Bankruptcy Lawyer Indiana

Late payments on real estate mortgages increased to a record high in the second quarter of this year. Almost one in eight homeowners were delinquent in their note payments secured by mortgages.

The rise in the amount of mortgage foreclosures is attributed to unemployment nationwide and especially here in Indiana. The unfortunate reality is that higher unemployment rates propel more mortgage delinquenies and foreclosures over the rest of the year.

Hopefully, our representatives in Congress are taking heed of these disturbing statistics.

Now is the time for Chapter 13 revisions so that “upsidedown homeowners” that elect to file Chapter 13 can cram down the balance owed on their mortgage notes to the value of the collateral.

For more information on Chapter 13, check out our website and an article on the cramdown subject I wrote entitled, “Bankruptcy Change holds Foreclosure Fix” that was published on February 19, 2009 in the Indianapolis Star.

The new credit card legislation enacted by Congress will take effect this week, forcing card issuers to provide consumers more time to pay their bills and to consider interest rate increases. This may be the first step toward stemming the tide of credit card based consumer bankruptcies.

Starting Thursday, issuers must give customers 45 days’ notice before raising their interest rates, instead of 15 days as previously required. Customers can then choose to pay what they owe at the original rate over time but they will not be able to use the card for future purchases.

The issuer reserves the right to increase the minimum payment. Card issuers will also have to mail bills 21 days–instead of 14 days–before the due date.

We believe this is a good first step toward credit card regulations but we won’t see dramatic relief until the balance of the regulations become effective in February.

Stay tuned……