TULSA OKLAHOMA BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY

Busted by Ray Charles

Dan Nunley — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:12:01 +0000

Sometimes when you’re struggling to pay the bills and feeling overwhelmed, it helps to know that you’re not alone in that predicament.

For your enjoyment, here’s Ray Charles singing a classic about being broke … empty pockets … no money.

Is It Wrong For A Homeowner To Walk Away From An Underwater Mortgage?

Dan Nunley — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:34:55 +0000

For years, owning a home was “the American dream” — until the recent housing crisis turned owning a home into a nightmare for millions.

Don’t miss watching a video at the end of this article that was produced by ABC News on the subject of homeowners walking away from underwater mortgages.

Mortgage defaults are up 15 percent since last year and an astonishing one in 409 homes received a foreclosure notice this January. That’s 315,716 homes! And at least one in five homeowners owe more on their homes than their homes are worth.

In some states the figures are particularly staggering. In Nevada alone more than 40% of homes are “underwater,” meaning homeowners owe more on their homes than what their homes are worth.

Many homeowners on the edge are wondering whether they should just walk away from their mortgages and get off the “hamster wheel” of making costly payments on a home deep underwater. It’s usually the emotions of fear and shame that keeps so many Americans in homes that are no longer good investments but have turned into albatrosses.

Compared to homeowners, banks and corporations have no such emotional qualms. Banks and corporations have been walking away from underwater mortgages for years. If an investment in a property isn’t working out, they routinely walk away. It’s strictly a business decision. No fear. No shame.

Banks and corporations understand that contracts are legal documents, not moral documents. And that the penalty for walking away from the mortgage, or breaching the contract, has already been considered and in fact is made a part of the contract.

But individuals generally don’t understand this basic rule of contract law and they become stuck on the belief that they have a moral obligation to pay their mortgage.

Even the Mortgage Bankers Association, long a critic of individual homeowners walking away from their mortgages, announced recently it was defaulting on its headquarters, a Washington, D.C., building it opted to sell in a short sale when it fell underwater.

If you find yourself seriously thinking about walking away from your home mortgage, make sure and consult with an attorney who is familiar with your state laws, and ideally has previous experience in assisting with strategic mortgage defaults.

60 Minutes Story On Walking Away From Underwater Houses

Dan Nunley — Thu, 13 May 2010 10:00:14 +0000

Earlier this week, I wrote a post on the increasing phenomenon of homeowners who can afford to make their mortgage payments but instead are walking away from their house because it has depreciated in value to the point where they owe far more than the house is worth.

More and more homeowners are deciding that it would be folly to continue to make the mortgage payments when they find themselves with a house that is financially underwater.

Here’s a recent video story from 60 Minutes on this very issue.

Source: CBS News

Is It Time To Consider Walking Away From Your Underwater House?

Dan Nunley — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:57:04 +0000

I am getting more and more calls from homeowners who can afford their mortgage payments but are questioning whether it’s a wise decision for them to continue making the mortgage payments because their house had depreciated in value and is now worth substantially less than the balance owed on the mortgage. This is known as an “underwater house.”

Should the homeowner cut his losses and just surrender the home back to the mortgage company? Would this be unethical or immoral? Should ethics even be a consideration or should his decision be based solely on the financial numbers?

It’s undeniable that businesses routinely walk away from investments gone sour. And I don’t hear those businesses being called immoral and unethical. Instead, it’s an accepted business practice for a company to cut it’s losses wherever practical. For publicly traded companies, there’s a fiduciary duty to shareholders to cut losses and make a profit.

In the world of sports, we regularly hear of teams, players, coaches and managers either seeking to renegotiate contracts midterm or even terminating contracts so they can make a change that they have decided will be more beneficial in the long run even though they will have to take a financial hit here and now. But you don’t hear talk of ethics and morality. It’s just business.

So why can’t homeowners do the same thing without being made to feel they are doing something unethical or immoral?

After all, the purchase of home through the use of a note and mortgage is a business matter. It’s a legal contract whose terms have already considered the risk of default and what the consequences of a default will be. So if the homeowner is willing to suffer those consequences, what’s the problem?

And why should it matter whether or not a defaulting homeowner can or cannot afford the mortgage payments?

Be aware that if you choose to walk away from a bad real estate deal in Oklahoma, the mortgage company can come after you for any deficiency that exists between what you owe on the house and what the lender is able to sell it for through the foreclosure process. I help people deal with this deficiency problem by filing bankruptcy when appropriate.

Here are two options that you may want to consider if you are thinking of walking away from an underwater house in Oklahoma:

First, you could seek the advice of a bankruptcy attorney about filing bankruptcy and surrendering the home through the bankruptcy. That way, the mortgage company gets the house back and that’s it. The mortgage company cannot come after you for another penny.

Second, you could stop making your mortgage payments and stay in the house until the foreclosure process is completed then move out and wait. If the mortgage company sues you for any deficiency that remains after the foreclosure, then you could seek the advice of a bankruptcy attorney about filing bankruptcy to wipe out the deficiency and make the mortgage company go away for good.

If you are the owner of an underwater house in Oklahoma and would like to know more about how bankruptcy may be able to help you, contact me today to schedule a FREE initial consultation. Just fill out the Contact Dan form on the far right side of the page and click the Submit button and I’ll get back with you as quickly as I can. Or just pick up the phone and give me a call at 918-615-8260. I’ll answer all of your questions in plain English so that you’ll have the information you need to make the decisions that will help you the most.

SCOTUS To Decide If Chapter 13 Debtor Is Entitled To Vehicle Ownership Expense Deduction For A Vehicle Owned Free And Clear Of Liens

Dan Nunley — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:00:05 +0000

The United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has granted certiorari to decide whether, in calculating the “projected disposable income” that an above-median- income Chapter 13 debtor must devote to the payment of unsecured creditors, in order for the court to confirm, over an unsecured creditor’s objection, a plan that provides for less than 100% dividend on unsecured claims, a bankruptcy court may allow an ownership cost deduction for a vehicle even if the debtor is not actually making payments on the vehicle.

In the case below (In re Ransom, 577 F.3d 1026 (C.A.9 2009)), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that such a debtor was not entitled to a vehicle ownership expense deduction for a vehicle that he owned free and clear of liens. A Chapter 13 debtor’s “disposable income” is defined as “current monthly income received by the debtor … less amounts reasonably necessary to be expended … for the maintenance and support of the debtor…. ” For above-median income debtors, the “amounts reasonably necessary to be expended” is to be determined “in accordance with” the means test set forth in 11 U.S.C.A. 707(b)(2).

Under the “means test,” a debtor’s monthly expenses “shall be the debtor’s applicable monthly expense amounts specified under the National Standards and Local Standards, and the debtor’s actual monthly expenses for the categories specified as Other Necessary Expenses issued by the Internal Revenue Service for the area in which the debtor resides…. ” The IRS’s Local Standards include allowable transportation expenses, which are broken down into two categories: (1) operating costs and public transportation costs, and (2) “ownership costs.” At issue in the case at bar was whether the ownership cost deduction is “applicable” under 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I), and therefore allowed, to a debtor who owns his vehicle free and clear and thus does not have any loan or lease payments on his vehicle.

The statutory language, plainly read, does not allow a debtor to deduct an “ownership cost” (as distinct from an “operating cost”) that the debtor does not have, the Ninth Circuit determined. An “ownership cost” is not an “expense”-either actual or applicable-if it does not exist, period, the Court of Appeals reasoned, adding that it would be ironic to diminish payments to unsecured creditors in this context on the basis of a fictitious expense not incurred by a debtor. The ordinary, common meaning of “applicable” further supported the court’s conclusion. “Given the ordinary sense of the term ‘applicable,’ how is the vehicle ownership expense allowance capable of being applied to the debtor if he does not make any lease or loan payments on the vehicle?” the Court of Appeals asked.

There is “a significant split in authority” on this issue, the Ninth Circuit acknowledged. Some courts have allowed the deduction of an “ownership cost” for a vehicle that is subject to neither secured debt nor a lease, while other courts have not. Most recently, the Fifth and Seventh Circuits have joined the camp allowing the deduction, which put the Ninth Circuit “in the uncomfortable position” of disagreeing with them, the Court of Appeals noted.

In his petition for a writ of certiorari, the debtor argued that the plain language of the statute, as determined by the Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits, should prevail, and that a debtor should be allowed a deduction for the ownership costs of a vehicle regardless of whether the debtor is still making loan or lease payments. The petition criticized the Ninth Circuit for introducing an extrinsic standard, namely, the procedures of the IRS Manual, to determine the proper treatment of deductions under the Bankruptcy Code.

A decision is expected next term. When the Supreme Court releases its decision, I’ll post an update.

Tulsa Oklahoma Bankruptcy Attorney Blog Named One Of The Ten Best Consumer Bankruptcy Online Resources

Dan Nunley — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:00:46 +0000

I want to say thank you to Jay Fleischman for his recent recognition of this Tulsa Oklahoma Bankruptcy Attorney Blog as one of the ten best online resources for consumer bankruptcy law and information.

Jay is a nationally recognized consumer bankruptcy attorney from Brooklyn, New York who also coaches other bankruptcy attorneys in subjects ranging from the substantive issues of consumer bankruptcy law to the practical aspects of marketing and operating an efficient law office.

Jay recently revealed his 10 Best Online Resources For Learning About Consumer Bankruptcy and I’m honored to say that the Tulsa Oklahoma Bankruptcy Attorney Blog was included as one of those ten resources.

My goal in publishing this bankruptcy blog is for it to be both a trusted resource and interesting commentary on consumer bankruptcy issues for both the general public and the legal profession. I welcome you to become a regular reader of this blog and encourage you to sign up for a free subscription so that you will automatically receive each and every new post by either email or RSS feed.

Elizabeth Warren Says Obama’s Foreclosure Aid Program (HAMP) Is A Failure

Dan Nunley — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:00:40 +0000

A watchdog panel overseeing the financial bailouts says the Obama administration’s flagship mortgage aid program, the Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP), lags well behind the foreclosure crisis and leaves too many families out.

The Congressional Oversight Panel says in a report released Wednesday that the administration projects only one million families will end up with lower monthly payments as a result of the program. The report says six million families are more than two months behind with their payments, and 200,000 more families receive foreclosure notices each month.

A year and a half after launching the program, “Treasury is still fighting to get its foreclosure programs off the ground,” Elizabeth Warren, who heads the independent panel set up by Congress, told reporters Tuesday.

Warren warned that borrowers who have their monthly payments lowered as a result of the program still could lose their homes because the payments remain high and many Americans are facing new financial strains.

“Redefault signals the single worst form of failure” by the Treasury Department, said Warren, who is a professor at Harvard Law School. “Billions of taxpayer dollars will be spent and families will nonetheless lose their homes.”

Source: ABCNews.com

File Bankruptcy And Leave Your Debt Behind

Dan Nunley — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:00:16 +0000

Below is a video that I want you to watch but first let me say this:

Every day I speak with a lot of good people just like you who are struggling with debts that they are unable to pay. These people have done the best that they can but they keep falling further and further behind and the future looks bleak. Sound familiar?

1 in 5 Americans is currently unemployed or underemployed.
1 in 9 families can’t make the minimum payments on their credit cards.
1 in 8 mortgages is in default or foreclosure.
1 in 8 Americans is receiving food stamps.

Many of these people are seriously thinking about filing bankruptcy yet they have the feeling that filing bankruptcy would be the easy way out. Some feel ashamed. Some feel guilty.

These feelings of guilt and shame are misplaced. Put your emotions aside and make a business decision based on the numbers. You’ve done your best. Hold your head up and do what you need to do to assure your family’s economic survival.

Don’t worry about your creditors because they certainly aren’t worried about you. In today’s cut-throat economic climate, the banks, credit unions, finance companies and credit card companies aren’t your friends. The truth of the matter is that they routinely take advantage of you and every other American consumer.

Consider filing bankruptcy and leaving your debt behind. Learn from your mistakes and get a fresh start.

If you’re struggling with too much debt and have questions about bankruptcy, contact me today to schedule a FREE initial telephone consultation. Just fill out the Contact Dan form on the far right side of the page and click the Submit button and I’ll get back with you as quickly as I can. Or just give me a call at 918-615-8260. I’ll answer all of your questions in plain English so that you can make a wise decision regarding what would be best for your personal situation.

Source: www.bankruptisthenewblack.com

Hilti Lays Off 64 Tulsa Employees

Dan Nunley — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:58:50 +0000

Hilti USA laid off 64 employees at its North American headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma yesterday. After the layoffs, Hilti has 614 employees at its Tulsa facility.

The Liechtenstein-based company is cutting its Tulsa work force to “enable it to grow on a sustainable, profitable basis in a challenging economy,” said Cary Evert, president and CEO of Hilti’s Western Hemisphere operations.

Hilti is a toolmaking company that has been struggling due to the construction industry slowdown. Hilti said it does not expect the construction market to begin recovering until 2011.

Source: Tulsa World

465 Tulsa Workers To Lose Jobs When HSBC Finance Closes Its Tulsa Office

Dan Nunley — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:36:06 +0000

HSBC Finance Corp. announced yesterday that it plans to close its Tulsa office in September 2010 which means that approximately 465 Tulsa workers will lose their jobs.

Employees will get at least 60 days’ notice, but most will remain on the job until September, said Rob Sherman, vice president of public affairs for HSBC-North America. Details on severance packages, benefits and outplacement services will be provided soon, he said.

Sherman said that all employees at the facility will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other HSBC locations including Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Las Vegas, Nevada, New Castle, Delaware, Chesapeake, Virginia, Buffalo, New York, Salinas, California and Chicago, Illinois.

HSBC Finance’s local office is located at 4848 S. 129th East Ave. and primarily handles customer service, collections and technology support for HSBC’s credit card business. HSBC Finance is part of HSBC-North America, which is one of the country’s largest banks. It has 370 branches in 12 states and the District of Columbia, and it is the sixth-largest provider of credit cards.

Source: Tulsa World