Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

Recently released numbers by the American Bankruptcy Institute showed that the number of people filing for bankruptcy in the Atlanta area decreased slightly overall but still remained high in the third quarter of 2011.

Our Atlanta bankruptcy lawyers understand that historically the third quarter numbers are typically not as high as fourth quarter numbers, so it will be interesting to see how many people filed for bankruptcy in Atlanta in the last part of the year.

We know plenty of people are coming to discuss their situations with us on a daily basis. With the economy still in the tank, jobs scarce and foreclosures on the rise, it's no wonder people are considering filing for bankruptcy.

Some analysts believe that the numbers would be higher, except that credit card companies and other lenders in recent months have loosened their standards and attempted to give out more credit than that have in the past.

That's evident by the many television commercials starring famous actors we see every day. Capital One, Chase and other companies are attempting to get as many people to sign up for their cards as possible through "perks" and "rewards." But these benefits may not be all that they're cracked up to be, and may only kick in if you spend a lot of money.

According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, there were 12,672 bankruptcy filings in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia. That is the court that deals with bankruptcy filings for Atlanta and the surrounding area. The southern and middle districts combined had about 5,500 bankruptcy filings last quarter.

For the northern district, that was a drop of 200 filings, or 1.5 percent. While the numbers have dropped steadily since the 14,040 filings in the third quarter of 2010, last quarter's filings were higher than every quarter except one starting in the fourth quarter of 2009 and going back more than five years.

Another interesting statistic out of last quarter's numbers is that Chapter 13 bankruptcy numbers are up this year. In fact, they have risen each quarter this year. In the first quarter, there were 101,006 filings, up to 101,286 in the second quarter and 102,900 this past quarter. Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in Chicago and nationwide dropped from 367,486 to 336,930 this quarter.

Statewide, there were more bankruptcy filings last quarter -- 18,712 -- than the last quarter, up from 18,397. Those numbers have trended downward from the third quarter of 2009, when 19,712 people filed. Numbers peaked in 2010, when 20,694 people filed in the third quarter.

We report all these numbers to show that many people are considering bankruptcy in Atlanta in these tough times. It is a viable option for many families who are struggling to get by and who aren't ashamed to let the laws designed to help consumers help them. With thousands of dollars in debt eliminated, people can once again focus on paying their bills, staying in their homes and not dealing with collection agencies.

Continue reading "Atlanta Bankruptcy Numbers Drop Slightly, But Remain Steady in 3rd Quarter" »

In a strange, but uplifting turn of events, law enforcement and bank-hired movers ordered to evict in Atlanta recently walked away from a home after seeing that the owner was an elderly 103-year-old woman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Many Americans haven't seen the same type of kindness displayed to them when people come knocking on their door and threaten to take their house and kick them to the curb. Millions of Americans have endured a foreclosure and while many have simply walked away and found a place to live, others have met the problem head-on with people changing locks or threatening eviction with law enforcement in tow.

There are millions of houses nationwide that are under water, meaning the owners are paying more in monthly mortgage payments than the house is worth. And, yet, people are trying to stay in their homes.

What some people don't realize is that filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Atlanta can help people stay in their homes and significantly improve their debt situation.

If consumers have fallen into debt and are having difficulty making house payments, they could be best served by talking with a skilled Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer, who can advise them on the best course of action.

As our lawyers have reported recently, the popularity of Chapter 13 bankruptcy has increased lately. The "wage earners bankruptcy," Chapter 13 allows people to keep major assets, such as a house, vehicles and other things and set up a payment plan over 3 to 5 years. If those payments are made, on time, throughout that time period, the remaining debt is cleared. And filing for bankruptcy immediately stops foreclosure.

This is different than Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which is the more popular version of the two. Most people relate to this version, where people, mainly who have no income and few assets, are able to lose the debt without losing any assets. In some cases, valuables may be liquidated to pay back debt, but there are exemptions.

In this woman's case, she and her 83-year-old daughter have lived at the home for decades. Court records show, the newspaper reports, that in 2002, the woman's grandson got a second mortgage on the house from Deutsche Bank National Trust. The loan is now being administered by Chase Bank.

Deutsche foreclosed on the house in 2009 and the women had remained in the home while he fought foreclosure. Chase recently ordered the eviction, despite pressure from local politicians and community activists.

When police and movers showed up to evict, they walked away after seeing the woman. The stress caused her daughter to be sent to the hospital. The bank said in a statement that they would work out an agreement to allow the women to stay in their home.

It would be naive to believe this situation happens often. While there have been occasional examples of people getting last-ditch agreements, most often the banks aren't generous and they take people's homes. The better strategy is to have a plan. Speak with an Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer and see how bankruptcy can help you avoid foreclosure.

Continue reading "Cops, Movers Walk Away, Leave 103-Year-Old Atlanta Woman's House Despite Foreclosure Eviction Notice" »

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that there are ways to avoid the psychological damage done when collection agencies continue to badger people to collect debt.

Our Atlanta bankruptcy lawyers would argue that one way to avoid the headaches of collection agencies and their representatives is to avoid them altogether.

Filing for bankruptcy in Atlanta immediately stops collection agencies from bothering you. Once you file, they are alerted to cease communications with you and direct their communications with the court.

The whole purpose of filing for bankruptcy is to eliminate debt. But there are other benefits that can make filing worthwhile. Stopping wage garnishments, ending the countless calls and e-mails and other bothersome alerts can make life much easier for those who are in debt.

Banks and other lenders are ruthless when it comes to collecting what is owed. They don't care what damage they are doing. The collections agencies are paid to get money and the lenders want to be paid. It's a bad cycle that doesn't end until you pay up or you file for bankruptcy.

These companies rarely want to listen to debt management solutions, payment plans or cutting back on how much you owe them. Like the banks and foreclosures, the credit card companies and other lenders are interested in maximizing profits and it doesn't help when they could stand to lose money.

A recent Wall Street Journal article looks at alternative strategies to limiting the damage done by collection agencies. It follows the story of a New York man, a struggling musician, who would get 40 to 50 automated calls a day.

His solution was to by a caller ID box with a ring controller. It gave him peace while he negotiated a 69 percent reduction in the $54,000 in credit card debt he owed. The story was on the heels of the continued decline in consumer credit, which has gone down nearly every month since September 2008.

While this man was able to cut down debt after he stopped paying and instead of paying 50 cents on the dollar, he got them down to 31 cents on the dollar. But many others aren't so diligent. A lot of people get warn down by continued calls and the harassment that debt collectors are known for bringing.

People sometimes decide just to make a minimum payment just to shut them up. This just leads to a higher amount of debt, higher interest rates and hidden fees that further cripple the person's finances.

Some people instead go running to debt relief companies or debt management companies that promise to work on their behalf. But these companies are no more likely to make a dent in the debt than the consumer and they don't work for free. These companies would charge up-front fees of 15 to 20 percent of what is left outstanding, which could be a huge amount of money to pay for little help. They were recently banned from charging up-front fees.

All these rip-offs won't help. But there's a good chance that filing for bankruptcy in Atlanta will. Depending on the consumer's income level, how much they owe and other information, they can get all or most of the debt cleared without having to pay it back. These laws are designed to help the consumer who has gotten in a bad debt situation.

Continue reading "Avoid Psychological Damage From Collections By Filing for Atlanta Bankruptcy" »

If you've watched television in the last few months, you've seen Jimmy Fallon, Alec Baldwin and that guy hired by Chase pitching the "cash back" benefit or the "perks" and "rewards" of their respective credit cards.

MoneyRates.com recently reported that many credit card companies are trying to seize the moment and strike quickly by trying to lock in new customers by giving away holiday-themed deals.

The reason Black Friday gets its name is because retailers believe that the big shopping day will turn their years around by pushing them from in debt (in the red) into profits (in the black). But in order for this to happen, consumers must be put in the red. And that's what credit card companies are hoping, too.

Atlanta bankruptcy lawyers know that credit card companies make money off of your debt. When consumers swipe the card, they become more indebted to the creditors and their pre-planned hidden fees kick in and high interest rates can kick in if payments are missed or only minimum payments are made. This just leaves consumers struggling as if they were swirling down a drain.

But they are terrified when borrowers mention the word bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy in Atlanta puts the consumer in the driver's seat and makes credit card company officials shiver because they now know they won't be able to recover as much money as they are owed.

As MoneyRates points out, these companies are trying to get as many consumers on-board with their cards as possible. The more that is put on their cards, the more they make off interest and other penalties. It keeps investors happy.

Here are some recent examples of "perks" and "rewards" being used by the credit card companies:

• American Express offered a 20 percent discount from certain companies for those who shopped on Small Business Saturday.


• Bank of America has a card that pays 2 percent cash back on groceries and 3 percent on gas up to $1,500 every three months. Another card offers 11 percent cash back on college when shoppers use Upromise.com to shop this holiday season.


• Chase and Citibank are paying cardholders $200 in cash after they put $500 on their cards.


• Capital One has a new card that offers 1 percent cash back on day-to-day shopping and 50 percent in bonus cash back every year.


• Discover offers 0 percent interest for 15 months on purchases and consumers can get 5 percent back on $300 in purchases.

Maybe some of these sound like really good deals. "Cash back" has a great ring to it, doesn't it? But what these creditors aren't telling consumers is that in order to get many of these perks, they have to spend huge amounts of money and, in some cases, pay in back within a month or two to activate the perks.

All of these things are designed solely to entice people to sign up for their cards in order to make money. That's the bottom line. They are smart enough not to give up free money unless they're making a profit. Don't fall into the trap this holiday season.

Continue reading "Credit Card Companies Trying to Use Holiday Shopping to Lead Atlanta Consumers Into Debt" »

Atlanta city leadership has proposed a new plan to work with big banks in order to give police officers and firefighters a discount on houses that are in foreclosure, The Huffington Post reports.

This new plan, Mayor Kasim Reed said, involves "one of the largest banks in America" to give reduced rates to these public servants. While some might feel offended that one segment of the population would get a deep discount to buy a house, given the number of foreclosures hammering Atlanta and the surrounding area, getting these houses off the market will benefit everyone.

For those struggling with foreclosure in Georgia , filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Atlanta may be a smart move. Foreclosures have hit people who have lost their jobs, become over-extended financially, have had medical bills or other problems. For those people, clearing out their debt through bankruptcy can help them keep their house instead of losing it to foreclosure.

An experienced Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer can guide a consumer through this process. Many people, however, choose to deal with their debt through minimum payments and expecting calls from creditors. The better way is to get that debt eliminated and set up a payment plan to pay back some of the debt you owe.

For the many who have considered filing for bankruptcy in Atlanta, they may be able to pay off their debt and still keep their house, eliminating their outstanding debt all while freeing them up to continue making payments so they aren't kicked to the curb. And that can only help our local economy. The more foreclosures abandoned opens up neighborhoods for crime and keeps house values down.

Under the mayor's plan, The Huffington Post reports, one major benefit is that city employees who have settled in Atlanta's suburbs would be drawn back into the city, which would help with the tax base as well as retail numbers. Detroit created a similar program in 2010, offering police officers homes there.

This is in line with what federal officials have been trying to do. Earlier this summer the Obama administration talked with investors to attempt to turn government-owned foreclosures into rental properties, the newspaper reports. Senators have proposed a bill that would give U.S. residency visas to foreigners who invest $500,000 or more in the U.S. real estate market.

New York City officials have reported that foreclosed homes have become a magnet for drug activity, prostitution, gang members, thieves and the homeless. Officers respond daily to calls that relate to foreclosed homes.

Atlanta bankruptcy lawyers hope that government officials can come up with more and more innovative programs to get foreclosures off the market. They are dragging down our economy, so the fewer out there, the better.

But for those who are in the foreclosure process or on the cusp, consider meeting with an experienced Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer. Rather than trying to deal with banks alone, a skilled attorney can help you avoid foreclosure or provide alternatives to work with banks to save your house.

Continue reading "Atlanta Mayor's Plan Would Allow Discounts for Police, Fire to Buy Foreclosed Houses" »

Every month, just like in October, foreclosures increased throughout the Atlanta metro area. This time, they increased at a higher clip than usual.

Foreclosure in Atlanta and throughout the state has been a problem that has hampered local and state economies, made housing prices plummet and caused many homeowners heartache.

Yet bankruptcy, usually Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Atlanta, can help homeowners save their houses. Atlanta bankruptcy lawyers have been able to help many people save their houses through this process. By eliminating debt and setting up a payment plan for three to five years, people can hang on to their homes and still pay off the debt that is causing them so much stress.

With foreclosure notices constantly on the rise, the real estate market will not recover for years or perhaps decades. An increase in foreclosures means a steady decline in prices for houses. And as unemployment remains steady, this spells disaster for the economy.

Most analysts believe that major banks halted their foreclosure processes last fall in order to revisit how they could handle all these foreclosure cases -- millions nationwide -- without illegally signing fraudulent documents, using robo-signing practices and fabricating documents to support their foreclosure filings.

That's why 15,000 fewer foreclosure notices have been filed this year compared to last. But now that banks appear to have gotten that figured out, they are again starting to file hundreds of thousands of notices and nearly 11,000 in the Atlanta area alone, the newspaper reports.

Analysts with Equity Depot told the newspaper that the numbers show a large number of second and third foreclosure notices, meaning banks may be taking action against people who are furthest behind in payments. Another trend is that more foreclosure notices are being filed against people with prime mortgages, rather than sub-prime mortgages, which were made to people with greater credit risks.

Cobb County set a new high for the year in October with 1,333 notices sent out, while Douglas (410), Hall (332) and Rockdale (259) counties also experienced highs. DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties all hit more than 1,500 notices for the month.

There have been 102,094 notices filed in the metro Atlanta area this year compared to 117,437 at this time last year, the newspaper reports.

Some could take the latest statistic as a good sign, given that notices are slightly lower than they were last year, but considering banks severely halted their foreclosure filings for the better part of a year while states investigated them for robo-signing and illegal document filing and they're still close to last year's levels shows that they have more than made up for the time lost.

While it's true that banks appear to be going after the most delinquent borrowers first, many homeowners are at risk. And even people far behind in making payments can save their homes through bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy immediately stops foreclosure and ensures that creditors are shuffled to bankruptcy court as it stops them from contacting the homeowner.

Continue reading "Foreclosures On The Rise But Atlanta Bankruptcy Can Help" »