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What is a foreclosure scam? Foreclosure scams often involve multiple or fraudulent bankruptcy petitions used to delay foreclosure on a property without any intent to actually make good on the bankruptcy filing. Homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes or that have filed for bankruptcy are approached by

Never in memory have so many consumer credit regulatory changes been promulgated or expected imminently. The increased burden on financial organization compliance departments is extraordinary. Due to the rapid pace with which Congress and the federal regulators have issued these new rules, it was probably inevitable that compliance with and

Work only with a broker willing to provide you with the wholesale rate sheets for their preferred lenders.  There are MANY wholesale lenders and they all have different pricing, requirements, add-ons, restrictions, etc. Most brokers submit most of their loans to one or two lenders because they expect ADDITIONAL rebates

A few months ago, after the robosigning scandal broke, the banks assured us that they had done a thorough review of their foreclosure processes and everything was in order.  I seem to recall JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jaime Dimon stating in an Oct. 13, 2010 earnings call, “for the most

On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This statute undoubtedly marks a sea change for debt collectors. In particular, as described further in this article, Title 10 to the Dodd-Frank Act, known as the “Consumer Financial Protection Act of

Effective July1, 2010, the new FTC law requires the original creditor of a consumer’s dispute to respond by conducting an investigation. The law does not permit them to verify the information but to do an actual investigation of the dispute. Why is this one of the most powerful tool available

One of the many banes of my existence is FreeCreditReport.com. Not only do their ads play incessantly during any sporting event that I care to watch, but my children also used to walk around the house singing the catchy tunes featured in the commercials. That behavior–along with all other forms

NACBA released a survey of its members indicating that more potential clients these days have unmanageable educational loans and are facing aggressive collection efforts. See http://www.nacba.org/Legislative/StudentLoanDebt.aspx. It has become common for people to have two mortgage-size debts, one for a home and another for an education. The educational loan

All too often money problems lead to divorce.  So it’s normal that a bankruptcy (or two) will be part of the picture. Should you file bankruptcy first, or wait until the divorce is filed or concluded?  A good question.  The answer depends entirely on where you live and what issues

A security freeze is an alert one could place on one’s credit report and allows a consumer to tell a credit reporting agency not to release the consumer’s credit report without prior authorization using a secret personal identification number (PIN). A security freeze can be useful to mitigate the effects