Real Estate Agents and Bankruptcy
August 18, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 13, Minnesota Chapter 7
When the housing market turned a few years ago one of the hardest hit groups was real estate agents. We have represented numerous real estate agents in bankruptcy recently. Real estate professionals have their own set of issues to deal with in bankruptcy, that regular debtors do not. The first issue is knowing how many [...]
Bankruptcy Questions
July 27, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 13, Minnesota Chapter 7
My best advice is if you have questions during your bankruptcy filing to give your attorney a call. In most cases your questions can be answered with a minute or two on the phone, so why sit and worry when you can get an answer. The reason you hired an attorney is so you do [...]
Effectiveness of Home Mortgage Modifications
July 15, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 13, Minnesota Chapter 7
Is mortgage modification effective at preventing foreclosure? I have been looking for statistics regarding the effectiveness of mortgage modifications and have not found any good evidence of the effectiveness of the program. I can report that with my clients most receive a small reduction in their mortgage payments, but most do not receive any large [...]
Easy Credit
July 8, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 7
In many cases credit scores are important if you want to finance a home or car. If you have a good credit score you will receive a lower interest rate. The problem is that if you finance a home or car that is too expensive even with a good interest rate, you will not be [...]
Helping Your Attorney
June 22, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 7
In order to have your bankruptcy go smoothly it is important to get the information requested by your attorney. In order to get a bankruptcy filed in a timely fashion it is important for both the attorney and client to work together to achieve a good result. If you do not get the information requested [...]
Bankruptcy Process and Disposing of Assets
June 17, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 7
It is important for people in the bankruptcy process to remember to not sell or dispose of their property until it is approved by the trustee. We generally recommend that our clients refrain from selling cars, homes, or other personal property until after the bankruptcy trustee has abandoned the assets. In many cases you are [...]
Bankruptcy vs. Debt Consolidation
June 10, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 7
Many of our clients have tried debt consolidation before talking to us about bankruptcy. In most cases the debt consolidation was not effective for the clients, the debt consolidator simply charged incredible fees, but never delivered on the debt relief. The clients then talk to me and find out that they should have filed bankruptcy [...]
Top Ten Things to Avoid Before Filing For Bankruptcy
June 3, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 13, Minnesota Chapter 7
If you are thinking about filing for bankruptcy this list has a few of the worst things you can do before filing: 1. Transfer property to friends or relatives;2. Pay back friends or relatives for loans before filing for bankruptcy;3. Deplete your retirement accounts to pay back creditors or pay bills;4. Transfer money from retirement [...]
Bankruptcy Myths
June 1, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 7
When I talk to clients I often hear a lot of bankruptcy myths. The most common one is that bankruptcy will ruin my credit. In many cases people who are worried about their credit have not even checked their credit score, and the bankruptcy does not drop the score any lower than it already is. [...]
Bankruptcy Reaffirmation Agreements
May 25, 2010 by Chad
Filed under Minnesota Chapter 7
A Bankruptcy reaffirmation agreements is an agreement between you and your creditor that you will continue to make regular payments on your debt after the bankruptcy discharge. In most cases creditors will allow you to make payments on the secured debt without signing a reaffirmation agreement. The bankruptcy code does allow creditors to take back [...]
