Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer & Attorney : Fears Nachawati law Firm : Chapter 7, Chapter 13, Consumer Bankrutpcy : Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio

It may not make you feel better while pumping gas, but another sign of Houston's economic strength can be found in that barometer of financial weakness: bankruptcies.

The Houston Chronicle reports, while the rest of the country is experiencing a nearly one-third increase in personal and business bankruptcies, Houston's numbers remain stable.

Nationwide, the number of bankruptcies nearly reached 1 million for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008, the U.S. Courts office announced Wednesday. The 967,831 personal and business bankruptcies represent a 28.9 percent increase over the year ending in June 2007.

In the U.S. Courts for the Southern District of Texas, the federal division that includes Houston, Galveston, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley, the case filings haven't changed significantly, however.

"Ours are kind of a flat line, about 1,000 a month," said David Bradley, chief deputy clerk for the Houston area district.

By some measures, there even is a dip in the personal bankruptcy filings in the federal district that includes Houston.

U.S. Courts statistics for the district show that while business bankruptcies in the first quarter of 2008 inched up to 168 from 155 in the same period in 2007, personal bankruptcies dropped from 2,927 in 2007 to 2,764 in the first quarter of 2008.

Overall, in the first six months of 2008, there were 6,299 bankruptcies filed in the Houston district. That was about 5 percent fewer than the 6,658 cases filed in the last six months of 2007.

"Occasionally, it happens that you have a district that will be at odds with the national trend," said Jack Williams, resident scholar at the education and research group the American Bankruptcy Institute in Alexandria, Va. "It may be an anomaly, but your local industry still depends on the energy sector and sectors tied with it and they have done reasonably well."

Williams said by the end of the year there could be 1.2 million personal and business bankruptcies filed nationwide, compared with 800,000 in 2007. He expects it to get worse.

"It's a bad sign that Chapter 13s are down. That's the bankruptcy where you have a plan to pay some money back over three or five years. And Chapter 7s are up. That's where there is no such plan," he said.

Lydia Protopapas, a Houston bankruptcy lawyer who works for the national firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, said there has been a deluge of work for her firm in the last six months, but most of it is outside the Houston area.

"We've seen distress in a lot of different industries and, in particular, in retail and home building," she said.

Protopapas said companies that file for bankruptcy can choose where to file, especially if they have assets nationwide. She said Houston area courts may lose out to Delaware and New York, where judges have developed special expertise.

Johnie Patterson, a Houston lawyer who represents consumers in bankruptcy, said he assumes the nationwide trend is driven in part by home foreclosures.

"But our housing market is not nearly so bad," he said. "Oil prices are so high and we have so much oil money that it insulates us."

 

A widely watched housing index shows home prices dropping by the sharpest rate ever in the second quarter.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index tumbled a record 15.4 percent during the quarter.

The Dallas Morning News states, the monthly indices also clocked in record declines. The 20-city index fell by 15.9 percent in June compared with a year ago, the largest drop since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index plunged 17 percent, its biggest decline in its 21-year history.

No city in the Case-Shiller 20-city index saw year-over-year price gains in June, the third straight month that's happened.

However, the rate of home price declines slowed in June from the month before, a possible silver lining, the index creators said.

 

The Dallas Morning News reports, construction of homes and apartments fell in July to the lowest level in more than 17 years, the government reported Tuesday.

The Commerce Department said that builders broke ground on 965,000 housing units on an annualized basis. That was down from a pace of 1.08 million in June and the weakest showing since March 1991.

However, July's performance was better than analysts expected. Wall Street economists forecast that housing starts would drop to a pace of 950,000.

Still, the latest housing figures continue to show a badly battered housing market, one of the biggest problems plaguing the already shaky national economy.

The report showed that construction of single-family homes in July fell by 2.9 percent to a pace of 641,000. That was the lowest since January 1991, when the economy also was in distress.

Construction of apartments and other multifamily dwellings also fell sharply in July, after a large jump in the previous month due to a change in New York City's building codes. That change, which went into effect July 1, gave a rare lift to overall housing construction in June.

Housing permits in July fell to a rate of 937,000, a 17.7 percent drop from June, but still above analysts' expectations of 925,000. Permits are considered a reliable sign of future activity.

Homebuilders are hoping the housing rescue package approved by Congress last month will boost the dismal real estate sector. The law includes a temporary $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers that essentially works out to a 15-year, interest-free loan.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index, released Monday, remained at a record low of 16 in August for the second consecutive month. Readings below 50 indicate negative sentiment about the market.

But one measure of longer-term sentiment improved slightly: a measure of builders' sales expectations in six months rose two points to 25.

Still, homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. reported dismal quarterly results last week when its revenue fell 34 percent and its order backlog plunged 52 percent.

Shares of several homebuilders, including Toll Brothers, D.R. Horton Inc. and Pulte Homes Inc., dropped Monday, partly due to renewed fears about the financial health of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

 

The latest foreclosure statistics show only a 7 percent increase in the Dallas-Fort Worth area from a year ago.

But more than 3,700 homes are scheduled for foreclosure sale in September, according to the numbers released Thursday by Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service.

The Dallas Morning News reported, the biggest gain in September foreclosures is in Collin County, where the number of homes facing forced sale jumped 38 percent from a year ago.

Foreclosure totals were unchanged in Dallas and Tarrant counties.

The period ending with September's foreclosure auctions will be the second quarter in a row that total postings in the area have declined.

"It's a welcome change, but I don't think you can say it's for a definite reason or that it will continue," said Foreclosure Listing Service president George Roddy. "We've seen before that foreclosure postings go up and down."

So far this year, 37,572 residential properties have been posted for foreclosure – an increase of 20 percent from the first nine months of 2007.

Between 50 percent and 60 percent of the monthly foreclosure postings result in an actual forced sale of the property.

In some cases the sales are delayed, or the borrower reaches a new agreement regarding the debt.

 

The Texas residential real-estate market is experiencing a reduction in the number of homes hitting the foreclosure block.

The San Antonio News reported, according to the July report compiled by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, over the month of July, a total of 10,354 homes in Texas entered the foreclosure process — marking a 6.3 percent decline from the volume of filings posted in June 2008.

Meanwhile, foreclosure filings were down 16.8 percent between July 2007 and July 2008.

With more than 10,000 filings in July, Texas ranks among the Top 10 states in the volume of foreclosure filings. Texas ranked sixth in the country between No. 5 Michigan, which reported 11,591 foreclosure filing during July, and No. 7 Georgia, which had 10,061 filings.

Nationwide, a total of 272,171 residential foreclosure filings were reported over the course of July — representing an 8 percent increase from figures posted in June. However, compared with July 2007, the number of residential foreclosure filings was up 55 percent.

RealtyTrac figures are based on filings for all three phases of foreclosure: Default, auction and real estate owned. (Real estate owned, or REO, means that the property has been foreclosed on and is now owned by a lender).

It is the last category that showed a significant spike. Over the course of July, 77,295 properties nationwide fell into REO status — marking a 184 percent increase from the number reported for July 2007, RealtyTrac reports.

It is a phenomenon that has created an unbalanced housing market, according to James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac.

“The sharp rise in REOs, combined with slow sales, has resulted in a bloated inventory of bank-owned properties for sale,” Saccacio says.

At present, more than 750,000 homes nationwide are categorized by RealtyTrac as REO properties, Saccacio adds.

 

 Frecuentemente una persona o el miembro de familia sufren una enfermedad catastrófica que conduce a cuentas médicas que no son cubiertas por el seguro, la pérdida de trabajo, el divorcio, y la alta deuda de tarjeta de crédito. La clasificación de un capítulo 7 (a veces mencionaba " una clasificación de liquidación ") la bancarrota puede ser una solución para usted. No sólo va a esto ayudarle de las cantidades astronómicas de deuda, esto podría ayudar a aumentar su cuenta de crédito.

Aquí están algunos caminos que la Bancarrota del Capítulo 7 puede ayudar a aumentar su cuenta de crédito y ayudarle a recuperar su vida de nuevo:

• Dependiendo(Según) su diligencia prevista y capacidad de procurar el nuevo crédito, su cuenta de credito puede aumentar a los 600 o más alto en un período corto de tiempo, después de la clasificación de la Bancarrota del Capítulo 7 es posible.
• Usted puede solicitar crédito inmediatamente después de que su bancarrota es terminada.
• Usted puede conseguir un nuevo préstamo de vehículo en un mes después de que su bancarrota es terminada.
• Si usted tiene el ingreso, usted puede tener el derecho de una hipoteca 2 años después de que su bancarrota es terminada
• En comprando a una nueva casa, vehículo, o consiguiendo nuevas tarjetas de crédito, su cuenta de crédito puede elevarse en un período corto de tiempo.
• Recuerde que la clasificación de una Bancarrota del Capítulo 7 puede ayudar a salir de deuda libre y dejarle comenzar otra vez con un borrón. Para la ayuda legal y más información por favor póngase en contacto con los abogados y los consejeros de Fears & Nachawati.

Fears & Nachawati
Abogados y Consejeros
4925 Greenville Avenue
Suite 715
Dallas, Texas 75206
Phone: (214) 890.0711
mn@fnlawfirm.com
* Oficina Principal
*Se Habla Espanol
 

Oftentimes a person or family member suffers a catastrophic illness that leads to mounting medical bills not covered by insurance, job loss, divorce, and high credit card debt. Filing a chapter 7 (sometimes referred to as a “liquidation filing”) bankruptcy can be a solution for you. Not only will it help you out of the astronomical amounts of debt, it could help increase your credit score.
Here are some ways that Chapter 7 Bankruptcy may help increase your credit score and help you get your life back on track:
• Depending on your due diligence and ability to procure new credit, being back in the 600 range or higher in a short period of time after filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is possible.
• You can apply for credit immediately after your bankruptcy is over.
• You can get a new vehicle loan as soon as a month after your bankruptcy is over.
• If you have the income, you may qualify for a mortgage 2 years after your bankruptcy is over.
• By buying a new home, vehicle, or getting new credit cards, your credit score may rise in a short period of time.
Remember that filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can help get you debt free and let you start again with a clean slate. For legal assistance and more information please contact the attorneys and counselors of Fears & Nachawati.
Fears and Nachawati Attorneys & Counselors
4925 Greenville Avenue
Suite 715
Dallas, Texas 75206
Phone: (214) 890.0711
fears@fnlawfirm.com
*Principal Office
*Se Habla Espanol
 

North Texas pre-owned home sales were down 16 percent during July compared with year-earlier numbers.

That means about 8,100 fewer homes have sold in the 29-county area in the first seven months of 2008 than in the same period of last year.

But even with the substantial falloff, median home sales prices are virtually unchanged – down only 1 percent for the year and flat in July.

The Dallas Morning News reported, real estate agents sold 7,394 pre-owned homes last month through their multiple listing service, according to statistics released Thursday by Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems.

"Sales volumes will be down all year," said Dr. James Gaines, research economist at the A&M Real Estate Center. "Next year will be better because we'll be measuring from a lower base.

"I noticed that nationally, sales have flattened," he said. "There may be some light at the end, but I think the next 12 months or so won't be all that good."

The median sales price for single-family homes sold was unchanged from a year ago at $154,640.

While home sales have fallen significantly this year, that has not caused an increase in inventory.

At the end of July, 44,451 pre-owned single-family homes were for sale in North Texas.

That's 11 percent fewer than last summer.

Based on recent sales, the current listings add up to just under 7 months' worth of houses on the market.

La subida de clasificaciones de bancarrota ha aumentado en la area de Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex debido a, la pérdida de trabajo, el divorcio, cuentas (proyectos de la ley) médicas, inhabilidad, el robo de identidad, o simplemente la economía que afrontamos hoy. Si usted afronta la ejecución, la deuda directa, la reposesión, y la bancarrota de sentido es la única salida se ponen en contacto con los abogados en Fears & Nachawati. La bancarrota puede ser agotadora y/o asustadiza, una decisión muy personal de hacer y le podemos ayudar:


" El capítulo 7 Bancarrota: (liquidación) caso de activo para liquidar a los deudores individuales. Si usted tiene poca característica (propiedad) y no puede hacer su pagos básicos podría ser la petición Bancarrota del Capítulo 7 de derecha para usted. Un fideicomisario es designado quien recoge toda la característica (propiedad) no exenta, vende el activo y distribuye beneficios de esta venta para asignar a acreedores apropiados. El capítulo 7 es diferente de otras clasificaciones de bancarrota porque el deudor no tiene que hacer un pago al fideicomisario.

" El capítulo 13 Bancarrota: (para individuos con el ingreso regular) la Bancarrota del Capítulo 13 puede ayudar a ajustar la deuda y reducciones. Una persona puede tener reembolsos incluso si los acreedores discrepan, guarde(mantenga) su característica(propiedad), y puede tener protección de 3-5 años de acreedores.


Por favor póngase en contacto con los abogados de Fears & Nachawati para más detalles. Ellos ayudarán a usted con una reunión confidencial, y le dirán si la bancarrota es la opción que correcta para useted.

Fears and Nachawati Attorneys & Counselors
4925 Greenville Avenue
Suite 715
Dallas, Texas 75206
Phone: (214) 890.0711
mn@fnlawfirm.com
* Oficina principal
*Se Habla Espanol

 

The rise of bankruptcy filings have increased in Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex due to job loss, divorce, medical bills, disability, identity theft, and the difficult economy we are facing today. If you are facing foreclosure, huge amounts of debt, repossession, bankruptcy may be the only realistic way out. Our lawyers are here to help. Contact the lawyers at Fears & Nachawati to find out about getting rid of debt and getting a fresh start.

The most common types of bankruptcy are set forth below:
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: (Sometimes referred to as a “Total Liquidation”) If you have little property and can’t make your basic minimum credit card payments, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy might be the right option for you. Chapter 7 is different from other bankruptcy filings because the debtor does not typically need to make any further payments to creditors such as credit card companies once the bankruptcy court issues a bankruptcy discharge letter.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: (Referred to as a “reorganization”) Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can help to adjust debt and obtain reduction or relief on secured debt such as a house that may be in foreclosure. Even if your creditors disagree, under Ch. 13, people typically are allowed to retain their secured property while making reasonable payments to creditors that are oftentimes much lower than the original amount owed.
Please contact the attorneys of Fears & Nachawati for more details. They will provide you with general legal information and consult with you concerning whether bankruptcy is the right choice for you.
Fears and Nachawati Attorneys & Counselors
4925 Greenville Avenue
Suite 715
Dallas, Texas 75206
Phone: (214) 890.0711
fears@fnlawfirm.com
*Principal Office
*Se Habla Espanol

The first wave of Americans to default on their home mortgages appears to be cresting, but a second, far larger one is quickly building.

The Dallas Morning News reports, Homeowners with good credit are falling behind on their payments in growing numbers, even as the problems with mortgages made to people with weak, or subprime, credit are showing their first, tentative signs of leveling off after two years of spiraling defaults.

The percentage of mortgages in arrears in the category of loans one rung above subprime, so-called alternative-A mortgages, quadrupled to 12 percent in April from a year earlier. Delinquencies among prime loans, which account for most of the $12 trillion market, doubled to 2.7 percent in that time.

The mortgage troubles have been exacerbated by an economy that is still struggling. Reports last week showed another drop in home prices, slower-than-expected economic growth and a huge loss at General Motors. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate in July climbed to a four-year high.

While it is difficult to draw precise parallels among various segments of the mortgage market, the arc of the crisis in subprime loans suggests that the problems in the broader market may not peak for another year or two, analysts said.

Defaults are likely to accelerate because many homeowners' monthly payments are rising rapidly. The higher bills come as home prices continue to decline and banks tighten their lending standards, making it harder for people to refinance loans or sell their homes. Of particular concern are “alt-A” loans, many of which were made to people with good credit scores without proof of their income or assets.

“Subprime was the tip of the iceberg,” said Thomas H. Atteberry, president of First Pacific Advisors, a investment firm in Los Angeles that trades mortgage securities. “Prime will be far bigger in its impact.”

In a conference call with analysts last month, James Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, said he expected losses on prime loans at his bank to triple in the coming months and described the outlook for them as “terrible.”

Delinquencies on mortgages tend to peak three to five years after loans are made, said Mark Fleming, the chief economist at First American CoreLogic, a research firm. Not surprisingly, subprime loans from 2005 appear closer to the end of defaults than those made in 2007, for which default rates continue to rise steeply.

“We will hit those points in a few years, and that will help in many ways,” Fleming said, referring to the loans made later in the housing boom. “We just have to survive through this part of the cycle.”

Dallas-based Centex Corp. said it lost an additional $150 million – $1.21 per share – in the just-completed quarter.

TheDallas Morning News reported,the big homebuilding company's loss was greater than the $128 million recorded a year earlier. But the latest financial report was an improvement from the $910 million the company lost during the period ending March 31.

Even so, Centex officials aren't expecting a turnaround in the beleaguered housing market.

"The housing market worsened in the June quarter, and I don't expect to see it improve this fiscal year," Tim Eller, Centex chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

Centex's revenue for the most recent quarter was $1.13 billion, down 41 percent from a year earlier.

And Centex took $80 million in charges and write-offs in the latest quarter.

The company sold 3,939 houses in the period ended June 30, a 35 percent drop in sales from a year earlier. And the average home sales price was 10 percent lower at $262,044.

During the past quarter, Centex's greatest regional decline in home sales was in the eastern United States, which fell 42 percent.

In Texas, the builder's sales were down 34 percent from a year ago.

Centex's nationwide sales orders at the end of June were down 35 percent from the same quarter last year.