ARTICLES
June 23, 2010
Last week we mentioned that the latest data for 2010 bankruptcies had arrived. Chapter 13 figures hit all time highs in the first quarter of this year. Would the same trend take effect for Chapter 7 filings as well? The data has finally reached our hands and the results aren’t encouraging.
Just like the Chapter 13 figures, Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in San Diego hit another all time high in the first three months of 2010. Over 17,000 claims were made in the three months alone dampening hopes of economic recovery in San Diego and California as a whole. Read the rest of this entry »
June 16, 2010
Chapter 13 bankruptcies for the San Diego area have hit another all-time high in the first quarter of 2010 reaching a staggering 3,773 claims, an increase of almost 10% over the last quarter.
More and more people from San Diego are declaring both primary forms of bankruptcy (Chapter 7 and 13) which doesn’t lend support that the local economy is on the recovery track as of yet. Read the rest of this entry »
June 15, 2010
Tomorrow we’ll be releasing more numbers and some additional insight on the latest bankruptcy statistics for the San Diego area. The news will be good and bad, record filings coupled with a downward trend in the increase in filings (for both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13).
The graph below shows you the Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 numbers for every quarter since 2006. More to come tomorrow.
April 16, 2010
Despite a slight decrease in foreclosures in the month of February 2010 (2% decline claimed by RealtyTrac), March national data has seen an increase of about 8% and the first quarter of 2010 an increase of around 7% in foreclosures. The results don’t help to increase confidence in an already fragile American economy.
What about data closer to home, what are the foreclosure trends in San Diego? In the current financial age following last year’s recession foreclosures have become a mainstay in the San Diego economy. The number of foreclosure claims is still significantly higher than 2005 levels–the last time San Diego saw foreclosure numbers under 30 per month. Read the rest of this entry »
March 26, 2010
Quarter 4 2009 data for Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings were released this week and the results aren’t good. Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings in San Diego have steadily increased from the second half of 2006 and have broken quarterly records ever since including Q4 2009 breaking the previous quarter’s record. Q4 filings in ’09 amounted to 3453 filings compared to the previous Q3 number of 2966 for an increase of over 16%.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy claims have continuously increased since the financial crisis hit America in October, 2008. The upward trend has mostly increased steadily since quarter 4 of 2006 as noted in the graph below.
Read the rest of this entry »
March 26, 2010
2009 bankruptcy has finally been collected for the San Diego MSA and the data doesn’t paint a positive picture to support economic recovery. For the 12th consecutive quarter the number of Chapter 7 claims made in the San Diego area hit an all time high (since the law was changed in 2005). The information does not bode well for support any claims of sustained economy recovery in the San Diego economy.
The picture blow graphically represents the increase in Chapter 7 claims in each quarter since 2007 including the quarter 4 2009 all-time high number of 16,339.
Read the rest of this entry »
February 17, 2010
Before Q4 2009 data is released on Chapter 13 filings in San Diego, let’s take a look back at the Q3 2009 numbers to see what we can expect in next month’s release.
If you recall in previous articles on bankruptcy data in San Diego, attorney Cecilia Chen noted that she expected Chapter 7 and 13 fillings to increase. Turns out she was right.
Families are coming in more and more to file for Chapter 7. They generally do not have enough income to qualify for Chapter 13.
I do think that Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy filings will continue to increase in year 2010 and beyond because unemployment has not abated and we are currently in a false sense of stability. Next year, government interventions will start to disappear, shadow inventory (houses that banks now hold but have yet to put up for sale) will hit the market and mortgage rates will start to rise. I’m also seeing credit card companies are also increasing the interest rate and minimum monthly payments, creating a significant hardship on many families in San Diego.
Although there have been increases in filings in both Chapter 7 and 13, the rate at which people are filing has in fact flat-lined. Read the rest of this entry »
February 15, 2010
As we await the release of fourth quarter chapter 7 bankruptcy data for the San Diego area let’s take a look at the numbers of Q3 compared to previous periods in 2009.
The graph indicates the continued 2009 upward trend of Chapter 7 bankruptcies claims in San Diego. Claims have increased 3x since 2007 and broke another record for filings in Q3 2009 (since the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was written into law).
Bankruptcy filings are one of many indicators that our financial system is still dealing with debt loads larger than we can handle. The Chapter 7 numbers include mostly consumer related filings. Nonetheless, there are positives in the numbers despite the all time high of 15,407 filings in the San Diego area.
Read the rest of this entry »
February 4, 2010
Here is a similar transcript to review from a podcast on the topic of bankruptcies in San Diego found here.
Q. How does bankruptcy work if you’re married? Spouse with different credit ratings.
In a community property state such as California, both individuals will have to report their income if they married regardless of whether they file jointly or without their spouse. If both spouses file, the bankruptcy will affect their credit rating; if all the debt are in both spouses name both will have to file. If everything is kept separate and all the debts are in one spouses name (particularly if incurred prior to couple becoming married), it is possible that only one will have to file. Read the rest of this entry »
February 2, 2010
Podcast: Play in new window
| Download (Duration: 8:26 — 3.9MB)
Another podcast brought to you by the Law Office of Cecilia Chen, the final segment of a series on bankruptcy.
This is part 3 of a 3 part series discussing questions on the topic of bankruptcy. All of our information is provided with the California legal system in mind, specifically devoted to San Diego and area. Read the rest of this entry »
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