All About Credit Score

A recent report from the New York Times highlights a troubling change in the banking industry: according to the Times, banks across the country have taken to closing branches in middle- and low-income neighborhoods even as they maintained or opened new branches in wealthier areas.

Personal finance experts of all stripes are understandably upset about the shift – fewer available banks could have disastrous consequences for the financial health of families in affected areas.

The High Cost of Being “Unbanked”

Here’s a look at some of the potential ramifications closing banks in poorer areas.

• Increased reliance on payday lenders and check cashers: Without nearby bank branches, families in effected communities will be pushed to rely for their financial needs on so-called “predatory” lenders such as payday loan stores, cash advance outfits and check cashers. Such organi

Read full post…

Tags: Banks, Banks Close

This personal bankruptcy story was posted on the internet in February of 2011 as comments in a bankruptcy discussion: “Judgment against homestead owner — Lien on excess value of homestead property. A judgment against the owner of a homestead shall become a lien on the value of the homestead property in excess of the homestead exemption from the time the judgment creditor records the judgment with the recording officer of the county where the property is located. Question: [If] I am correct in reading the above, the judgment lien does not attach to the homestead until a person has surplus equity above the 125k allowed by the homestead act?”

The debtor in this personal bankruptcy illustration wants to know what happens to a judgment where the creditor has attached the judgment as a lien on a homestead. Every

Read full post…

Tags: Homestead

The unsecured creditors committee plays an important role in chapter 11 bankruptcy

How can thousands of creditors negotiate with a business that has declared chapter 11 bankruptcy?

They can’t. Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases often involve situations where the business that has declared bankruptcy has hundreds or even thousands of creditors. Clearly, the entire flock of creditors cannot efficiently pursue the debtor in Bankruptcy Court at the same time. C

Read full post…

Tags: 11 Bankruptcy, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Committee, Creditors Committee

A recent report from the Center for Responsible Lending suggests that the reforms introduced by the Credit CARD Act of 2009 are working to improve transparency in the marketing of credit cards to consumers.

In case you need a refresher course, the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act was designed to improve transparency from banks and other credit card issuers so that consumers could navigate the world of credit with greater ease and less financial distress. Here’s a look at just how much this consumer protection legislation has changed.

• Advertised credit card interest rates: Before the passage of the Credit CARD Act, the CRL reports, the discrepancy between the rates advertised by credit card offers and those that consumers actually paid had reached unprecedented highs. I

Read full post…

Tags: Act, Card Act, Credit Card, Credit Card Act

Recent news shows how bankruptcy law can get so complicated

The number 2 bookstore chain in the U.S., Borders, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization last week and is expected to shutter nearly a third of its superstores by April. On Feb. 22, its rivaland number 1 chainBarnes & Noble suspended its dividend payments and reported missing earnings estimates.

Tags: Borders, Borders Aware