Recent Blog Posts

The business blog of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently noted that both foreclosure rates and mortgage delinquencies in the Atlanta area have dropped in the past year. Atlanta’s foreclosure rate matched Georgia’s statewide, but the delinquency rate for the city was slightly lower than the state rate of 3.29 percent. These statistics serve up good news…

Determination is an admirable quality, but when a debtor decides to hold onto a sports car by any means necessary, it can lead to disaster. That was the case in Jefferson County, Alabama, where 48-year-old Sean Monroe stopped a repossession of his Chevrolet Camaro by blocking the path of the tow truck with another car…

Most people get a good feeling when they know they’ll be receiving a fat refund on their taxes. But is that really the best financial strategy? If you’re paying off credit cards or a high-interest loan, the answer is probably no. Imagine your tax refund is $3,200, which is about the average amount a U.S….

The Big Short, the Oscar-nominated film about the 2008 housing crisis, is an instructive, sometimes funny, and intense human drama about fraud and greed in the financial world. The film exposes the corruption that led to the near collapse of our banking system, but offers little comfort to the millions of Americans who lost their…

Donald Trump, the New York billionaire, real estate mogul and television celebrity, has been making headlines for months as a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. That has prompted his many challengers to insinuate that his business record is not what it appears to be. Opponent Carly Fiorina, a former CEO whose business record…

If you have defaulted on your car loan, the lender has the right to repossess it provided he does not “breach the peace.” This can put you in a terrible bind if you rely on your car to get to work or to run errands for your household. Sure, you can keep your car in…

Last year, CNN Money reported that the big three banks in the United States – JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo – had made $1.1 billion on overdraft fees in the first three months of that year alone. Obviously, overdraft fees are a big money-maker for the banks, but who is most likely…

Every state has different rules when it comes to bankruptcy. States have their own laws about which property can be kept (exempted) in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding. While many states allow you to choose between state and federal rules, Georgia limits its residents to state rules. Georgia’s bankruptcy exemptions apply to property or equity…

Some put off filing bankruptcy, or decide against it entirely, just because they are worried about their credit score. While this may be a valid concern in some cases, it normally doesn’t justify dismissing the idea of bankruptcy entirely. The benefits of bankruptcy often outweigh its potential effects on the filer’s credit score. Additionally, rebuilding…

Falling behind on your mortgage payments can be an incredibly frightening thing. You may wonder how you will catch up, whether you will be able to keep your home or even if you might end up on the street. From the time you notice yourself falling behind on payments, you should begin to take action….