Archive for August, 2007

I have placed a lot of emphasis on the important of answering a lawsuit. And answering is important. If you do not answer a lawsuit in the time allowed (in Minnesota, 20 days), you lose. At that point, expect the debt collector to use garnishment to pull money out of your wages or bank account.
But [...]

The New York Times is churning out consumer articles lately, including its latest look at nonprofit payday lenders. I have posted quite a lot about payday lending, but this may be the most interesting twist on the trade yet. Let’s recap. From the article, here is why payday loans are an astonishingly bad deal:
Peggy Truckey, [...]

Everyone in the consumer blogosphere is talking about the New York Times article on Countrywide’s predatory subprime lending practices. I won’t add to the commentary, but just read the article. Here is a teaser:
ON its way to becoming the nation’s largest mortgage lender, the Countrywide Financial Corporation encouraged its sales force to court customers over [...]

Dealing with debt collectors is difficult for many reasons, but debtors have little choice. While debt collectors may violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, suing those debt collectors does not affect the underlying debt. Even if a debtor wins a FDCPA lawsuit, he or she still owes the debt.
To salvage credit ratings and stop [...]

Civil law is just dispute resolution with judges. With that in mind, it always makes more sense to resolve your dispute without using the court system, if you can. This may not always work, but it’s worth a try.
When I first talk to clients, especially tenants involved in a dispute with their landlords, I always [...]

There are plenty more, and they are especially funny in light of Ameriquest’s alleged lending practices.

A lighter side of the mortgage industry meltdown.

Harj Gill, M. Ed., has created the “Speed Equity System,” a method for paying off your mortgage early that has been getting some hype recently. What it amounts to is using your home as a bank account.
Gill advocates putting every paycheck directly to your mortgage payment, and then using a home equity line of credit [...]

Elizabeth Warren at Credit Slips posted one lawyer’s account of an arbitration with NAF. It is worth reading in its entirety, so here it is:

Had a very interesting experience today. Responded to an arbitration claim by FIA Card Services f/k/a MBNA denying client agreed to arbitration and disputing amount owing. Requested an in-person hearing [...]

This Old House has a series of home inspection nightmares. It doesn’t say whether these are pre-purchase inspections or safety inspections. Either way, some are a bit “shocking,” like this picture of a light switch pull wrapped around a broken light bulb filament.
[via BoingBoing]