San Diego default filings surge in August
The month-to-month increase was largely due to two major banks
By Lily Leung, Reporter - Real estate
Link to article: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/19/foreclosure-numbers/
Monday, September 19, 2011 at 12:56 p.m.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY — The number of default notices, the first step in the foreclosure process, ballooned in August, largely due to activity from Bank of New York Mellon and Bank of America, figures from La Jolla-based DataQuick show.
Bank of New York Mellon filings in San Diego County increased from 76 in July to 403 in August, or 430 percent. Meanwhile, Bank of America pushed through more than two times as many defaults during that same time period.
The two lenders, known as beneficiaries in public records, accounted for the bulk of the county’s most recent month-to-month increase. Notices rose from 1,274 in July to 2,094 in August, or 64.4 percent. That’s the largest month-to-month percentage increase since December 2008.
Similar jumps were evident throughout the state, including Los Angeles and Orange counties.
"It appears they're working through their backlogs of delinquent loans," said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage. "But why and why all of a sudden. It's not clear."
In a statement, Bank of America spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens said the company has been seeing "continued increases" in foreclosure referrals in several parts of the U.S. due to the backlog of foreclosures that were on hold in late 2010 and early 2011.
What does August's sudden upsurge in default notices mean for county home values?
That also is unclear, said LePage of DataQuick.
"We don't know the magnitude and duration" of filings in the months ahead, he said.
The number of trustee deeds, which signal a foreclosure, also increased last month. There were 835 foreclosures in August, up 4.6 percent from July.
This blog is updated by the San Diego Bankruptcy Law Firm. The blog is designed to illuminate, update and educate consumers about their bankruptcy rights. Our staff of Bankruptcy Attorneys help consumers file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. Feel free to contact our Bankruptcy Lawyers for a free consultation at 619-260-1800 or visit us at www.gobksandiego.com
Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center Closing---San Diego Bankruptcy Law Firm Will Help Abandoned Clients
Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center appears to be closing down. Bankruptcy Attorneys at the San Diego Bankruptcy Law Firm will take abandoned clients for what they owe to Pacific Law Center. The San Diego Bankruptcy Law Firm is committed to our community and to our clients. The last thing someone facing bankruptcy needs is to lose their money because their law firm went out of business. Contact us at www.gobksandiego.com or call us at 619-260-1800.
UNION TRIBUNE ARTICLE:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/30/pacific-law-center-winding-down-not-adding-clients/
Pacific Law Center 'winding down,' not adding clients
By Dana Littlefield, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 9:37 p.m.
Kerry Steigerwalt’s Pacific Law Center, the highly visible firm with its ubiquitous television ads, has stopped taking new clients and is “winding down” its business, the firm’s owner said Wednesday.
Steigerwalt, a well-known San Diego defense attorney who bought a majority interest in the firm in 2008, said that he broke the news to his staff during a morning meeting at the University City-based firm and advised them to focus on current cases. He said the economic downturn and the company’s business model of “little or no money down” contributed to the firm’s money woes.
“Our model is predicated on people making payments,” Steigerwalt said in a telephone interview. “Fewer and fewer people have money to hire us, and those that do are not paying. It just became a managerial nightmare.”
Steigerwalt said the firm, which has offices in San Diego, Chula Vista and Escondido, isn’t going out of business. Despite some staff reductions, he said, the lawyers working there are well-equipped to represent existing clients to the fullest.
“At this point in time, I want to take no further cases,” he said. “I want to begin winding down this business.”
The 17 attorneys listed on the firm’s website represent hundreds of clients in criminal cases, bankruptcies, loan modifications and personal injury lawsuits. The firm has 107 employees after staff cuts in February,
The lawyers, including Steigerwalt, are featured in the law center’s frequently running television commercials in which they promote aggressive representation for “little or no money down” and affordable payment plans. Testimonials from clients also are used in the ads.
Steigerwalt said he called local television stations Wednesday and told them to stop running the ads.
Steigerwalt bought 51 percent of Pacific Law Center in March 2008. Former managing partner, Robert Arentz, had a 49 percent stake. Steigerwalt later became sole owner.
Before he bought a stake in Pacific Law Center, the firm had been dogged by complaints from clients and allegations of unethical activity by former lawyers. The problems continued to some degree after Steigerwalt came on board. Clients had filed lawsuits against the firm, as did a former attorney who claimed that the sale to Steigerwalt was a fraud.
Steigerwalt said he believes he successfully turned the firm around and that its old reputation was not a factor in the decision to stop taking new clients.
Kerry Armstrong, a defense lawyer who worked for Steigerwalt for 11 years but did not work at Pacific Law Center, said Wednesday’s announcement was inevitable.
“I knew it was coming; I just didn’t know when,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong said the firm was hamstrung by its business model and a poor reputation that changed little despite Steigerwalt’s efforts.
“I think Kerry really wanted to change it when he went in,” Armstrong said. “He just didn’t put the right people in place to do it for him.”
UNION TRIBUNE ARTICLE:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/30/pacific-law-center-winding-down-not-adding-clients/
Pacific Law Center 'winding down,' not adding clients
By Dana Littlefield, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 9:37 p.m.
Kerry Steigerwalt’s Pacific Law Center, the highly visible firm with its ubiquitous television ads, has stopped taking new clients and is “winding down” its business, the firm’s owner said Wednesday.
Steigerwalt, a well-known San Diego defense attorney who bought a majority interest in the firm in 2008, said that he broke the news to his staff during a morning meeting at the University City-based firm and advised them to focus on current cases. He said the economic downturn and the company’s business model of “little or no money down” contributed to the firm’s money woes.
“Our model is predicated on people making payments,” Steigerwalt said in a telephone interview. “Fewer and fewer people have money to hire us, and those that do are not paying. It just became a managerial nightmare.”
Steigerwalt said the firm, which has offices in San Diego, Chula Vista and Escondido, isn’t going out of business. Despite some staff reductions, he said, the lawyers working there are well-equipped to represent existing clients to the fullest.
“At this point in time, I want to take no further cases,” he said. “I want to begin winding down this business.”
The 17 attorneys listed on the firm’s website represent hundreds of clients in criminal cases, bankruptcies, loan modifications and personal injury lawsuits. The firm has 107 employees after staff cuts in February,
The lawyers, including Steigerwalt, are featured in the law center’s frequently running television commercials in which they promote aggressive representation for “little or no money down” and affordable payment plans. Testimonials from clients also are used in the ads.
Steigerwalt said he called local television stations Wednesday and told them to stop running the ads.
Steigerwalt bought 51 percent of Pacific Law Center in March 2008. Former managing partner, Robert Arentz, had a 49 percent stake. Steigerwalt later became sole owner.
Before he bought a stake in Pacific Law Center, the firm had been dogged by complaints from clients and allegations of unethical activity by former lawyers. The problems continued to some degree after Steigerwalt came on board. Clients had filed lawsuits against the firm, as did a former attorney who claimed that the sale to Steigerwalt was a fraud.
Steigerwalt said he believes he successfully turned the firm around and that its old reputation was not a factor in the decision to stop taking new clients.
Kerry Armstrong, a defense lawyer who worked for Steigerwalt for 11 years but did not work at Pacific Law Center, said Wednesday’s announcement was inevitable.
“I knew it was coming; I just didn’t know when,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong said the firm was hamstrung by its business model and a poor reputation that changed little despite Steigerwalt’s efforts.
“I think Kerry really wanted to change it when he went in,” Armstrong said. “He just didn’t put the right people in place to do it for him.”
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Bunkruptcies Increase in March 2010
NY Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/business/economy/02bankruptcy.html?source=patrick.net
Sharp Increase in March in Personal Bankruptcies
By DUFF WILSON
Published: April 1, 2010
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More Americans filed for bankruptcy protection in March than during any month since the federal personal bankruptcy law was tightened in October 2005, a new report says, a result of high unemployment and the housing crash.
Federal courts reported over 158,000 bankruptcy filings in March, or 6,900 a day, a rise of 35 percent from February, according to a report to be released on Friday by Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, a data collection company known as Aacer. Filings were up 19 percent over March 2009. The previous record over the last five years was 133,000 in October.
“Even with the restrictive new law, we’re back up over where we were before the law changed,” Mike Bickford, president of Aacer, said in a phone interview Thursday from his headquarters in Oklahoma City. He faulted the stagnant economy, saying a surge in bankruptcies generally follows economic contraction by 6 to 18 months, and he pointed to March as a historically busy month for bankruptcy filings.
Other experts point out that filings invoking Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code, a simple and inexpensive option, are rising faster than more complex Chapter 13 reorganization filings, under which consumers repay a portion of their debts so they can keep their homes, suggesting that more homeowners are simply walking away from underwater mortgages.
“Fewer people are trying to save their homes,” Katherine M. Porter, a University of Iowa law professor and bankruptcy expert, said in an interview by phone on Thursday. “They realize their payments are not affordable, and bankruptcy judges do not have the power to adjust the mortgages to make them more affordable.”
Statistics from the United States Trustee Program, the Justice Department office that oversees bankruptcy cases, show that Chapter 7 filings as a percentage of all bankruptcies have increased to about 73 percent in 2009 from about 62 percent in 2006-07. Of the 158,141 bankruptcy filings in March, 118,505, or 75 percent, were Chapter 7s and 38,241 were Chapter 13s, the Aacer report says.
“We think that means fewer and fewer families think they’re really going to save their homes,” Professor Porter said. “They don’t have any equity, so why try to keep up with their home payments?”
The nation’s high unemployment rate is one more reason for people to choose Chapter 7, Professor Porter said. “To file Chapter 13, you need ongoing income, and to the extent we have more people who are unemployed, they can’t use Chapter 13 because they don’t have that income to pay into the plan,” she said.
Finally, Professor Porter said, March is the high season for bankruptcy filings because many people in financial distress get a tax refund check that they can use to pay the $1,500 to $3,500 that a bankruptcy lawyer charges.
“People use their tax refunds to pay their attorney fees,” she said.
San Diego Bankruptcy Law Firm and its San Diego Bankruptcy Lawyers can help you stop foreclosure, save your home, eliminate your credit cards and protect your assets. Visit us at www.gobksandiego.com.
Sharp Increase in March in Personal Bankruptcies
By DUFF WILSON
Published: April 1, 2010
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Sign In to E-Mail
More Americans filed for bankruptcy protection in March than during any month since the federal personal bankruptcy law was tightened in October 2005, a new report says, a result of high unemployment and the housing crash.
Federal courts reported over 158,000 bankruptcy filings in March, or 6,900 a day, a rise of 35 percent from February, according to a report to be released on Friday by Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, a data collection company known as Aacer. Filings were up 19 percent over March 2009. The previous record over the last five years was 133,000 in October.
“Even with the restrictive new law, we’re back up over where we were before the law changed,” Mike Bickford, president of Aacer, said in a phone interview Thursday from his headquarters in Oklahoma City. He faulted the stagnant economy, saying a surge in bankruptcies generally follows economic contraction by 6 to 18 months, and he pointed to March as a historically busy month for bankruptcy filings.
Other experts point out that filings invoking Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code, a simple and inexpensive option, are rising faster than more complex Chapter 13 reorganization filings, under which consumers repay a portion of their debts so they can keep their homes, suggesting that more homeowners are simply walking away from underwater mortgages.
“Fewer people are trying to save their homes,” Katherine M. Porter, a University of Iowa law professor and bankruptcy expert, said in an interview by phone on Thursday. “They realize their payments are not affordable, and bankruptcy judges do not have the power to adjust the mortgages to make them more affordable.”
Statistics from the United States Trustee Program, the Justice Department office that oversees bankruptcy cases, show that Chapter 7 filings as a percentage of all bankruptcies have increased to about 73 percent in 2009 from about 62 percent in 2006-07. Of the 158,141 bankruptcy filings in March, 118,505, or 75 percent, were Chapter 7s and 38,241 were Chapter 13s, the Aacer report says.
“We think that means fewer and fewer families think they’re really going to save their homes,” Professor Porter said. “They don’t have any equity, so why try to keep up with their home payments?”
The nation’s high unemployment rate is one more reason for people to choose Chapter 7, Professor Porter said. “To file Chapter 13, you need ongoing income, and to the extent we have more people who are unemployed, they can’t use Chapter 13 because they don’t have that income to pay into the plan,” she said.
Finally, Professor Porter said, March is the high season for bankruptcy filings because many people in financial distress get a tax refund check that they can use to pay the $1,500 to $3,500 that a bankruptcy lawyer charges.
“People use their tax refunds to pay their attorney fees,” she said.
San Diego Bankruptcy Law Firm and its San Diego Bankruptcy Lawyers can help you stop foreclosure, save your home, eliminate your credit cards and protect your assets. Visit us at www.gobksandiego.com.
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