Bankruptcy filings in the Orlando area have decreased for a second year in a row, leading to the lowest number of filings since 2008. Through November 2012, there were 16,640 bankruptcy cases that had been filed in the metro area. That is a 9.3 percent decrease...
Tax relief on forgiven debt hangs off of fiscal cliff
The rhetoric around the fiscal cliff and the federal budget negotiations has gotten quite heated in recent weeks, as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle try to find a way to balance the budget. Regardless of one's political party, most Florida readers know that...
Total household debt payments down overall
The total percentage of household income being spent on debt payments has gone down in 2012, according to data released recently by the Federal Reserve. On average, households in the United States are spending just under 11 percent of their after-tax income making...
Giant national debt buyer promises to change its ways
Encore Capital Group Inc., a debt buyer notorious to state attorneys general for its collection practices, is promising to change the way subsidiary Midland Funding LLC goes about collecting bills. Facing a lawsuit by the state of Minnesota, Midland agreed to pay...
Mortgage debt decreases for Florida borrowers
According to a recent report by a consumer credit website, the average balance for a mortgage in the state of Florida has decreased by about $3,000 over the past year. This is good news for borrowers in Florida, who, like homeowners across the country, have been...
More people unable to pay back their student loan debt
As we've discussed before, student loan debt has grown to record amounts in recent years. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says student loan debt increased 4.6 percent in the third quarter and now sits at $956 billion. Shockingly, student loan debt has increased...
Florida widows facing foreclosure at no fault of their own
A home is a sacred place for many people. For the elderly, it may be one last piece of a deceased spouse that they can hold onto. More and more widows over the age of 50, however, are facing foreclosure as a result of a paperwork glitch. Older women who were not named...
Fannie and Freddie to halt evictions, foreclosures for holidays
Government-backed mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have released a statement saying that they will pause evictions from two-to-four unit properties as well as single family homes during the remainder of the holiday season. The temporary hold will be in...
Couple fights foreclosure, argues for loan modification
Florida readers know how hard it can be to manage an unexpected financial burden. Even those who save and plan carefully for their futures can at some point face bad luck and a confluence of circumstances that leads to a foreclosure. Borrowers often seek loan...
Occupy activists come up with debt relief plan
Many Florida borrowers dream of waking up one day to find that some anonymous donor has paid off their debt and set them free from years of interest payments and financial hardship. While this scenario is unlikely, the activists who participated in the Occupy Wall...
