None of us “regular people” can relate to the amount of money that rapper 50 Cent (Curtis James Jackson III) makes on his songs, concerts and CDs. If he makes so much money singing, and endorsing products, why is he in bankruptcy? In July, he
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Archives for Bankruptcy and Foreclosure Questions and Answers
If I File Bankruptcy, Should I Feel Guilty?
A while back, I wrote an article titled, “Is it Morally Wrong to file Bankruptcy?” This is a question that many people wrestle with. Take a look at this blog on My Daily Finance “Should I file Bankruptcy? If I do, Should I feel
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Illinois Bankruptcy Court: You Can Give up your Car in a Chapter 13 Case, Even if you can’t Deliver it
A Judge in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois just ruled that you don’t have to give back a car to “surrender” it in a Chapter 13 Plan. Let’s look at the facts: A person finances a car at 24.99% interest, and
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Can I Buy Another House after Bankruptcy and Foreclosure? Yes You Can!
Back in 2008-9, when the foreclosure crisis started, foreclosures soared. People lost their houses after losing jobs and not being able to afford their mortgage payments. People then, forced to file for bankruptcy protection, asked me: will I be able to buy a house again?
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What to do if You are Served with Foreclosure Papers- Is all Hope Lost? No!
If your mortgage has been in foreclosure recently, no doubt you have heard of programs such as MHA (Making Home Affordable), HAMP, HARP, (Home Affordable Modification or Refinance Programs) and others in the alphabet soup of programs that the Federal government created in response to
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Is it Morally Wrong to File for Bankruptcy Protection?
When people are thinking of bankruptcy, most often, they have tried everything else. They tried to consolidate bills; they tried to call their creditors to work out a payment plan. They borrowed all they could from their friends and family. They withdrew all of their
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What is an “In Rem” Judgment of Foreclosure?
In the last few years, as the volume of foreclosures has slowed in Illinois, the foreclosure courts have been processing the cases faster. Foreclosure cases that used to take one to two years have been speeding through the court at a more regular speed of
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House Sold Short in 2014? You may get a tax break!
In 2013, the U.S. Congress extended the tax break for people who sold their houses at short sales, or gave up their houses, and were forgiven the balance of the loan. But, so far, in 2014, they let that tax relief expire. See my blog
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Your HAMP Mortgage Payments May Bounce Up Soon in Illinois and Across the US
Back in 2009, the US Government announced the HAMP Program, Home Affordable Modification Program. The first group of homeowners started getting modifications, and many of those loan modifications had an “interest only” time period, usually 5 years. Now, the 5 years is coming up, and
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What Do Lawyers Do for You?
Most people hope that they never have to use a lawyer, ever. If you watch late-night TV, or listen to stand-up comedians, and that’s all you knew, you wouldn’t want to either. And I’m just talking about the jokes! Late-night TV is also filled with
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