of the United States. U.S. Tax Revenue: $2,170,000,000,000 Fed. Budget: $3,820,000,000,000 New Debt: $1,650,000,000,000 National Debt: $14,271,000,000,000 Recent Budget Cut: $38,500,000,000 Now let’s remove 8 zeros and compare this to an ordinary household: Annual family income: $21,700 Money the family spent:…
Our Florida clients sometimes ask me why they cannot strip off a second mortgage in a Chapter 7 like often done in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy nowadays. The limitation can be found in the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410, 417 (1992). The Court…
I have discussed the many second mortgages that can be removed or stripped off clients’ property in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy due to the low home values in Florida. Today, I’d like to discuss other possibilities to remove a second mortgage that we are seeing. Today for instance, I received…
Bankruptcy clients who are new to Florida come to our office complaining about what I call the Exemptions Calculus Problem. Learning calculus seems simpler. Below are some useful sites and a brief explanation as to how exemptions work. First, exemptions in bankruptcy are important because they decide what you get…
Have you been considering walking away from your house payments and mortgage? According to a recent CNN article, many homeowners are getting ruthless and voluntarily choosing to walk away. We are seeing this more and more among our foreclosure defense and short sale clients. Sometimes it is better to take…