Florida Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

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%" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bankruptcy News , Bankruptcy Statistics , Consumer Protection , Economic Data , Foreclosure Defense , Mortgage Foreclosures

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Living in Southwest Florida is never dull. Now, despite having beautiful weather and beaches, we are dealing with real economic issues which will determine the future paths taken by resident and business owners in Southwest Florida. Many business owners are closing their doors because of cash flow. Residents are feeling the pinch at the pump and in the grocery stores. Many people are opting to stay at home for dinner, rather than drive and then pay for that luxury. Of course, it is not that bad yet, but I can see it coming on the horizon. When people cannot afford to fill up their gas tanks, how are they going to go out and eat. Naturally, the next logical question is: How can they pay mortgage payments on a home if they cannot afford to fill up their tanks.

Continue reading "Mortgage Modifications Are Still Not Working." »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Consumer Protection , Foreclosure Defense , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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Recently, an article was published by John Leland in the New York Times, American Album series about a local gentleman named B. Keith Councell, a fourth generation bee keeper. I applaud the writer, Mr. Leland, who submitted an excellent article on Mr. Councell, and his calling as the Southwest Florida Bee-man; however, there is also a subliminal message that is very troubling for those of us who live in Southwest Florida. The subliminal message is very simple, foreclosures are a huge problem for our community and that problem has to be dealt with now.

Continue reading "Are Bees Capitalizing On The Foreclosure Market?" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Foreclosure Defense , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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As a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney, I am seeing bankruptcy clients each and every day who are surrendering their homes in the bankruptcy process. Some individuals are choosing not to file bankruptcy and are deciding to leave their homes. Right now, Southwest Florida is experiencing one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. People are literally walking away from their homes each and every day. Port Charlotte, Cape Coral and Lehigh are experiencing higher rates of foreclosure than other areas of Florida. Each day I speak with the people who are suffering through this problem, and they all tell me the same thing. I am going to mail the keys to my mortgage company or servicer.

Continue reading "What is Jingle Mail?" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bankruptcy Myths , Consumer Protection , Life After Bankruptcy , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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It seems that you cannot go anywhere today without hearing someone speaking about what is going on with the foreclosures in Southwest Florida. It's in the newspapers and on the minds of many people living in Southwest Florida. Most people in Southwest Florida will fall into one of three categories: First, there are the rich that will never have to worry about the foreclosure crisis, so we will leave them out of this. We will talk about them later when the stock market takes a dive, and then we can say, we told you so, but you were too busy attending wine auctions that you missed all of the economic indicators predicting a recession. Second, you have the middle class, which is our largest group. Many of these individuals are homeowners with mortgages on their primary residences, and they are feeling the pinch of the recession as their home values plummet. These are the people who have either lost their homes already, live in fear of losing their homes, or are renting somewhere else in an attempt to save their homes.

Continue reading "Foreclosures In Southwest Florida: It's A Community Problem" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bankruptcy News , Bankruptcy Statistics , Consumer Protection , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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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" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Consumer Protection , Economic Data , Legislative Updates , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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This post was written by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. Carmen Dellutri is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney and is one of the founding members of the Bankruptcy Law Network.

According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, bankruptcy filings rose again in February 2008. Consumers filed approximately 76,120 petitions for bankruptcy relief. This total was up from the 66,050 filed in January. Interestingly, Chapter 13 bankruptcies were over 36% of the filings.

Continue reading "Bankruptcy Filings Up Again" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bankruptcy News , Bankruptcy Statistics , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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January 2008 was the beginning of the new year for most people in Southwest Florida, and for of our other citizens, it was more bad news of the same old variety. In January 2008, 1,833 foreclosure lawsuits were filed in Lee County. This is a very depressing statistic. Lee County had approximately10,700 foreclosure lawsuits filed in 2007. In 2006, the number was approximately 3, 920. The increase is dramatic, but understandable. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 36 months, you know what happened in the Lee County real estate market.

Continue reading "New Foreclosure Record Set For January 2008 In Lee County, Florida" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bankruptcy Myths , Life After Bankruptcy , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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The best business in 2007 was the foreclosure business. Foreclosures were up 75% last year nationwide. Nationwide, at least 1% of all households were in some type of foreclosure. According to the 2007 United States Foreclosure Market Report, there were 2,203,295 mortgage foreclosures filed in the United States. Foreclosure mills (law firms that process foreclosures) and their attorneys were working overtime trying to keep up with the demand. Not many other businesses can say that their business was up 75% over the year before.

Continue reading "Nationwide Foreclosures Soar - 765 a day in Florida" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Foreclosure Defense , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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This post is published by Carmen Dellutri, Esq. Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney.

You may recall that bankruptcy filings surged in 2005 prior to the bankruptcy laws being changed. As expected, 2006 was a relatively slow year in the bankruptcy world when it came to new filings; however, each and every bankruptcy attorney truly committed to his or her practice knew what was going to happen in the future.

Continue reading "Bankruptcy Filings Surged in 2007 And Will Continue in 2008 by Bankruptcy Attorney Carmen Dellutri" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bankruptcy Statistics , Foreclosure Defense , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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According to a recent report by Foreclosure.com, Florida is at the top of the statistical ladder when it comes to foreclosure cases for the month of November. Obviously, this is not good news for the people of Southwest Florida. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, the economy down here is terrible, and it seems to be getting worse on a daily basis. I know the word recession is an unpopular term in the mainstream media, but I think we are in a recession and very close to a depression.

Continue reading "Bankruptcy And Florida: Foreclosures are Thru the Roof" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Foreclosure Defense , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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Yesterday, the Democrats in the House of Representatives supporting legislation that would reform the bankruptcy laws were glad that a Republican decided to sign onto the legislation. Republican Rep. Steve Chabot from Ohio comes from a state that has been hit hard by the subprime meltdown. (I still do not see anyone from Florida stepping up to the plate on this issue) The Democrats hope that this will open the doors for more Republicans to sign onto the legislation. In a nutshell, the legislation will allow people with recent exotic mortgages in bankruptcy to reformulate their mortgages on their primary residences, something that they are prohibited from doing at this time. Bankruptcy Judges would be allowed to cram down the value of the homes and extend the terms of repayment to a maximum of thirty (30) years. I wrote more about this at: www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com

Continue reading "Bankruptcy In Florida: New Bankruptcy Legislation Is Gaining Momentum" »

Posted by Carmen Dellutri | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Legislative Updates , Mortgage Foreclosures , Southwest Florida News

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