The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

More bad news for those facing tough financial times: mortgage foreclosures are likely to top the one million mark in 2010. As The Associated Press reported in the last week, “Nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of the year, a rate that is on track to eclipse the more than 900,000 homes repossessed in 2009, according to data released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing service.”

By comparison, according to RealtyTrac, in an average year the United States only sees about 100,000 homes in foreclosure. So, with the country on track to face ten times that amount of foreclosures this year, with 1.7 million U.S.…

You may already understand some of the dangers of debt settlement: the fact that Americans rarely emerge from debt settlement programs with their credit card balances eliminated; the fact that many wind up worse off than when they started their consolidation; and that many emerge from these plans with severely damaged credit, ceaseless threats from collection agents and lawsuits from creditors.

But, you may be wondering, why is bankruptcy any better than debt consolidation?

Well, it turns out there are many reasons.

While debt consolidation and settlement firms have done a great job at selling their side of the bankruptcy alternative story, Chapter 13 bankruptcy needs no sales pitch.…

Imagine it: Oceanfront resorts. Leis around necks. Succulent buffets. Steel drum music in the distance. Beautiful hostesses serving plentiful drinks. Tanned clientele all around.

For many beleaguered Americans these images evoke a distant and faraway vacation-land entitled for only the endlessly rich and privileged few. But this background of tropical bliss isn’t only for elite individuals. They’re the type of settings now home to industry trade associations like the United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives, a group that recently convened in Palm Beach, Florida, amid the oceanfront confines of the Four Seasons Resort, to forge deals and plot strategy. And for these types of companies that are currently promising relief to Americans confronting overwhelming credit card debt, business is booming.…

There was very important bill passed this week in Washington.

No, not that one.

Attached to the monumental health care bill was a significant alteration to the way student loans are handled by the government.

We have covered this topic several times here on the blog (use the search tool), which is critical to those considering bankruptcy because as of now, outside of very special and rarely granted conditions, student loans are not allowed to be discharged.

Arguments have mounted recently about the role private banks have in backing federal student loans. The primary issue is that the government guarantees close to 90 percent return for the private lender who funds the loan.…

While many economists argue that the economy is steadily rebounding, whether you’re in a recession or recovery seems to largely depend on where you live, if you have a job, if you can pay your bills, or if you still have your home.

The Huffington Post reported this week that facing an economic meltdown in their personal lives, many formerly middle-class families have had to find “creative ways to cope with the sudden loss of their jobs and homes.” In her article, “Rattlesnake for Breakfast, Wedding rings on Craigslist: Families Cope With Falling Out of the Middle Class,” Laura Bassett describes how the American dream, for many, has turned into a surreal nightmare.…

Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren met with David Axelrod, one of President Obama’s senior advisors, Wednesday night. On Thursday, President Obama announced sweeping new restrictions on the largest banks: they will no longer be able to operate hedge funds and new policies will restrict how large a bank can be. Obama also called for an end to the obscene profits and enormous bonuses at firms that claim any additional fees or taxes would have to be passed on to consumers.

Is there a connection between Warren’s meeting and Obama’s proposed reforms? And, more importantly, could an increased role for Warren in Obama’s administration be good news for people who would like to see better bankruptcy laws and more bank and lender accountability?…