More Debtors Going Bankruptcy Without Lawyer – Save on Bankruptcy Fees Using Petition Preparer
MORE DEBTORS GOING BANKRUPTCY WITHOUT LAWYER. SAVE ON BANKRUPT FEES, DO IT CHEAP.
It would probably not surprise too many of us today, given the current economic conditions in the nation and the long emerging national statistics that show that more and more Americans all across the country have been filing personal bankruptcy at astronomical levels. But a recent national random sample pulling made by one researcher about chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy cases filed by American debtors during the two month period of July and August of 2010, made this significant finding: namely, that overall, a little more than 1 out of every 9 cases (11.3%) filed in the American bankruptcy courts, were filed by the debtors themselves, WITHOUT using an attorney. In deed, the pulling, which was done by Professor Robert Lawless of the University of Illinois Law School, a well-known expert on bankruptcy and credit law, showed that the rate of non-attorney filings by debtors, was higher in chapter 13 cases (13.8%) than it was in chapter 7 (10.1%). In short, today more debtors are undergoing bankruptcy without lawyer.
An interesting piece of information, no doubt!
But note, though, that these specific figures are yet merely a “national average.” You should note that, though significant, this figure of 1 in 9 bankruptcy filings being done without an attorney, will probably not really strike many experts who are knowledgeable in the field as particularly dramatic or representative of the whole statistics. In deed, as Lawless himself pointed out, a fact long-established in bankruptcy administration has been that there are some court districts across the United States in which the rate of persons who file bankruptcy without a lawyer, is in fact as high as 30%. Or more! As in major urban areas, for example, such as California, New York city, etc. In such districts, debtors save on bankruptcy fees with petition preparer, as there is really no such thing as low-cost bankruptcy lawyer.
BUT WHAT DOES THIS DO TO THE LAWYERS’ ARGUMENT THAT BANKRUPTCY IS SO “COMPLEX, and Hence Requires and Justifies the Lawyers High Fees in Bankruptcy”?
Nevertheless, this current release of the Lawless survey is very significant. The Lawless survey which shows that nationwide at least a significant proportion of bankruptcy filers, some 1 out of 9 of them (and the findings by other data which show that up to 30% or more in certain larger urban court districts) do so without using attorney, immediately throws a big wrench in one basic argument of the organized bar and bankruptcy lawyers obviously engaged in the protection of their lucrative business of bankruptcy filings. A major favorite of bankruptcy lawyers and common argument often heard from them, is that probably the most important reason why the job of doing what is, essentially, a FINANCIAL business of bankruptcy filing, should be left solely to remain the exclusive preserve of “attorneys,” is that, according to them, the process involved in filing bankruptcy is a “complex” undertaking. According to them, doing bankruptcy work is unusually a forbidding task too difficult for anyone, except for the “highly skilled and educated” type, to do, and if you’re a debtor even with any thoughts whatsoever about doing bankruptcy yourself, maybe you had better re-thing that, for, they say, nothing could be more foolish or “risky” an undertaking for you to attempt! You simply, of course, should just hire an “attorney” to walk you through it like a baby, they say!
NOW THIS QUESTION: So with this latest reminder just released, if bankruptcy is supposedly so “complex” that only a person with presumably the special skills and training of a bankruptcy “lawyer” can undertake it, then how is it that such large number and huge proportion of debtors (some 10, 20 or 30% or more of them, depending on which districts) who are not “attorneys,” actually do it? And do it largely just as successfully and as well as the lawyers, themselves? But is there ever really any such thing as low-cost bankrupt lawyer?
“It’s very interesting that the pro se rate for the converted/dismissed chapter 13 cases, is the same as the overall rate.,” noted Professor Lawless about the findings of his survey. Adding that “That would suggest that being pro se in chapter 13 is not meaningfully associated with having one’s case dismissed or converted.” Consequently, more debtors going bankruptcy without lawyer as they seek to save on bankruptcy fees with petition preparer
FACT: Actually, the reason the above situation is the actual case, is rather simple. The reason is that, actually, the truth of the matter is that most personal bankruptcies (or, for that matter, a good deal of small business bankruptcies, as well) are really in deed simple. So much so, in fact, experts (lawyers, court trustees, judges, etc) who specialize in bankruptcy law and procedures, say, that you really don’t need the services of a lawyer to handle ordinary personal bankruptcy since they are generally too simple, they say, and too elementary and largely clerical to undertake.
Many experts who make such points generally cite two basic reasons on which they base this claim: First, that an overwhelming majority of personal bankruptcy cases are so-called “no asset” or “minimum asset” cases – that is, cases in which the owing debtors literally have or own absolutely NOTHING that the creditors can claim or attach, let alone any money for paying the lawyer’s hefty fees; and second, the FACT that bankruptcy, they say, is really a relatively simple matter (contrary to the layman’s common belief that bankruptcy is a complicated procedure), which often actually involves the mere completion of simple routine forms and submitting them to the local bankruptcy court.
Janice Kosel is a Professor of law at Golden State University, San Francisco, and a recognized author and expert on personal bankruptcy issues. She says: “If you can do that [prepare your income tax return] you can probably handle your… [bankruptcy] yourself…”
Stephen Elias, California Attorney, prominent author and specialist in bankruptcy law, most recently summed it up this way: “There is seldom a good reason to use an attorney in a consumer Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. The procedures are almost exclusively administrative – that is, there is no appearance before a judge…The forms are all (with very few exceptions) pre-printed in plain English…[But, in spite of
that fact], What’s tragic is that people actually think they have to have attorney representation [to be able to do it].”
And Jonathan B. Alper, practicing Florida bankruptcy attorney, put it this way: “Most Chapter 7 consumer bankruptcies are relatively simple and [hence the] legal fees are [should be] low compared to other legal work.” Do bankruptcy cheap?
IN SUM
Is there any way to do bankruptcy cheap? Summed up simply, an important objective reality already – an established FACT, according to a recent research finding cited above – is that at least 1 out of every 9 debtors (and it’s even much higher than that in certain parts of the nation) who file for bankruptcy across America today, file it WITHOUT using a lawyer. That there are more debtors going bankruptcy without lawyers. Rather, they file bankruptcy, in stead, with the assistance of a non-attorney service called the Debt Relief Agency or Bankruptcy Petition Preparer – usually well-trained and experienced paralegals specialized in bankruptcy document preparation and procedures, but who offer their services to debtors at far lower and more AFFORDABLE cost than the lawyer’s fees. Given this reality, it becomes clear that as a debtor probably contemplating filing bankruptcy, you need NOT, as the bankruptcy lawyers are often wont to claim you should, necessarily run to or use a person titled a “lawyer” whenever you wish to file bankruptcy, or necessarily have to pay exorbitant legal fees usually associated with attorney involvement in bankruptcies. Rather, you have a real option that you may choose to exercise – a non-attorney bankruptcy option that could be just as effective in getting you a bankruptcy filing, but which is low-cost and more affordable. With bankruptcy fees still rising, you can definitely save on bankrupt fees with petition preparer.
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What does Owner Financing in Austin mean? – Austin Owner Finance
Selling a house or other Austin, TX real estate with owner financing may be unfamiliar territory for many, but anyone who plans to sell property against the current background of tough lending conditions may want to brush up on the basics.
Understanding the concept of owner financing is easy: the seller assumes the role of a bank and finances the buyer’s purchase.
The decision to provide owner financing, however, can be much more difficult; although providing owner financing could mean the difference in being able to sell a house, it could also mean a great amount of risk for the seller if the buyer eventually defaults on the loan.
As the U.S. struggles with a sluggish real estate market, owner financing presents a way for buyers and sellers to close deals that might not be possible with conventional financing.
There are some deals that just simply cannot get done (with conventional lending) because the credit markets are too tough for a particular buyer to qualify or because the type of transaction is perceived to be too risky.
There could also be a situation in which a buyer may not have sufficient capital for a down payment. Partial owner financing, in that case, can help fill in the gaps in closing a deal.
In addition, the benefits of owner financing can appeal to sellers who are trying to unload property. Closing a deal on a house, for example, may take considerably less time with owner financing than with conventional financing. While a conventional lender will scrutinize the collateral property to determine the level of risk, a seller who is already familiar with their property can form his or her own risk assessment relatively quickly.
Owner financing may also be an attractive choice for investment, potentially offering high rates of return. A seller can negotiate an interest rate that the buyer will pay them that is more favorable than would be available for other sorts of investments.
Furthermore, seller financing can provide some tax benefits by spreading out a large gain over time (check with your accountant or CPA).
If the seller structures the loan as an installment sale, there can be certain tax advantages to the seller as well in terms of the timing of recognition on the capital gain. The seller would need to discuss the details with a tax advisor.
Seller financing can be used to pay for a property either in full or in part. The terms of a full loan look similar to those of a conventional loan; however, a seller has a great deal of freedom in setting the terms, such as the interest rate and the duration of the payment period.
For instance, a seller might wish to provide owner financing as a short-term arrangement of five years, after which the borrower is expected to refinance the loan, presumably with conventional financing.
While sellers can be more flexible than banks in considering prospective buyers, they should nevertheless think like a bank when reviewing potential buyers. Examining documents and reports such as tax paperwork, proof of employment and credit history is prudent in determining a buyer’s ability to pay off the loan.
A seller who provides owner financing will need to get the mortgage recorded in accordance with the specific execution and acknowledgement requirements of the State of Texas. Sellers should also work with a title insurance company to perform a title search and purchase title insurance to secure the right priority for the mortgage.
A title insurance company can also serve as a good resource for understanding how much it will cost to record the mortgage. In Texas, the cost to record a mortgage or deed of trust is minimal, consisting of a basic administrative fee added to an amount that varies according to the number of pages.
Generally, the overall cost to seller finance will depend on how many documents are involved and how sophisticated those documents need to be. The size of the property and the intensity of due diligence procedures factor into these costs.
If it’s a simple scenario, such as a small little residential deal, it might be under a thousand bucks. If you provide seller financing for a sophisticated apartment building or strip center it can be multiple thousands of dollars. If you’re in the Austin, TX area, Forte Properties is your #1 choice for owner financed home transactions.
Documentation is perhaps the least of a seller’s worries. For most sellers, the initial decision to provide owner financing can be the most significant hurdle they encounter.
Documentation-that’s not a big deal. It’s done all the time, there are a lot of good lawyers that do it. It’s deciding to do it, and deciding on how to manage the risks inherent in providing owner financing when you’re a casual seller-that’s the biggest difficulty. Again, if you are interested in owner financing whether you are a home buyer or seller, Forte Properties in Austin, TX can help you every step of the way.
In most cases, sellers prefer to have cash instead of a promise by the buyer to pay them later. In addition, sellers who consider owner financing need to understand the risk that the buyer might not pay you in whole or in part, or might have financial distress situation arise down the road, where after a year or two the payment stream to you is disrupted by their financial distress.
Because sellers do not have the same resources as conventional lenders, financing a buyer can be even more intimidating. While banks can absorb the risk of nonpayment by spreading it across their entire loan portfolios, an individual seller isn’t typically able to do that. Furthermore, it’s more difficult for a seller to choose the best loan terms in accordance with the perceived risk/return.
There’s no science to that because you’re not a conventional lender. Because of the serious risks involved with seller financing, sellers should do their homework ahead of time and decide whether it is an option within their level of risk tolerance. Preferably, a seller should make this decision early in the process of selling a property, well before any offer is on the table.
You need to decide that up front so that you can package your materials in contemplation of what you’re willing to do relative to seller financing.
Lawyers who are familiar with financing and financial documents can be critical resources in the time preceding and immediately after making the decision to offer owner financing. A lawyer can help a seller understand the ramifications of owner financing and design the appropriate paperwork.
Sellers just need to be prepared for what happens if the deal goes south. Sellers can then adjust the language and terms in their loan documents accordingly, such as setting a higher interest rate that’s reflective of the higher risk, or requiring personal guarantees and other forms of credit enhancements.
As the popularity of owner financing has increased, the Texas Association of Realtors has witnessed an increase in the use of its promulgated Seller Financing Addendum. If you are considering a Austin, TX purchase involving owner financing (either as a buyer or seller), you should consult Austin’s #1 Owner Finance Specialists Forte Properties at http://www.GreatHomesTexas.com. They have a team of real estate professionals in various facets of the real estate market and are very familiar with the Seller Financing Addendum and all other documents required when buying or selling homes with owner financing.
The man Behind a Successful career: Robert J. Gerberg
Robert J. Gerberg has sold more than 7 million copies of the books and programs that he created himself. Some of these best sellers are the professional job hunter’s guide, an easier way to change jobs, the professional job changing system, $100,000 and above, sixty great letters which won new jobs, the new realities of executive job hunting, and 15 new rules for job hunting success. He is considered as one of the best authors in the certified job hunting industry. His knowledge greatly helped millions of people all over the world that are looking for new positions or a different job. Mr. Robert Gerberg has authored and published a lot of books within 25 years and all of them are truly effective.
Robert J. Gerberg’s works are being used as guides by well known institution to teach people how to find a job or how to job hunt. The famous institutions that uses his presentations or books ranges from the US Marine Corps up to the CIA through major associations, universities, and variety of fortune corporations.
Robert J. Gerberg has had experience working with the U.S Air force, GE, a fortune 500 company as Vice President marketing services and an assistant to the company’s chairman, and leading food companies. For more than two decades which is 20+ years, he has been the leading name when it comes to career searching. Career firms all across the world use his licensed techniques to provide professional job services. Trivia: He wrote his first book “An easier way to change jobs” in the 1990’s
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Garden Office – The perfect addition
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A flexible back garden building will provide you with your own location, amongst the appeal of your garden and gives you using something your property is missing. Investing inside a garden office opens up brand-new possibilities pertaining to either perform or amusement.
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