The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

Everything old is new again with news that private investment firms are now lending to subprime borrowers again.

In fact, based on a Wall Street Journal report, subprime borrowers—home buyers whose credit scores do not meet the standards of banks—who had been largely shut out of the lending market in the years since the financial crisis, are now finding a much more liberal environment for getting a home loan. Apparently, as part of the deal, private investors are more willing to accept alternative forms of documentation as proof of income, opening up more average Americans to the hard-to-come-by benefits—and heavy financial burdens—of home ownership.…

While many Americans learned a harsh lesson during the economic recession—turning away from reckless spending in an attempt to increase much-needed savings and avoid high-interest consumer debts—auto lenders still did well during the downturn, as demand for cars remained high and auto loans became one of the very few types of consumer debts that grew even as consumer confidence dwindled.

In this auto-lending boom, more and more subprime lenders are popping up on the scene, willing to take advantage of a credit-ravaged consumer’s need for a new or used car.

Take for example Ally Financial, Inc. As Reuters is reporting, the largest American auto lender is making bank on many an unwary consumer’s automobile buys.…

Facing everything from medical markups, to investment issues, to mortgage meltdowns to cash-strapped kids, it’s clearer than ever that our country’s oldest citizens represent one of the hardest hit demographics in the country’s lingering economic malaise. As a result, more and more mature Americans have been relying on high interest credit cards to scrape by, leading some to subsequently seek the financial safe havens a bankruptcy can provide. In fact, the Consumer Bankruptcy Project found that some 66 percent of senior citizens filing for bankruptcy said credit card debt was the cause for their recent financial issues.

Add to the aforementioned reasons that older Americans are getting “scrooged” this holiday season, the fact that medical expenses, cost of living and taxes continue to rise, while the amount of Social Security payments remain stagnant as early retirement plans mean huge losses.…

Bankruptcy Myth #1: You won’t receive credit offers after your bankruptcy.

Don’t be surprised to receive many credit offers following your bankruptcy. Car lenders, mortgage financiers, credit card companies and more, often line up for the chance to provide post-bankruptcy debtors with all types of consumer spending opportunities.

Bankruptcy Myth #2: Taking creditors up on all of their offers is a good thing.

These same lenders and card companies are also coming forward to capitalize on the clean financial slate your bankruptcy provided.  Unfortunately, many of these so-called “helpful” creditors are actually subprime lenders targeting average Americans just like you who are attempting to improve their credit and get back on their financial feet.…

Facing everything from retirement woes to cash-strapped kids, it has been well-reported that older Americans are some of the hardest hit by a lingering recession and rising health care costs.
And now, according The Huffington Post’s Laura Bassett, things just got a little worse for mature Americans looking for work. The reporter blogged in her article “Older Jobseekers Face An Uphill Climb” about the staggering 2 million unemployed people in the U.S. who are over the age of 55.

The “Uphill Climb” of Unemployment

“Although the unemployment rate for people 55 and older dropped from 7.1 to 6.9 percent in March, the AARP Public Policy Institute reported that the average duration of unemployment for older jobseekers was almost three weeks longer in March than it had been in February, and was substantially higher than the 31.1 weeks for the unemployed under age 55,” reported Bassett.…

Most experts agree, even in a financial meltdown, the fastest way to go broke is through payday loans. But if you’re like many Americans, you may be facing the economic crisis head-on, and whether that looks like a missed mortgage payment or hovering health care bills, a payday loan might seem like an easy way to weather the economic storm.

Not so says Gavin Newsom. In fact, the San Francisco mayor best known for making the case for marriage equality has now made his case (on January 22) to those considering payday lending: “a payday loan company is not the solution.”

‘Tis the season for holiday shopping, seasonal spending, and, for some, a reliance on payday lenders to take care of both. In fact, with more Americans stuck at the lower end of the income spectrum due to the economic recession’s trademark job losses, lingering unemployment or other reductions in salary, many are forced to rely regularly on consumer credit to pay for their everyday bills, goods and services.  As a result, payday lending has become a fast-growing financial industry throughout the recession, providing these types of lenders with new, low risk opportunities at the [literal] expense of unwary borrowers who will avoid defaulting on this type debt at all costs—just so they can keep this credit in the an uncertain economic environment. But, borrowers beware.…

Getting a pay day loan can be ever so tempting. You think to yourself, I only need a “bridge” until my next paycheck; this is a “short term” solution for a “short term” problem; this is an easy “fix”; I can get help without going through the humiliation of a credit check I’m bound to fail. These are the kinds of messages pay day loan companies relay in their advertising, which also goes a long way to generate the impression in you that these companies–unlike the large, impersonal banks who don’t seem to want your business–are run by people who just want to help you.…

A large number of interesting financial stories have hit the wires in the last 18 months. From giant companies crumbling, like General Motors and Bear Stearns, to the erosion of the middle class dream of home ownership and suburban comfort. However, few tales of economic setback reflect better the furious, credit-based spending free-for-all of the last several years more so than the bankruptcy of The Yellowstone Club, a private ski resort community near Bozeman, Montana.

It’s hard to not to use the term “elitist” when describing the very existence of The Yellowstone Club, which not only gobbled up pristine Montana wild lands to build a secluded residential enclave, but also made potential members demonstrate personal wealth in the millions before even being considered for membership.…

We have all seen the loan offers in the mail, the banner ads online and even the commercials that air on late-night television. Even though we all scoff initially, knowing what’s in store if we call, your outlook changes quickly when the realization hits that you too are saddled with mounting debt.

But easy-to-get loans with high interest rates and hidden fees are not the solution to your debt problems. All too often, the opportunity to get that money so quickly, certain you will not be the one who gets snagged by the fine print, is sometimes too appealing an opportunity to pass up.…