Forbes magazine recently posted a list of celebrities who are going through home foreclosure. Although sales of foreclosed homes are going down, the real estate market collapse is still affecting millions of U.S. homeowners, and the rich and famous aren't exempt from...
Month: February 2011
CARD Act may actually be exacerbating credit card debt for poor
The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, or the CARD Act, was signed into law last year with great fanfare. It was intended to protect consumers from lender practices that often made it difficult or impossible to pay off unmanageable credit...
Aaron Buerge of ‘The Bachelor’ 2002 seeks Chapter 7 protection
Aaron Buerge, star of the second season of ABC's "The Bachelor," is apparently facing another round of bad luck. His stint on the TV series ended with an engagement, but it was broken just weeks after the show's finale. Buerge has since married, but it seems he is now...
Chapter 7, Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcies up again in 2010
According to bankruptcy statistics compiled by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the number of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy filings rose again in 2010. This marks the fifth straight year that bankruptcy filings by individuals have...
Foreclosed homeowner wins ruling that U.S. Bank did not negotiate
A recent California appellate court case was a win for a foreclosed homeowner, but it also demonstrates how important it is to get good legal advice during bankruptcy. According to Forbes blogger Shah Gilani, the case highlights both the empty promises many troubled...
Madoff’s Chapter 7 trustee wants $6.4 billion from JPMorgan Chase
Irving Picard, the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case of Bernard Madoff and his company Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities Inc., is suing JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $6.4 billion on behalf of the victims of Madoff's $65 billion...
Foreclosure mediation programs under consideration by Senate
The housing market has not yet stabilized, and home foreclosures continue to be a problem in Florida and many other states. Lawmakers are now considering new solutions for distressed homeowners. One idea is to enact legislation giving bankruptcy judges the power to...
CFPB to banks: Foreclosures on active-duty military off limits
Last month, NBC News reported that JPMorgan Chase had allegedly violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a 2003 law that protects active-duty military personnel from civil lawsuits, including home foreclosure, and from high mortgage interest rates. Chase has now...
Study: No-limit credit cards actually hurt your FICO credit score
Whether you've had credit troubles or not, the offer of a credit card with no spending limit might get you thinking. On the one hand, it's an obvious opportunity to build up your credit card debt to truly unmanageable levels. On the other hand, wouldn't it be a relief...