Bankruptcy carries with it a stigma of financial irresponsibility and mismanagement. However, that stigma is undeserved. The majority of bankruptcies are caused by unforeseen expenses such as medical bills or unpredictable events such as the breadwinner getting laid off. The truth is that bankruptcy is a very powerful tool that, when used correctly and strategically, can grant a financial fresh start to deal with these unfortunate events. This article will provide a basic overview of consumer bankruptcy.
Tags: Bankruptcy, foreclosures
On February 11, 2010, the New York City Council passed the Tenant Fair Chance Act, which protects prospective tenants from inaccurate court docket reports. In New York City, tenants sued in Housing Court are put on court docket reports, which are used by many landlords in considering applications. In many cases, these docket reports are effectively blacklists. Unlike credit reports, these lists are not based on Social Security Numbers but rather on the tenant’s name, and landlords are not required by federal law to provide a copy of the report to the prospective tenant. These factors make the system relatively unreliable. The Tenant Fair Chance Act requires landlords to provide prospective tenants with the names and addresses of any screening companies they use. The City Council hopes that the law will give tenants a way to make sure renting decisions are made with accurate information.
Tags: Landlord-Tenant, summary eviction, Tenant Fair Chance Act
Citibank and Fannie Mae announced that they will suspend foreclosures and evictions for thirty days, which would give thousands of borrowers a brief holiday respite from the legal process meant to take their homes away. At the same time, CitiMortage has converted only 271 out of the 103,478 trial mortgage modifications into final modifications. When faced with their dismal performance in finalizing mortgage modifications, the banks uniformly blamed borrowers who completed the trial period but did not send in paperwork necessary to finalize their modifications. One wonders if these banks could have avoided some foreclosures by finalizing more mortgage modifications.
Tags: evictions, making homes affordable, mortgage modification
New York City has a system of rent stabilization that is meant to provide affordable housing to the working class. The rent stabilization program limits the rents a landlord can charge and caps the annual rate of rent increases. Landlords must also offer renewal leases and required services to tenants, who can be evicted only for specific reasons set forth in the law. The subject is controversial and leads to many landlord-tenant disputes. This article provides an overview of the rent stabilization program in New York City.
Tags: civil court, evictions, Landlord-Tenant, Rent Stabilization
Cease and desist letters are sent by companies asserting their trademarks, patents, or other intellectual properties. Receiving such a notice can be a nerve-wracking experience. Choosing the right response to such a letter can be crucial for a small business.
Tags: patent law, trade secret, trademarks
People always ask me: Is there any way to lower the principal on my mortgage? The answer is yes and no. Confused? That’s ok – you are just one of millions of homeowners who aren’t clear on what their rights are as homeowners. While the best way to deal with falling behind on your monthly mortgage payments is to modify your mortgage loan, there are other ways to save on your monthly payments.
Tags: Bankruptcy, foreclosures, making homes affordable, mortgage modification
During the course of the recent housing bubble, lending institutions bundled thousands of consumer mortgages into complicated securities that were sold many times. The transfer records of each mortgage in the bundled securities became increasingly byzantine. When the mortgage market fell apart in the current recession, some of the investors left holding the mortgage-backed securities discovered that there were unable to prove that they owned the right to collect on the mortgages.
Tags: foreclosures
Home improvement contractors are infamously unreliable. It seems like everyone has a horror story about a contractor not finishing a project on time, or using sub-standard materials to finish a job. This article will discuss a few ways a homeowner can find a reliable home improvement contractor, and to protect himself.
New York City’s Tenant Protection Act protects tenants from landlord harassment but is balanced to stop frivolous claims by tenants. Landlords have a pecuniary interest in evicting tenants residing in rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartments. While there are tenants who illegally sublet their regulated apartments for a profit while they live elsewhere, there are also instances where innocent tenants find themselves being harassed by their landlords. The Act protects tenants who are being harassed by landlords looking to evict them.
Tags: evictions, Landlord-Tenant, self-help eviction, summary eviction
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which regulates the national banks, issued a report on Wednesday regarding residential mortgages. Many mortgages that were modified in the first half of last year defaulted within a year. This has led banks and lenders to realize that borrowers need to be given a bigger break in order for a mortgage modification to work. Banks are also more capable of giving the needed breaks because they now have more money on their balance sheets than last year. Most importantly, Obama’s Making Homes Affordable program provided further incentives for banks to modify mortgages. The change in policy has been reflected in the results. There has been a 75% increase in agreements meant to help borrowers, including modifications, from last year. Also, the percentage of modifications that involve a reduction in principal tripled from 3.1% to 10%. Banks are not required to lower principal, but have been doing so anyway to try and forestall costly foreclosures.
A borrower who is struggling with their residential mortgage should strongly consider a mortgage modification. The eligibility criteria are relatively simple. The terms of the government’s mortgage modification program are also straightforward.
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