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While making the decision to file bankruptcy is difficult, it may also be hard to choose the kind of bankruptcy that is best for you.  For the average consumer, there are two types of bankruptcies that are available.  Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  While both can provide relief from creditors, they have very ...

A recent article in the press enterprise discusses the unrealistic expectations homeowners have about appreciation of their home values.  In a poll done of prospective home buyers, Zillow.com found that 42% believed their home would appreciate by 7% a year.  Traditionally, home values have appreciated at two to five percent annually.  The article goes on ...

President Obama recently announced changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP).  HARP was originally created to help homeowners who had little or no equity to refinance their property to a lower market rate.  Currently, the rate on a 30 year fixed loan is around 4%.  Under the old plan, a person could refinance only ...

After you have filed your bankruptcy petition in Orange County, you will be required to attend a Meeting of Creditors, also called a 341 meeting.  The purpose of the meeting is to verify your identity, answer questions asked by the trustee, and answer any questions that creditors may have.  Check out our Bankruptcy questions page ...

The Riverside Press Enterprise has an interesting article about inland empire families who have walked away from their upside-down mortgages.  In the article, these families defaulted in 2008 on mortgages that were upside down.  Now that enough time has passed since they lost their home, they now qualify to purchase a home under FHA guidelines. ...

As more and more homeowners have successfully negotiated loan modifications, they are finding that getting a modification is only the beginning.  In a recent article in the Boston Globe, 8 homeowners are filling a lawsuit against Bank of America.  In the lawsuit, they allege that Bank of America has violated their loan modification agreements, damaged ...

Before buying a home in Riverside, I had weekly conversations with a good friend of mine about the bottom of the real estate market.  We discussed the mortgage meltdown, the cyclical nature of home sales, the efforts made by government to shore up home prices and stop foreclosures, the change in prices over different seasons, ...

The New York Times had an interesting article recently about the continuing fall in income long after the recession "ended" in 2009.  According to economists, the most recent recession ended in June 2009.  From June 2009 until June 2011, household income continued to fall by 6.7 percent.  Household income fell despite the overall improvement in ...

The 341 hearing is a required meeting between debtors and the trustee.  As the name of the meeting indicates, creditors are also invited to attend and can ask limited questions of the debtors about their petition and schedules.  While many creditors are nervous about this meeting, your attorney should have prepared you for your upcoming ...