Author Archives: doug

In Massachusetts, foreclosures track bankruptcies and post large increase

By doug | Published: May 20, 2010

Hard on the heels of the news that bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts soared in the period ending March 31, comes the kicker — foreclosure rates in the state swelled almost 80 percent in April. This didn’t surprise housing advocates and professionals, who are seeing more homeowners struggling to pay mortgages because they have been out […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News, Foreclosure | Comments closed

Bankruptcy filings soar in Massachusetts

By doug | Published: May 17, 2010

The news is in — bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts and in the nation as a whole are going up. Way, way up. The federal court system counted a 30 percent increase in bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts for the 12 months ending on March 31st. Nationally, a 27 percent increase was recorded. What should anyone make […]

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Senate approves measure cutting debit card fees

By doug | Published: May 14, 2010

The United States Senate approved a bill this morning that would place new limits on what processing companies can charge for debit card transactions. Illinois senator Richard Durbin’s plan forces the Federal Reserve to ensure the fees that credit card companies charge for debit card use are proportional to the costs of processing the transaction. […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News, Credit cards | Comments closed

Debt advice for new graduates

By doug | Published: May 14, 2010

With graduation season in full swing, Dave Carpenter has put together a good article on how the newest members of the working world should go about avoiding debt problems. His advice: * Stick to a budget; * Be very careful with credit. “If you can’t pay for it with cash, you don’t need it.’’ Debit […]

Posted in Practical tips | Comments closed

Massachusetts residents swimming in debt

By doug | Published: May 14, 2010

People who live in the Boston, Massachusetts area have plenty of debt — on average, about $24,670 — but that pales in comparison to some other parts of America. This news comes from the Experian credit rating agency, which reviewed relative debt levels in twenty large metropolitan areas. Seattle residents accumulated the most debts, averaging […]

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Wrestling with banks over credit card interest rates

By doug | Published: May 13, 2010

Massachusetts Treasurer Tim Cahill’s plan for pressuring large banks to respect the state’s law capping credit card interest rates at 18 percent is turning into a largely symbolic protest. As I reported here last month, Cahill, who is also an independent candidate for governor in the upcoming November elections, decided to withdraw state funds from […]

Posted in Credit cards | Comments closed

Using bankruptcy to get rid of a second mortgage

By doug | Published: May 12, 2010

Since I recently took a look at the first opinion written by Melvin Hoffman, the new Massachusetts bankruptcy court judge, I thought it might be fair to even the score a bit and take a look at the last opinion issued by the judge Hoffman replaced, retiring Massachusetts bankruptcy judge Joel Rosenthal. Turns out Judge […]

Posted in Chapter 13, Real estate | Comments closed

Mortgage bailout looms as Massachusetts mortgage and bankruptcy crisis rolls on

By doug | Published: May 6, 2010

Today’s news includes the nugget that “Freddie Mac,” the quasi-private packager of home mortgage loans for resale to the financial markets, is begging Congress for another $10.6 billion dollar bailout. This would be on top of $50.7 billion the federal government has already pumped in to the troubled mortgage giant. Meanwhile, the average consumer is […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News, Foreclosure | Comments closed

A new assault on high credit card fees

By doug | Published: May 5, 2010

Two US Senators are sponsoring legislation that would allow merchants to get around the 2% commission that MasterCard and Visa charge them for credit card sales. Under the proposal by Vermont senator Patrick Leahy and Illinois senator Dick Durbin, stores would be able to legally offer consumers discounts for using cash or an in-store credit […]

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New Massachusetts bankruptcy judge says no to trustee-paid claims

By doug | Published: May 4, 2010

The first written opinion by the newest Massachusetts bankruptcy judge is of interest to Chapter 13 debtors and Massachusetts bankruptcy attorneys. In the Pearson case, judge Melvin Hoffman struck down a provision in a debtor’s Chapter 13 plan that would have provided for administrative claims to be paid by the trustee out of the plan […]

Posted in Bankruptcy News, Chapter 13 | Comments closed
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