10.17.2013 | by Ken Steidl
Problems with debt settlement agencies?
Over the years, we have heard from dozens of people who have used the services of a debt settlement agency. At the present time, there are hundreds of such agencies operating in this country, and they generally advertise that they will make offers to your creditors and will get the creditors to accept approximately 50% of the balance owing on a loan or a charge card by offering each creditor a lump sum payment and expecting the creditor to write off the remaining balance. According to a recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, several of these agencies have recently been fined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because they were charging people upfront fees for their services. According to laws enacted approximately two years ago, these agencies can only charge a fee if they are successful in negotiating a low amount with a creditor. At that point, they can charge a fee, but they cannot charge any fees until they have actually made a settlement with a creditor.
10.07.2013 | by Ken Steidl
Buying a house after bankruptcy
Almost everyone who files a bankruptcy will ask the question as to how the filing of a bankruptcy affects future credit. In many cases, if a person’s credit is bad at the time of the bankruptcy filing because of missed payments, foreclosures, sheriff sales, repossessions and lawsuits, their credit is actually better after the bankruptcy has been discharged, approximately five months after the initial filing.
10.01.2013 | by Ken Steidl
A bad credit score can lead to divorce
As we have known for years, one of the major causes of divorce is arguing and fighting about money and marital debt. However, according to a recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there is a new study from the Federal Reserve Board which has found that a large difference in credit scores among spouses can lead to numerous problems that people do not necessarily consider prior to walking down the aisle. For example, if one spouse has a good credit score and the other has a bad credit score, this can make it very difficult to obtain a mortgage and finance a house. It could also make it difficult to obtain a car loan with a decent interest rate and to obtain credit for home improvements and credit cards. One spouse's bad credit score may even affect insurance premium costs.
09.26.2013 | by Kenny Steinberg
To everything there is a season
One of my favorite places to run is on Erie’s Bayfront. Our office is about 10 blocks from Lake Erie, so I will take my gym bag with my running gear to either of two downtown Erie YMCA’s, the older one on 10th, or the fitness facility across from Hamot.
09.19.2013 | by Lauren Lamb
Chapter 13 can bring a repossessed car back
You walk out of the house in the morning to go to work and your car is gone. Panic immediately sets in. Your first thought is that it must have been stolen. Then you remember that you are three months behind on car payments. Did the car really get repossessed? You call your car loan company and find out that it did. Now what happens?