Illinois Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

Prices fell from Feb. to Mar. in 18 of the 20 metro areas tracked by the S&P/Case-Shiller index. In a dozen of those cities markets are at their lowest points since the housing crisis started, driven lower by foreclosures, a glut of unsold homes, and the reluctance or inability of many to buy. The index is in its 8th straight month of decline and indicates that prices have now fallen further than they did during the Great Depression. It took 19 years for the housing market to rebound after that.

- DEREK KRAVITZ, AP Real Estate Writer for Yahoo! Finance

There, but for the grace of God, go I.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/23376949 w=400&h=225]

Mike Risinger from Over Fifty and Out of Work on Vimeo

In re Tangela R. Scott, 10-43343

This piece in the San Jose Mercury News is kind of vague about how homeowners are getting rid of second mortgage obligations, so it's no wonder people are flummuxed about the concept. What it discussed isn't magic but a technique called lien stripping that we bankruptcy lawyers employ all the time. Unfortunately, despite the fact that bankruptcy is Federal, the effectiveness of a lien strip and steps necessary to carry it out vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. But yes this is real; and yes homeowners can walk away from second mortgages that are truly unsecured. Note that lien stripping is not in any way the same as loan modification. Bankruptcy Courts have yet to crack that nut.

(Sent from Flipboard)