Consumer Bankruptcy Help

Here's the latest cartoon from Bankruptcy Bill, titled "Dutch Date."  It's what happens when bankruptcy lawyers try to go on dates.

(Note:  Bankruptcy Bill cartoon re-posted by Haines & Krieger with expression permission from the creators of Bankruptcy Man.)

Happy April from Haines & Krieger’s Las Vegas Foreclosure Round-Up, where we look at the latest Las Vegas foreclosure news:

1.     New HAFA Guidelines Help Performance Marketing America Provide Hope for Short Sales in Las Vegas (PR-USA.net)

This April 5^th, the federal government’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) goes into effect.  These guidelines accelerate the short sale process for debtors’ principal residences with mortgages predating 2009. 

Comment:  It's worth mentioning that Haines & Krieger has substantial experience helping Las Vegas homeowners with short sales and is well prepared to continue to help with the newly streamlined short sale process.

2.     Underwater Homeowners Leave Behind Mortgages, but Lenders Can Still Come Calling (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Homeowners grapple with paying the negative equity on a depreciated home versus taking the credit score hit by engaging in “strategic default.”  If opting for the latter, they should beware, for Nevada is a recourse state, meaning lenders can go after former homeowners years after foreclosures, short sales, and bank-approved sales. 

Comment:  For this reason, we strongly recommend consulting with an experienced bankruptcy/foreclosure attorney before proceeding with a strategic default.  Haines & Krieger offers free consultations where you can get advice and perspective on your situation and figure out the best strategy for your situation.

3.     Investors Swoop In Again, but Do They Bring A Stigma? (Las Vegas Sun)

Rather than buying homes to flip them at a higher price, investors are coming to Las Vegas to buy homes and then rent them.  Nearby homeowners are concerned that renters are unwilling to make the same personal investment in houses as owners.  On the other hand, investors claim that a rented house is better for nearby property values than a vacant one.

4.     Retail Index Places Las Vegas Near Bottom (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Investors are also swooping in on Las Vegas’ retail properties.  The poor economy is weakening sales, which is leading to shops closing, so like the housing market, the empty retail space is for sale at discount prices for investors.

Comment:  Haines & Kriegers attorneys excel at commercial loan modifications.  Please feel free to contact us for a free initial consultation to discuss your situation.
 

Hep Stop Foreclosure Las Vegas
If your'e facing foreclosure and need good bankruptcy attorneys in Las Vegas, please contact us for a free foreclosure consultation.

Haines & Krieger attorneys have been at the forefront of helping Las Vegas residents deal with foreclosure problems and getting back on their feet.  So get in touch and let us help you figure out your best options for fighting foreclosure.

The Bankruptcy Man (f/k/a BAPCPA Man) vs. Mortgantua battle takes a twist as Bankruptcy Man learns something about the mortgage industry's--er, Mortgantua's tricky ways.

(Note:  Bankruptcy Man cartoon re-posted by Haines & Krieger with expression permission from the creators of Bankruptcy Man.)



Help Stop Foreclosure Las Vegas!
If you're looking for a bankruptcy hero to help you battle the mortgage industry, contact Haines & Krieger for a free foreclosure consultation.

We can help you with loan modifications, short sales, participating in Nevada's Foreclosure Mediation Program, filing for personal bankruptcy in Las Vegas or just seeking Las Vegas bankruptcy help.

As spring begins, we provide a peek at foreclosures in Las Vegas in the latest Haines & Krieger's Las Vegas Foreclosure Round-up:
 
1. Dip in Foreclosure Sales Lifts Vegas Home Prices: MDA DataQuick (Housing Wire)
Finally some good news for Las Vegas homeowners?  Austin Kilgore uses MDA DataQuick to provide evidence that foreclosure resales decreased
while total sales increased.
 
2. North Las Vegas Gets $677K for At-Risk Families (Associated Press)
Federal stimulus dollars arrive in North Las Vegas to aid low-income families.  The city
describes how it’ll use the funds, but any unused funds return to the federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
 
3. Amid Housing Downturn, Toll Downsizes Its Homes (Reuters)
Toll Brothers, Inc., builders of large, expensive houses, is building smaller houses.  Some of
these units are half the size and cost of the average Toll house.  However, they plan to return
to large luxury homes once the economy improves.
 
4. Foreclosure Mediation: ‘System Is Really A Sham’ (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Competing accounts of foreclosure mediation inform readers that while some homeowners
feel creditors are acting in bad faith, public officials believe mediation has helped many of
the 10% of borrowers who have entered the process. Of course, at Haines & Krieger, we have first-hand experience using foreclosure mediation on a regular basis to help our clients keep their homes.  And those homeowners can attest to the fact that foreclosure mediation is definitely not a sham!
 
5. Official Says Lenders May Renege On Promises (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Nevada’s Assembly Speaker and sponsor of foreclosure mediation, Barbara Buckley, stated
in a hearing that lenders agree to modify loans during mediation, but then fail to sign the
documents.  Other times, they give consumers revised mediation terms, or they come to
mediation without all the required documents or worse, negotiating authority.

Hep Stop Foreclosure Las Vegas
If your'e facing foreclosure and need good bankruptcy attorneys in Las Vegas, please contact us for a free foreclosure consultation.

Haines & Krieger attorneys have been at the forefront of helping Las Vegas residents deal with foreclosure problems and getting back on their feet.  So get in touch and let us help you figure out your best options for fighting foreclosure.
 

In case you haven't seen the "Client Testimonials" page on our website, we encourage you to take a look.

Those are all letters from clients who were very appreciative of the Las Vegas bankruptcy help we were able to provide and felt moved to write their feelings down and share them with us.

At the same time, on rare occasions we have had a client who felt unhappy with our services and made a complaint against Haines & Krieger.  In such instances, we always do everything we can to talk with the client, address the issue and fix the problem.  And in every instance where there has been a complaint against Haines & Krieger, we've been able to resolve it.

Generally, such complaints stem from a miscommunication.  The bankruptcy process involves a lot of information.  Also a lot of expectations and understanding (and sometimes misunderstanding) about what's involved.  So part of our job is to try and help our clients understand the dynamics and limitations of the bankruptcy process as well as all the ways it can help people.

We understand also that clients facing bankruptcy experience a lot of stress and frustration in their lives.  And it's our goal to help reduce that so that any frustrating experiences faced by our clients, whether with their own financial situation or in their interactions with Haines & Krieger, eventually turn into a fresh start and a happy testimonial.

If you need Las Vegas bankruptcy help, or if you have questions about our services, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We always offer a free initial consultation.  And we always are willing to listen to any concerns or complaints about our services.

You may recall that we posted previously about Bankruptcy Bill's Bankruptcy Song Contest (for which we were one of the sponsors) here and here. 

Well, the votes are in and the winner has been declared in a cartoon that manages to caricature the winner (Judge Alan S. Trust, Bankruptcy Judge in the Eastern District of New York), parody American Idol, and even work in a reference to a prestigious bankruptcy moot court competition.




It's nice to occasionally look at the lighter side when dealing with bankruptcy.  But of course bankruptcy is no joke.  Especially if you're dealing with foreclosure or need to file for bankruptcy in Las Vegas.

If you're looking for a bankruptcy attorney in Las Vegas who can provide the Las Vegas bankruptcy help you need and who has the experience to help you navigate the process with confidence, contact us for a free initial consultation. 

You can discuss your situation over the phone or meet with a Haines & Krieger attorney in person in our Las Vegas bankruptcy law office.

A large reason we--especially Las Vegas residents--are in the midst of the foreclosure crisis and the current recession is that the mortgage and subprime industries were running wild with no governmental authority over they're unethical business practices.

If the Consumer Finance Protection Agency is created, there will finally be someone that looks out for the interest of consumers the same way that the Consumer Protection Agency checks the safety of cars made by Toyota or the lead paint content of toys imported from China.

Read the cartoon below, from Pixton.com and also posted on the Center for Responsible Lending's website, for a healthy dose of logic as to why it makes sense to have a Consumer Finance Protection agency and why arguments against it don't really hold water.





If you need a bankruptcy attorney in Las Vegas or bankruptcy information in Las Vegas to help you deal with the current foreclosure crisis and recession, contact us for a free initial consultation.  You can discuss your situation over the phone or meet with a Haines & Krieger attorney in person in our Las Vegas bankruptcy law office.

It's time for another edition of Haines & Krieger's Las Vegas Foreclosure Round-up where we take a look at what's going on with foreclosures in the Las Vegas area:

1.  Top Foreclosure Bidder Cashed in on Las Vegas (Wall Street Journal)
An interesting short profile on Jonathan Griffin, who died on Sunday at age 27 after carving out a reputation as the leading bidder for foreclosed homes in Las Vegas.  Definitely worth a read to get a sense of what's going on and how things work in the Las Vegas foreclosure real estate market.

2.  Nevada Bankruptcy Filings in January 2010 higher than in January 2009:  State sees 14.4% jump (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bankruptcy filings are actually down from December 2009 to January 2010, but January traditionally tends to be the slowest month in terms of bankruptcy filings.  (Or as UNLV law professor Nancy Rapoport says, bankruptcy numbers are usually "quirky" after the holidays.)  Additional quotes in the article suggest it's too early to know what direction things will move in 2010 but that the bankruptcy courts in Nevada are still quite busy.

3.  Housing:  Hope on the Horizon - Cash rich builders are buying land again, betting on a turn in the market for new homes (Business Week)
The good news:  Things are starting to move again in the real estate market, including in areas hit hard by the foreclosure such as Arizona, California and Florida.
The bad news:  No mention in the article of Las Vegas.

4.  In Nevada, Begging for a Lower Home Value:  Thousands line up before a Clark County board, hoping to get a reduced figure and a break on their property taxes (Los Angeles Times)
The article notes that Las Vegas is the only part of the country in a full-blown recession.

Hep Stop Foreclosure Las Vegas
If your'e facing foreclosure and need good bankruptcy attorneys in Las Vegas, please contact us for a free foreclosure consultation.

Haines & Krieger attorneys have been at the forefront of helping Las Vegas residents deal with foreclosure problems and getting back on their feet.  So get in touch and let us help you figure out your best options for fighting foreclosure.

The Bankruptcy Man (f/k/a BAPCPA Man) vs. Mortgantua battle continues as Bankruptcy Man learns there are other ways to fight the mortgage industry when government help and other options are not available.

(Note:  Bankruptcy Man cartoon re-posted by Haines & Krieger with expression permission from the creators of Bankruptcy Man.)

Help Stop Foreclosure Las Vegas!
If you're facing foreclosure and seeking good bankruptcy attorneys in Las Vegas to help you get through it all, please contact us for a free foreclosure consultation.

Whether you're seeking a loan modification, interested in partaking in Nevada's Foreclosure Mediation Program, filing for personal bankruptcy in Las Vegas or just seeking bankruptcy information in Las Vegas, we can answer your questions and help figure out the best strategy for you to move forward with your financial life.

We spend most of our time helping clients deal with complaints against mortgage lenders and other creditors.

But what about when a client has a complaint against Haines & Krieger?

It does happen.  We have helped a lot of Las Vegas residents deal with foreclosure problems, debt collectors and the bankruptcy process.  And on occasion we've had a miscommunication with a client where the client's expectations about the bankruptcy process were different than what we thought we has communicated.

We want to make sure all of our clients and potential clients know, however, that in every case we have always been able to sit down and resolve the issue with our clients to their satisfaction.

We know times are tough.  Especially for members of our Las Vegas community.  And we recognize that our clients are not just purchasing a service.  They're under a lot of stress when they come to us.  So it's our aim to do everything within our role to reduce that stress and make the process go as smoothly as possible.

We're not bankruptcy super heroes (though we'd like to be), and we can't solve every problem, of course.  And when we can't, we always do our best to be honest and frank with our clients so they understand the circumstances as well as the limitations.

As Las Vegas' leading bankruptcy and foreclosure defense law firm, we don't just see ourselves as a business.  We live in and are part of the Las Vegas community.  And we're doing what we can to help Las Vegas residents out and help the area get through this crisis.

If you need Las Vegas bankruptcy help, or if you have questions about our services, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We always offer a free initial consultation.  And we always are willing to listen to any concerns or complaints about our services.

We could lecture you all day about the tricks and traps and sneaky strategies of credit cards.  But nothing will make you as wary of credit cards (or laugh as much at them) as this video by Mark Fiore titled "Credit Card Reform in Action" in tribute to the Credit CARD Act of 2009 (which just became effective as of February 22, 2010).




If you're faced with mounting credit card debt and seeking good Las Vegas bankruptcy attorneys to help with debt negotiation or provide Las Vegas bankruptcy help, contact us for a free initial consultation.  You can discuss your situation over the phone or meet with a Haines & Krieger attorney in person in our Las Vegas bankruptcy law office.

The government hasn't done a whole heck of a lot to help consumer debtors.  But one positive step it took was passing the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which goes into effect TODAY:  February 22, 2010.

The CARD Act provides some solid protections to consumers.  However, the credit card companies wouldn't be as profitable as they are today if they weren't good at coming up with new and creative ways to gouge consumers.

As the Center for Responsible Lending says, "It pays to remain alert to tricks, traps and any changes in your statement."

Examples include:

1.  Strange and arbitrary charges on your statement, such as charges for purchases abroad, for receiving a paper statement, for having a zero balance and even for vague reasons such as "account management."

2.  Closing your account or reducing your credit limit without notice.  The CARD Act requires a 45-day notice before a credit card issuer can penalize you or raise your interest rate on a newly lowered credit limit.

3.  Credit card issuers can still change terms on credit cards for small businesses without notice.

4.  Credit card issuers can still raise your interest rate.  Though they are required to give you 45 days notice.  Also, you have the option of not accepting the rate increase and canceling the card.  And if you have a balance, you then have 5 years to pay off that balance.

5.  Raising your monthly minimum payment by making it a percentage of your total balance.

6.  Requiring customers to submit to arbitration or mediation to resolve a dispute and precluding customers from suing in a court of law.  The CARD Act prohibits credit card issuers from doing this any longer.

If you're struggling with credit card debt and considering filing for bankruptcy in Las Vegas as well as non-bankruptcy options, it helps to have good Las Vegas bankruptcy attorneys to provide the Las Vegas bankruptcy information you need to deal with your debts and get a fresh start.

Please contact us for a free consultation to learn more about your options and have the benefit of Haines & Kriegers' extensive debt negotiation and bankruptcy experience on your side.

Student loans have a unique place in the world of debt:  Unlike credit card or gambling debt that can be reduced, or a mortgage where the homeowner as a last resort can walk away, there is no mechanism for simply getting rid of student loan debt.  (Though there are bankruptcy law strategies for dealing with it.)

And according to a post on The Wall Street Journal's blog The Juggle, this indisposable aspect of student loan debt is taking its toll on our society and our economy.  Especially in the current recession where many people with college and gradute degrees are unable to find jobs after incurring significant amounts of student debt.

What is the ripple effect of student loan debt?  People are working jobs they might not otherwise take, calling to mind the concept of indentured servitude.  People are putting off major life decisions like marriage and having children.  Related debt problems may harm credit scores, preventing people from buying homes or cars.  And calls from credit collection agencies who take over the payment collection for student loan debt add even more stress.

The post notes that in the current economic climate, there's been a fairly passionate reaction to student loans.  There's even now a Facebook group called Forgive Student Loan Debt with over 27,000 members and its own website.

If you're struggling with student loan debt, clearly you're not alone.

And if you're tired of "juggling" your debts--whether student loan, credit card, mortgage, medical or other--and ready to work with good bankruptcy attorneys in Las Vegas who can really help, we encourage you contact us for a free initial consultation.  You can discuss your situation over the phone or meet with a Haines & Krieger attorney in person in our Las Vegas bankruptcy law office.

You probably think I'm talking about our national deficit and the possibility that our President could file Chapter 7 for the entire U.S.But I'm referring to Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.  Because in the bankruptcy world, we recognize not just their birthdays, but also the fact that they both dealt with bankruptcy.

I think it says something very powerful about our system that two people who both dealt with bankruptcy went on to become two of the greatest and most successful presidents in our history.  In other words, succeeding on a personal level and being a good person is really separate from your ability to manage financially.

In Jefferson's case, he had over $100K in debt at the end of his life.  And in Lincoln's, he spent nearly 20 years repaying debt after unsuccessfully trying to open a store that didn't do so well.  Notably, there cases were well before the modern era of bankruptcy.  And as a result, they struggled under their debts for a much longer time.

Today, Lincoln might have filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and resolved both his personal and business debts within a 4 to 6 month period.  And Jefferson, with his much larger debts, may have needed to file for Chapter 11 to reorganize his finances.

Fortunately for Las Vegas residents, options such as Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 all exist to help us move on with our financial lives when necessary.  And concepts such as loan modification and foreclosure mediation programs have evolved as well to help stop foreclosure in Las Vegas.

As a result, Americans are able to sign their own Declaration of Debt Independence and do not have to spend four score and seven years repaying their debts.

For more Chapter 7 help in Las Vegas, Chapter 13 help in Las Vegas or bankruptcy information in Las Vegas, as well as for help with small business bankruptcy in Las Vegas, please contact us for a free initial consultation.

You can find various lists of celebrities who filed for bankruptcy if you search around the internet.

But the folks at Bankruptcy Bill have put together something a little different:  a list of the bankruptcy lawyers who represent those celebrities.


None of the bankruptcy lawyers are based in Las Vegas.  But of course many of the celebrities have Las Vegas ties, including Donald Trump and Mike Tyson among others.

What a post like this reminds all of us is that financial struggles can affect all kinds of people, rich and poor, and even celebrities.

The important thing is that the bankruptcy laws do exist and are available to help all Americans get a second chance and a clean slate in our capitalist economic system.

For more Chapter 7 help in Las Vegas, Chapter 13 help in Las Vegas or bankruptcy information in Las Vegas, please contact us for a free initial consultation.

Haines & Krieger attorneys know it's tough out there and have the experience and wisdom to deal with the unique kinds of financial problems that this recession keeps dealing to our Las Vegas community.

It looks like banks are finally getting their act together and realizing that foreclosing on a homeowners is ultimately more costly than allowing them to complete a short sale.  At least according to an article in the Las Vegas Sun ("Short sales soar while foreclosure sales slacken").

A "short sale," for those unfamiliar with the term, is where a bank allows a home to be sold for less than the amount left on the mortgage.

I'd like to be able to say that this trend is occurring because banks did the math and had the foresight to realize that the overall cost of foreclosure--including the devastating impact it has on communities in the midst of a foreclosure crisis of this scale--would ultimately be much greater than any losses due to short sales.

But it seems like this is really only occurring because the government is finally offering incentives to banks and because banks have tired of flooding the market with foreclosed properties which is now just depressing the real estate market further.

In any event, it is occurring now and it's important to be aware of.

If you're concerned about foreclosure in Las Vegas, it helps to have good Las Vegas bankruptcy attorneys to provide Las Vegas foreclosure help and, if necessary, Las Vegas bankruptcy help.

There are a range of options, from loan modification to foreclosure mediation to use of the bankruptcy laws for your benefit.

Please contact us for a free consultation to learn more about your options and have the benefit of Haines & Kriegers' extensive foreclosure experience on your side.

Detroit may have the highest jobless rate in the U.S. right now.  But Las Vegas had the highest increase from December 2008 to December 2009:  an increase of 4.4 percentrage points.

Despite what you may have heard about signs of economic recovery out there, clearly Las Vegas is not involved in this alleged recovery.

What's the implication of all of this from a bankruptcy perspective?  Well, bankruptcies typical continue at a high rate for a good half-year to a year once unemployment rates start to improve.  This means that we're still looking at lots of bankruptcies and foreclosures to come for a good while in the Las Vegas area.

And what of President Obama's perceived slight of Las Vegas and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's "offense" at the comments?  Maybe that's the best thing the government could have done to help, since the net effect is to bring more attention to the current unemployment and foreclosure crisis in Las Vegas and in Nevada. 

(Of course, mortgage cramdown legislation would've been better.  But for now let's take what we can get in the form of Obama's gaffe and Goodman's quick reaction to take advantage of it for the benefit of Las Vegas.)

Light comments aside, the message is clear:  Things are tough for Las Vegas right now and will continue to be.

If you need help, whether in the form of good bankruptcy attorneys in Las Vegas, bankruptcy services in Las Vegas, Las Vegas foreclosure help or just Las Vegas bankruptcy information, please contact us for a free consultation.

Haines & Krieger attorneys have been at the forefront of helping Las Vegas residents deal with bankruptcy foreclosure problems and getting back on their feet.  Get in touch to learn more and start addressing your own financial problems.

I just saw this rather appropriate and timely quote on the LegalHumorBlog:


The idea, of course, being that to decry the need for a bankruptcy option is naive and even silly if you're in favor of a capitalistic system, which is what we have in the U.S.  Without some sort of escape hatch or fresh start option, the system will not function well long term.

Taking this analogy a step further, I think it also applies well to the foreclosure crisis in Nevada and particularly to Las Vegas residents.  That is, you can't have a thriving home mortgage industry without offering a way out when things go bad. 

In the case of Las Vegas homeowners facing foreclosure, that frest start option has become loan modification and the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program.  Loan modifications may not solve the foreclosure crisis on their own.  But if you're a homeowner who might benefit, you better believe it'll help at the individual level.

Focusing on individuals is what we do at Haines & Krieger.  While the government may be focusing on the big picture, we're focusing on solving this thing one person at a time.

Hep Stop Foreclosure Las Vegas
If your'e facing foreclosure and need good bankruptcy attorneys in Las Vegas, please contact us for a free foreclosure consultation.

Haines & Krieger attorneys have been at the forefront of helping Las Vegas residents deal with foreclosure problems and getting back on their feet.

Time to take another look at what's going on with foreclosures in the Las Vegas area in the New Year with this week's edition of Haines & Krieger's Las Vegas Foreclosure Round-up:

1.  HUD Sending More Workers to Las Vegas (Las Vegas Review-Journal) and HUD Boosts Staff in Las Vegas to Handle Foreclosures (Las Vegas Sun)

The Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") has dispatched 3 staff members to its Clark County office to be part of a rapid response team to help deal with the Las Vegas foreclosure crisis.

2.  Las Vegas, California Cities Top Foreclosure List in 2009 (Business Week)

Las Vegas once again had the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S., according to RealtyTrac.  This unfortunately does not surprise any of us.  What is somewhat surprising, though, is that the foreclosure crisis appears to be spreading to other states including Illinois, Arkansas and Oregon.

3.  Nicolas Cage Sells Foreclosed Manse at $3.5 Million Loss (MonstersandCritics.com)

At least he was able to sell.  And it goes without saying that we'd all love to be so fortunate to have a home worth enough that it could even suffer a $3.5 million loss.

That's all for this edition.  Keep following this blog for more posts on Las Vegas foreclosure issues and news as well as ways to get help with your foreclosure situation.

Hep Stop Foreclosure Las Vegas
If your'e facing foreclosure and need good bankruptcy attorneys in Las Vegas, please contact us for a free foreclosure consultation.

Haines & Krieger attorneys have been at the forefront of helping Las Vegas residents deal with foreclosure problems and getting back on their feet.

If you've ever had to deal with debt collectors, you may have wondered if they're even human.  The yellling, the tenacious pestering and calling, the threatening...and those are just the nice ones.

Well NPR ran a story today where they actually interviewed a debt collector--a young college grad who has his own student loans to pay off.  It's a great piece, the debt collector comes off very nicely and actually seems human.  He's soft-spoken, reasonable and even feels bad for people when they really can't pay off a debt.

Clearly this guy is not going to last in the business.

While I don't fault NPR for doing the story, I do think there is a danger in misportraying the third-party debt collection business.  No bones about it, they make their money by being harsh and brutal and often unethical.  There may be a segment of the industry that is relatively ethical and follows the rules.  But that's not the segment that most people are familiar with.  Especially in Las Vegas.

If you're having problems with debt collectors, dont' forget that you have rights and protections.

Get in touch with a Haines & Krieger lawyer for a free consultation to learn more about how to protect yourself and get the Las Vegas bankruptcy information you need.

And if you're considering filing for bankruptcy in Las Vegas and need good Las Vegas bankruptcy attorneys, please contact us for a free foreclosure consultation.

Things are tough out there.  But so are we.