Could you end up in jail for not paying your bills? Is our country’s need for speed going to derail efforts to end improper loan-servicing and foreclosure practices? How do Florida’s nuclear power plants compare to those in Japan?
Those are just some of the questions being asked this week from top tier business and real estate reporters around the country. Most importantly, the answers could have profound effects on Florida’s housing market and our country’s economy.
Welcome to Debtors’ Prison, 2011 Edition
More than a third of all U.S. states allow borrowers who are behind on credit-card payments, auto loans and other bills to be jailed, according to The Wall Street Journal Business Writer Jessica Silver-Greenberg.
However lawmakers, judges and regulators are beginning to crack down on this practice analogous to the Shay’s Rebellion 2.0 Oppenheim Law described almost a year ago.
In Florida, training this week for dozens of new judges moving to courts with the power to lock up borrowers includes a session about potential abuses of debt-related warrants. “Before we take away a person’s freedom, we want to ensure that there are procedural safeguards,” said Peter Evans, a Palm Beach County, Fla., state-court judge who proposed the session.
A Swift Deal May Not Be a Sound One
This country’s need for speed derailed the mortgage industry, and that same breakneck pace is threatening to ruin a bank settlement being devised by state attorneys general relating to improper loan-servicing and foreclosure practices.
Gretchen Morgenson of The New York Times comments in her column, “While some might argue that a rapid approach will help borrowers, it is apt to benefit the banks far more.”
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Posts Tagged ‘Shay’s Rebellion 2.0’
Oppenheim Law Round up: Debtors’ Prisons, Bank Settlements and Florida’s Nuclear Plants
Saturday, March 19th, 2011
Sun-Sentinel Highlights Florida Attorney Roy Oppenheim + Strategic Default
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Aside from acting as counsel on short sales, foreclosure defense and strategic defaults, Weston real estate attorney Roy Oppenheim is bestowing a sense relief to South Florida’s underwater homeowners.
As Oppenheim Law mentioned in our Shay’s Rebellion 2.0 Workshop Recap, Sun-Sentinel real estate writer Paul Owers was on hand, working on a feature article of Oppenheim and the firm’s foreclosure defense strategies.
The article highlights Oppenheim Law’s monthly foreclosure defense workshops, explains the firm’s entry into foreclosure defense practice and describes the positive effects Oppenheim Law’s services are providing for homeowners struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments.
Check out the entire Sun-Sentinel article in Oppenheim Law’s Newsroom and be sure to leave your comments below!
