Can you still negotiate a modification after you file bankruptcy? Legally, yes. There is no legal reason why a loan can’t be modified while the borrower is in bankruptcy. Will it happen? That depends on whether the bank keeps the loss mitigation representative involved in the game and talking to you (or your lawyer), or whether they shut that process down. It’s hard to predict.
Low rate of fraud investigations and prosecutions tied to evidentiary burdens created by the Bankruptcy Code, overworked prosecutors and United States Trustees, underpaid private trustees, the financial privacy laws and the lopsided cost of investigations.
The attacks on the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (“MERS”) continue unabated at all levels. In the case MERS v. Johnston (Rutland County Superior Court case no. 420-6-09 Rdcv) another Court has held that MERS doesn’t have standing to complete a foreclosure of a mortgage which did not specifically name it as the mortgagee, or which secures a promissory note that didn’t specifically name MERS as payee. The Vermont opinion relies heavily on the Landmark National Bank v. Kesler decision from the Kansas Supreme Court issued in September of this year. The Kesler decision, in turn, relied heavily on the 2005 Nebraska Supreme Court decision Mortgage Elec. Reg. Systems v. Nebraska Dept. of Banking, 270 Neb. 529, 530, 704 N.W.2d 784 (2005).
If I had to guess, this issue seems headed for the US Supreme Court, though a few Federal Courts of Appeal are probably going to have to weigh in before SCOTUS get turns its eye to it. In the mean time, click on the article hearing to learn more about how some courts are handling the analysis.
This is an excerpt from the Federal Government’s website on various bankruptcy basics, such as how to file, what you can hope for, the basic procedures you’ll be dealing with. I offer it as a fair, unfiltered picture of what bankruptcy is all about. However, like much of what the government tells, us, this isn’t the whole story, and for a better understanding of what bankruptcy can do for you–be it Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or Chapter 13–and what expectations are reasonable, you should contact a bankruptcy attorney. Be prepared to provide detailed information on your financial and other assets, your debts and other liabilities.
The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article about how, when small businesses are forced to file for bankruptcy protection, the inevitable result is that it usually takes the owners down with it. This is extremely common, and far more frequently the rule than the exception. Why does this happen? Why, if the proprietor has gone [...]
Probably the most common question I am asked about the bankruptcy process is how long it takes to get through. The short answer is 3 to 6 months, with the possibility of things staying open longer if there are assets to administer, or if anyone files a complaint to challenge dischargeability. The very fastest you [...]
May 11, 2010 UPDATE: 60 Minutes with Morley Safer did a piece on Strategic Defaults on May 9, 2010 that you may want to check out. As noted in a prior post, the number of so-called “strategic defaults” and “strategic bankruptcy filings” is increasing, and this is a trend that will continue to escalate. This [...]
More and more people who can afford to pay their mortgages are actually choosing to walk away.
The American Bankruptcy Institute recently reported, relying on data provided by the National Bankruptcy Research Center that consumer bankruptcy filings in August, 2009 are up 24 percentover the same period of last year. Coming in at a nationwide total of 119,874, the total is at least less than the 126,434 that were filed in July, 2009. The ABI [...]
One of the most common questions that people considering filing for bankruptcy ask is whether they’ll be able to keep their car. The Ninth Circuit has recently–as in this week–changed the rules on that issue. The case is Dumont v. Ford Motor Company (In re Dumont), 9th Cir, 2009, No. 08-60002). The answer now is: It depends. [...]
