Both are readily available for purchase online, but figuring out which is most accurate can be daunting. The advice from most mortgage professionals to first-time home buyers is to begin sprucing up their credit at least six months before applying for a loan. Credit scores and credit reports are readily available for purchase online, but […]
Debt Collection ‘Factory’ Preyed On Broke Americans: Lawsuit
Submitted by New Jersey Bankruptcy Attorney, Lee Perlman. Originally posted here by the Huffington Post. A federal watchdog is suing a collection agency that allegedly operated like a “factory” churning out lawsuits against cash-strapped borrowers, often using misleading, deceptive and illegal practices. The suit is the latest effort by regulators to crack down on debt […]
EDITORIAL: Student Loan Debt Should not be Exempt in Bankruptcies
Published in the New Haven Register here. In this July 18, 2013, photo, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, announces to reporters that a bipartisan agreement was reached on rates for government student loans in Washington. From left are Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., Harkin, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., Sen. Angus […]
Treasury Secretary Unveils Small Steps to Augment Loan Modification Program
Jacob J. Lew, center, the Treasury secretary, met with homeowners, housing counselors and counseling clients at the Greater Washington Urban League in Washington on Thursday. Credit Daniel Rosenbaum for The New York Times The Obama administration will take further steps to ease foreclosures, rising rents and scarce mortgages, Jacob J. Lew, the Treasury secretary, said […]
Overdraft Fees Still Baffle Consumers
Originally published in the Money Advisor section of the New York Times, here. Submitted by New Jersey Bankruptcy Attorney, Lee Perlman It has been nearly four years since rules went into effect to help clarify when banks may charge you penalties if you overdraw your checking account using your debit card. But many people remain […]
It’s Official: The Boomerang Kids Won’t Leave
By ADAM DAVIDSONJUNE 20, 2014 Adrianne Smith, 28, graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2008 and went to work as a behavioral analyst treating children on the autism spectrum. She was quickly making more than $60,000 a year, but in order to earn that money, “I had a huge caseload,” she said, handling […]
Bank Account Screening Tool Is Scrutinized as Excessive
By JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG and MICHAEL CORKERY June 15, 2014 9:00 pm Originally published in the New York Times. Jake Naughton/The New York TimesCharlette Williams in Queens found that records of past bank overdrafts prevented her from opening a new account. In her early college years, when Charlette Williams started routinely mismanaging her finances and pushing […]
High Cost to Focusing on Student Loans Over Saving
This week, President Obama ordered changes to the federal student loan program that could help millions of borrowers make their payments more affordable starting in December 2015. In a short speech in which he used the word “outrage” twice, he noted that he and his wife, Michelle, paid off their own student loan debt only […]
Young and in Debt in New York City
Student Loans Make it Hard to Rent or Buy a Home Photo Tierney Cooke and Oliver have at last found a place to live in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Both student debt and the dog have hampered her housing searches in New York. Credit Karsten Moran for The New York Times For young people, moving to New […]
How to Protect Your Credit When You Marry Into Debt
Submitted by New Jersey Bankruptcy Attorney, Lee M. Perlman. Originally published here. So you’ve got your financial act together, but your soon-to-be-spouse doesn’t. You love your partner, but you’ve worked hard to get your finances in order, and you don’t want to be responsible for their past mistakes. Here’s how you can protect yourself from […]
