You have probably heard about this new mortgage to lease program that Bank of America is touting as the next solution to the foreclosure crisis that is again looming as many more Adjustable Rate Mortgages are coming due. Many people may find this option appealing, in general — to stay in the same home you were in, pay less per month and have the rest of the debt forgiven. However, it results in a worse solution for people than merely just walking away from the home, but allows the bank to continue to profit off of you. You will still have the credit hit of the foreclosure, and instead of living in the house without a house payment, you will be making a monthly payment to the bank. [Read more...]
Student Loan Debt (Part 1) – Cause of Increase
March 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This is a multi-part post on student loan debt. Part one is about the cause of the increase in student loans. Part two is about the ramifications of the student loan debt. Part three offers some possible solutions to the problem.
For the last 14 years, student loan debt has rocketed. This increase in student loan debt is tied completely to the increase in tuition. Many commentators claim that this increase in tuition is due to the increase in costs of tuition, the required tuition expense, the costs of staffing and all of the other expenses that a college incurs. I fully disagree. [Read more...]
Glendale’s Westgate City Center Facing Foreclosure
August 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Another major bankruptcy and foreclosure looms in Glendale, Arizona according to the Arizona Republic. Westate City Center, the development that anchors Glendale’s Hockey and Football arena’s is about to be foreclosed upon. Like many of my clients, the owners cite a terrible economy and uncertainty about the future of the Phoenix Coyotes.
For more information please find the article here.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post by bankruptcy attorney Glenn Roethler.
Arizona Foreclosures Delayed by Backlog
August 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The New York Times reports here that the foreclosure system is overwhelmed by the sheer number of houses waiting to be foreclosed upon. In states like New York the backlog would extend for 62 years at current rates of foreclosure. This, of course, is in states where foreclosure is a judicial action. In other states like California (and Arizona) where it is not a judicial action, that backlog is 3 years.
This certainly coincides with my experience as a bankruptcy attorney. As a firm we have had clients that have lived in their house waiting to get foreclosed upon for over five years. You read that right. Five Years. Of course, that’s an atypical case with most of our clients living in houses that they are surrendering for approximately a year. Further, bankruptcy further slows down the process of foreclosure as well. All of which gives homeowners much needed breathing room in this terrible economy.
As an aside, you may have recently heard that it is now what is termed a “seller’s market” in real estate. This mans that there is less than 3 months of inventory for sale currently. While technically true, I believe that this is not taking into account the stealth inventory that the banks have of houses that they are waiting to foreclose upon. You may ask why they are waiting, the primary reasons are that the banks do not want to own a house, risk the liability of injury, pay the HOA fees, or figure out a way to maintain the property. Finally, and primarily, I believe that the banks are waiting to foreclose because they know about the phenomenon of a seller’s market, which is supposed to increase house prices. In essence, they are trying to create a false market for the properties they need to sell, eventually. Just my 2 cents.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article by Tempe, Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer Glenn Roethler. The views expressed in this article do not represent the views of all members of Greeves, Price & Roethler, PLC.
SWAT Team Called in for Failure to Pay Student Loans
August 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I don’t understand how this could possibly happen. As a bankruptcy attorney it makes little sense that failure to pay student loans – loans typically owned by a private entity – could be enforced by such crazy and extreme measures. Just sidestepping the fact of the gross misuse of a SWAT team, is this really what law enforcement should be doing?
Further, as a bankruptcy attorney, I know that student loans are typically not dischargeable. This means that you cannot get rid of them, ever. You must pay them if you have a single iota of a possibility to do so. Apparently, now, if you don’t, you will be arrested by the SWAT team.
Find the article here.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article by Glenn Roethler, Tempe, Arizona Bankruptcy attorney. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of all members of Greeves, Price & Roethler, PLC.
Homeowner Forecloses on Bank!
August 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In a delicious twist of irony, a homeowner in Florida foreclosed on a bank. A quick summary of events indicates that the homeowner had his home wrongfully foreclosed upon by Bank of America. This resulted in a lawsuit that Bank of America eventually lost resulting in the Judge awarding attorneys’ fees against Bank of America. [Read more...]
Coming Postal Bankruptcy?
August 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Have we learned nothing? The Wall Street Journal indicates that there may be a coming USPS bailout. According to the article found here, the United States Postal Service reported a loss of nearly $2.2 Billion dollars in the first quarter this year. It is further expected that the USPS will lose $42 Billion dollars over the next four years. [Read more...]
Home Prices Facing Double Dip
May 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
According to a CNBC article found here, the national real estate market is facing a double dip. This includes homes in the Phoenix – Metro area including Tempe, Chandler and Mesa. According to the article, 34.5% of houses are Real Estate Owned (“REO”). This means that they are owned by the banks either due to a foreclosure or a bankruptcy. Those homes are now entering the market after banks have held onto them for a long period of time. On a side note – the banks are finally putting these houses up for sale for tax reasons, otherwise they would take a much larger loss in future.
Fortunately (maybe???) for Arizona homeowners, this second dip is not affecting the home prices as much in Arizona, especially in places like Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, Scottsdale, because Arizona has already been hit so hard. However, according to this article, the national home prices have slid a whooping 4.9% quarter over quarter and 5% year over year. This means that the loss of home prices has occurred in the last three months, and that this loss of price is nearly as much as the entire drop the last year.
This clearly indicates that the housing market is in a sharp decline nationally. The government attempted to artificially prop up home prices by introducing the first time homebuyers’ tax credit. This tax credit has expired and no one is buying homes anymore. This creates a loss of demand and therefore a sharp loss in price.
It remains to be seen if the government will attempt to prop of home prices again by offering another incentive. Personally, I believe that the housing market will only recover once the actual market value has stabilized naturally. By naturally, I mean that once the houses reach the true fair market value of the property that reflects the amount of demand for those houses on the market. Government interference with this natural balance point causes false balance points to arise and will continue to prevent the actual natural price point from being reached. An obvious example of this is the recent housing boom that was created by the government “printing” arge amounts of money and giving it to banks with no interest rate.
In any event, it is clear that this is even more bad news for the national real estate market and also for those real estate markets closer to home.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article by Tempe Bankruptcy lawyer Glenn W. Roethler. The views expressed in this article are his alone and do not reflect the views of all the members of Greeves, Price & Roethler, PLC.
Economic Theories in . . . Rap
April 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This video is an excellent discourse on the two primary forms of economic discourse that are currently being followed by the United States Congress and the Federal Reserve. As a side note – Keynesian economics has been the primary theory that the United States has followed since World War 2. I want to thank Radley Balko for making me aware of this video by posting it on his blog The Agitator.
The views contained in this video do not necessarily reflect the views held by all of the members of Greeves, Price & Roethler, PLC. Thank you for taking the time to view the blog of Bankruptcy lawyer Glenn W. Roethler.
