Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Individuals

Chapter 13 is a repayment bankruptcy.  It is utilized by individuals, and owners of sole proprietorships or other “mom and pop” businesses, not only to obtain a fresh start, but also to retain their assets and reorganize their financial affairs.
For most individuals with debt problems, the major decision is whether to file for protection [...]

Foreclosure Prevention Resources

To supplement our series for Distressed Homeowners, I found some resources to help preserve home ownership, avoid foreclosure, and protect against foreclosure and debt elimination scams.
Before you work with a firm that claims it can help you “rescue” you from foreclosure be sure to familiarize yourself with:

Foreclosure “rescue” and refinance fraud
Fake “government” modification program
Leaseback/rent-to-buy schemes
Bankruptcy [...]

Mortgage Modification Mixups

My law partner, Rick Mitchell, and I are disgusted by the false promises and abysmal performance of the nation’s mortgage lenders who claim to be participating in the “Making Homes Affordable” program.  Homeowners were lured into this program with the expectation that they would get an answer within the “modification period” (usually 3-6 months) and [...]

Foreclose or Declare Bankruptcy?

Clients in financial difficulty often ask whether they are better served allowing their home to go into foreclosure or whether bankruptcy might be a better option for them.
Not since the Great Depression have so many people had to learn so much about credit law. Five years ago most of the clients we now see in [...]

Who Defaults, and Why?

This month we’ve run a series for distressed homeowners and published NC foreclosure data. To round out our coverage on the topic I want to discuss a paper written by James E. Rogers of the University of Arizona’s College of Law because it runs counter to what people generally believe is happening with people “walking [...]

NC Foreclosures

The highest rates of foreclosure in North Carolina are in the urban (Wake, Guilford, Mecklenburg) and surrounding counties (Union County in particular), and in the mountains (Caldwell County, etc.), where investment property was marketed like this…

Primer for Distressed Homeowners: Part 3 of 3

In our first post of this series we covered the foreclosure process and defined some basic real estate terms related to distressed sales.
In the second post, we answered questions on preventing foreclosure, negotiating with a mortgage company, and what to do about an adjustable rate mortgage that will soon reset.
This post addresses questions on short [...]

Primer for Distressed Homeowners: Part 2 of 3

In our first post of this series we covered the foreclosure process and defined some basic real estate terms related to distressed sales.
In this article we cover questions and answers on preventing foreclosure, negotiating with a mortgage company, and what to do about an adjustable rate mortgage that will soon reset.
Q: Can I legally prevent [...]

Primer for Distressed Homeowners: Part 1 of 3

With the jobless recovery hitting the Charlotte region particularly hard, we’re getting a steady stream of calls asking for help preventing home foreclosures, forced sales and sheriff’s sales, and facilitating short sales.

Charlotte Bankruptcy in the Headlines

When you’ve been around as long as I have, you call things as you see them.  Maybe that’s why reporters call me to comment on high-profile bankruptcy cases.
Charlotte’s 210 Trade files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
In case you missed my 2-second TV debut last week on WSOC, here’s a link to what I said about the 210 [...]

Next Page »