Over the last several months, I’ve have met a number of parents seeking advice about bankruptcy. While every family has its own unique set of circumstances, all of these people I’m referring to are homeowners, and all have been struggling making mortgage payments. All have adult kids living at home. And let’s face it – if they are sitting across the table from me – a bankruptcy attorney – things aren’t going so well.
Some have kids who have graduated from high school, college or graduate school, and they are still living at home. Some are working, some are not. Some kids are working, while going to school part time. Others cannot find employment or are under employed.
I will inevitably ask one question: “Is [the adult child who is working full time or even part time] contributing to the household income?” If, the answer is “no”, there might be some bigger problems.
Some ‘Provocative’ Questions about ‘Extend and Pretend’
I read this today on HousingWire. Its publisher, Paul Jackson, poses the following “provocative” question about all of those modification plans and programs we keep hearing about (and I often write about):
Or, perhaps it can be said like this: what if consumer confidence statistics are actually being artificially buoyed by the extra cash homeowners (at homeowners ‘on paper’) who are not making mortgage payments, but instead, allocating those resources to things they would not otherwise purchase? (more…)
Tags: Commentary, Economy, HAFA, HAMP, modification, Modifications and Workouts, mortgage, Mortgage and Foreclosure, mortgages, Mortgages and Foreclosures
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