According to news articles dated May 11, 2011, “Foreclosure filings in the U.S. fell 34 percent last month from a year earlier as lenders already swamped with seized homes delayed action on thousands of additional delinquent mortgages. A total of 219,258 properties received default, auction or repossession notices in April, the fewest in 40 months, and it was the seventh straight month that filings dropped from a year earlier. They were down 9 percent from March, but that is still 1 in 593 US households who got a notice. What all this simply means is that foreclosures are stacking up.

As many as 11 million homes are underwater, in foreclosure or close to default, but the mortgage banks are too bogged down in the paper work to complete the process. D

Full Post…

Even though it implies a lot of negative consequences for at least seven years, sometimes filing for personal insolvency can be your only viable solution to solve your debt problems. When declaring bankruptcy, it is important that you hire a lawyer that specializes in financial matters because, even though your debts will be erased, you will still have to pay for them one way or another and you should not take any unnecessary risks.

Therefore have a talk with your lawyer and find out if it is really necessary for you to file for bankruptcy and what are your other options. Full Post…

We previously posted on our Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyers Blog that the number of foreclosures in Chicago fell 16 percent in March when compared to March of 2010. Year-to-year comparisons don’t always paint the entire picture of what is currently happening in today’s market.

Chicago Breaking Business reported 2,800 properties became bank-owned in Cook County during the first quarter of 2011, indicating a 10.5 percent increase in completed foreclosures when compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.

Conversely, completed foreclosure auctions were down over 50 percent when compared to the first quarter of 2010.

Our Chicago bankruptcy lawyers know the stress that homeowners go through when they are about to lose their house.

Full Post…

Home sales are still pining away despite 30 year mortgage rates being below 5 percent. The current unemployment rate of 9 percent and tight credit are the culprits most say are responsible for the sluggish recovery. According to a news source, loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration carried an average FICO score of 703 in March, compared to a score of 629 two years earlier. FICO scores range from 300, the least creditworthy, to 850, the most creditworthy. Obviously, the lenders are requiring stronger credit histories, thus tightening the strings for mortgage loans.

As a result of the strings being tightened, two groups of people are most affected by the squeeze, homeowners who need to sell their homes and people who have been foreclosed on or who have filed for bankruptcy.

Full Post…