Florida Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

Are we in Southwest Florida heading into a "Double Dip Recession" ? If you are an avid reader of this blog, and I know there are many of you because of the feedback I receive, you know that I believe we are no where close to the end of this recession/depression. I honestly do not believe that we are being given all of the information that we need to have a proper debate on the economy.

Maybe our elected officials are sparing us more bad news??? I don' t know. But, on the other hand, when you call the U.S. a democracy, and the definition of the words means: Rule By The People. I begin to get concerned when the people are mis-informed and ill-informed.

Continue reading "Are We Heading Into a Double Dip Recession?" »

The Obama Administration is spending money faster than the money can be printed. The Question in my mind is: How Good is the Government's credit? This morning I wrote a blog for the Credit Law Network, and I posed some interesting questions about all of this spending and promises to the banks. Please check out the blog.

Continue reading "How Good Is The Government's Credit? How Does It Impact Florida?" »

After reading the Sunday papers, I was thinking about excess inventory. At the same time I was watching a news show. I know, a real bad mix to start with. I began wondering how much our Government tells us, and what they hide from us. I started to wonder if the banks are doing the same thing again, to provide false hope of an economic recovery any time soon.

If you read the papers or watch the news in Southwest Florida, all you hear about these days is the number of homes in foreclosure. If you read the weekend newspapers, you hear about how things will be better when the inventory of homes on the market dwindles and buyers start to pick up. Well, I have one question: How does the foreclosure rate and modification rate factor into the inventory rate.

Continue reading "Foreclosures, Modifications and Excess Inventory" »

According to a report in today's News-Press, Lee County's unemployment rate exceeded 10% in December, 2008. This statistic does not bode well for 2009, as things seem to be getting worse economically. The article states that 1 out of every ten people who wants a job is out of work. I'm not quite sure what that means. However, I do know that quite a few people are out of work, and there are not enough jobs to go around.

I wish our State Legislature would take some action to help our citizens. Lee County is facing significant problems going into 2009, problems that need to be addressed now. We are going to lose many good people who cannot afford to stick around and tough it out. The State and Federal Government have been sitting on this problem for too long, and I still have not read or even heard of a plan to help the citizens of Southwest Florida. How long do we have to wait?

Continue reading "Lee County Jobless Rate is over 10%" »

The Commercial Real Estate Market in Southwest Florida will tank in 2009. All the handwriting is on the wall, and the information is now beating us over the heads. Despite what is printed in the News-press, our local newspaper, things are not looking good. Just take a slow ride down U.S. 41and block out all the honking horns and hand gestures as you slowly cruise in the left hand lane (the fast lane for all of youse Northerners) and look at the signs out in front of all the building on U.S. 41.

Foreclosures on residential real estate will not slow down despite what the Federal Government does with a Stimulus package. That is another blog that makes my blood boil. Commercial Real Estate Delinquencies are mounting and the Commercial Real Estate Foreclosure attorneys are getting ready to have their best year ever. They are beefing up their departments.

Continue reading "Commercial Real Estate Will Tank In 2009" »

Recently, I wrote a blog for the Mortgage Law Network titled: More Homeowners are Underwater on Their Mortgages. The reason I wrote the blog was because of the alarming numbers of homeowners whose homes are underwater. The term underwater means that the home is not worth what is owed on the debt. In Southwest Florida, the number of homes underwater is alarmingly higher than the national average.

Continue reading "How Many Southwest Florida Resident's Homes Are Underwater?" »

While we slept last night, some pretty interesting things were going on overseas. All one has to do is go to CNN.com or Foxnews.com and see that overseas markets tanked last night, and in response, the Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, cut the key interest rate down to 1.5% from 2%. The Fed had not cut the rate since June of 2008.

Continue reading "The Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rate One Half Point" »

Recently, I wrote a blog entitled What is LIBOR? for Mortgage Law Network. It would be a good time to review that article now because LIBOR is going through the roof. Simply put, LIBOR is the London interbank offered rate. What? Good Question. It is the average rate that banks in and around London lend money to one another. Another Good Questions is: Why are we talking about LIBOR?

Continue reading "LIBOR Rises 157 Basis Points To 3.94 percent" »

The numbers are coming in for September car sales, and the numbers don't look good at all. Interestingly, the imports didn't do so good, and they usually keep ahead of the curve when it comes to slumping sales. Toyota sales fell 32.3%, Honda slumped 24% and Nissan plummeted 37%. In the domestic category; Ford fell 34%, Chrysler 33% and General Motors fell 15.8%. GM was aggressively marketing its vehicles and it paid off for them, but the industry as a whole is not looking good. This is a sign of things to come.

Continue reading "September Car Sales Plummet 27%" »

I am extremely proud of our leaders who stood against the bailout. You must remember that as a Bankruptcy Attorney I would love to see the bailout bill pass with a reformation of the Bankruptcy Code. As an American citizen, I would love to see the bailout fail because in my opinion it rewards years of corporate greed and does nothing to help the people who would be paying for it.

Continue reading "$700Billion Bailout Fails" »

In a recent article by the Boston Globe, it seems that more and more Americans with no-where else to go are resorting to living in tents. Whether it is due to a loss of work, loss of home or just no-where else to go, the rate of homeless people in America is rising dramatically. So far, this has not become a problem yet in Southwest Florida, but we really don't know how many people have moved into secluded areas as squatters yet. I'm willing to bet that we have our fair share of people camping in secluded areas.

This is one of the issues I grappled with when I wrote my 2008 predictions part I and II. I really had hoped that it wouldn't get this far this quickly, and I am afraid that it is only going to get worse.

Continue reading "Tent Cities Are Beginning To Pop-Up" »

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Changes are coming to the Florida Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog whether you like it or not. It's time to kick the tires and light the fires and slap a new coat of paint on this puppy. We also might throw in some cool features like a new website and a new look for the Florida Injury and Accident Lawyer Blog as well.

So, keep your eyes peeled, and watch out for the new stuff. It may just hit you right between the eyes.

Continue reading "Changes, They Are A Coming" »

As a Bankruptcy Attorney, we are seeing more and more bankruptcy clients with foreclosure problems. According to a recent News-Press article, Lee County, Florida saw 2,467 foreclosures filed in July. We are able to strip off quite a few second mortgages in the Bankruptcy Court, but in some cases it doesn't even make sense to strip off the second mortgage because the client is still so far upside down on the first mortgage. We are in a constant state of flux in Lee County. It is very difficult to counsel clients on what to expect in this market or even to predict how long their foreclosure will take.

Continue reading "July's Foreclosures Hit New High In Lee County" »

As a resident of Southwest Florida, I want to see the foreclosures stop. As a consumer bankruptcy attorney with offices in Port Charlotte, Fort Myers and Naples, I can honestly state, that the residents of Southwest Florida have been hit harder by the local economy than by any hurricane. We have had more than our fair share, enough is enough. We have had enough negative press all over the nation, and we don't need any more bad news. We know that Lee County has one of the largest foreclosure rates per capita. We need good news. We need to hear that our federal government is going to help people save their homes, even if they don't mean it. We need to hear that our state government is going to do something, suing Countrywide is a start, but is suing Countrywide and Angelo Mozilo going to save anyone's homes. I don't think so.

Continue reading "Lee County's Foreclosure Rates Are Among the Highest In The Nation" »

Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain's wife Cindy, has at least $200,000.00 in credit card debt with American Express. Somehow she was able to negotiate a zero percent interest rate. The amount owed on her credit cards could be as high as $500,000.00. This information has been disclosed by the McCains only recently.

Continue reading "Senator McCain's Wife has over $200,000 in Credit Card Debt at 0% Interest" »

The month of May has changed the way I think about politics. I used to be upset that nothing was being done to help the people living in Southwest Florida, now I am just ticked off. Foreclosure filings were up 48% over May of last year. This statistic proves several things: First nothing is being done on the Federal level to help the people of Southwest Florida keep their homes. Second, nothing is being done on the State level to help residents keep their homes. Third, where are the results that the mortgage companies promised when they argued not to change the bankruptcy laws. Where is Hope Now, President Bush's coalition of mortgage companies dedicated to helping people save their homes.

Continue reading "May 2008 Sees Foreclosures Surge 48%" »

Will bankruptcy filings exceed 1 million this year? A look at the current data and the historical data make the case for bankruptcy filings to exceed 1 million. But wait a minute, I thought Congress changed the bankruptcy laws in October 2005 to curtail consumer filings and prevent abuses in the system. I though Congress had fixed the problem. As usual, Congress fixed a problem that didn't need fixing and created several other bigger problems. Our fearless leaders have created an economic nightmare in this country that needs to be fixed, and they are doing nothing to improve the problems. I'm willing to bet that if their homes were going into foreclosure something would be getting done to stem the wave of foreclosures in this country.

Continue reading "How Many Bankruptcies Will Be Filed In 2008?" »

As a consumer bankruptcy attorney in Southwest Florida, I hear about financial news as it happens. This is particularly true when it comes to creditors hitting hard times. Many of my clients keep me updated with creditor information like TIB Financial Corp. TIB bank and its affiliates finance cars and real estate. Their 2008 first quarter loss was $1.44 million dollars. This information alone is not so bad; however, when you combine it with the losses from the fourth quarter of 2007 of $6.49 million, then you start to see a problem. In the last 6 months, TIB Financial Corp. has lost almost $8 million.

Continue reading "TIB Financial Corp Showing Losses" »

Yesterday, Florida Senator, Mel Martinez, addressed the Florida Legislature about several issues including the mortgage crisis. Senator Martinez stated in his newsletter that the problems Floridians face, like the environment and finances, are compounded by the national economy and the housing crisis. He made reference in the newsletter to initiative that are being implemented at the Federal Level to help the economy and the mortgage crisis. That's it. That's all it states in the newsletter. No kidding. What kind of message is that?

Continue reading "Senator Martinez Addresses The Florida Legislature About Foreclosure Problem" »

United States Bankruptcy Judge John C. Ninfo is taking financial literacy to the next level. As bankruptcy filings rise, Judge Ninfo is teaching students of all ages to live within their means. Although, the Judge has some very strong views about the people that he is seeing in his courtroom, his message is crystal clear to the students.

At the Dellutri Law Group, we encourage the members of our firm to go out into the public, especially schools and trade organizations, to speak with people about what we do and how we do it. In the bankruptcy/consumer world, people always have so many questions. This is also true when we go into classrooms and speak about personal injury cases. The questions are always entertaining and enlightening.

Continue reading "New York Bankruptcy Judge Is Taking Financial Literacy To The Students" »

This post is submitted by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. Mr. Dellutri is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney and is one of the founding members of the Bankruptcy Law Network, Mortgage Law Network, Debt Law Network and the Credit Law Network.

Citigroup just announced plans to fire approximately 2,000 investment bankers. This release comes just days after the Fed had to bail out Bear Stearns with billions of dollars in guarantees. What does this mean to you? me? and the future of this country?

Continue reading "CitiGroup Announces Plans to Lay Off 2000 Investment Banker" »

This post is written by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. of the Dellutri Law Group, P.A. Carmen Dellutri is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney with offices in Port Charlotte, Fort Myers and Naples, Florida.

In the month of February2008, consumers across the nation filed over 76,000 bankruptcies. This is a staggering number, and the United States has not seen a number like this since before the BAPCPA. As you will recall, BAPCPA is the name of the new bankruptcy law which is now over 2 years old. The interesting part of this story is that the number of bankruptcy filings was up over 15% from January. That means over 10,000 more cases were filed in February. This may be a sign of things to come in the future.

Continue reading "Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Rise in February" »

Well, the U.S. Government has finally done it! We, the taxpayers of the United States, are in debt over $9,000,000,000,000.00. As shocking as it sounds, our spend-thrift ways and our ambitious politcians have put us into a debtor's prison.

Continue reading "U.S. Debt Hits 9 Trillion Dollar Mark" »

Last week, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, sent a strong message that the central bank may lower interest rates in another attempt to hold off a recession. Mr. Bernacke added that the Fed will continue to monitor monetary policy and may well have to lower interest rates again.

Continue reading "Another Fed Rate Cut: What Does It Mean for Southwest Florida?" »