|
NEWS
Bankruptcies near 1.2M during the
past 12 months.
The
number of U.S. businesses and individuals declaring bankruptcy is
rising with a vengeance amid the recession, despite a three year old
federal law that made it much tougher for Americans to escape their
debts, an analysis by the Associated Press found.
"There's
no end in sight" said bankruptcy lawyer Bryan Elliot of Hickory
S.C., who is working seven days a week and scheduling prospective
clients a month in advance.
Nearly
1.2 million debtors filed for bankruptcy in the past 12 months,
according to federal court records collected and analyzed by the
Associated Press. Last month, 130,831 sought bankruptcy
protection. An increase of 46 percent over March 2008 and 81
percent over the same month in 2007.
Bob
Lawless, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law,
said bankruptcies could reach 1.5 million this year and level off at
1.6 million next year - around the same time economists expect an
economic recovery to begin.
Congress
voted in 2005 to make bankruptcy more cumbersome after years of
intense lobbying form the nation's lenders, who complained that
people were abusing the system. Before the move to change the
law, bankruptcies were running at what was then an all-time high of
about 1.6 million per year.
The
tighter requirements initially appeared to work, with bankruptcies
plummeting from a record-shaking 2 million cases in 2005 - a total
that reflected a rush to file before the new law took effect - to
600,000 in 2006. But now bankruptcies are booming again.
"You
wouldn't get this large of a rise without serious problems in the
economy," said Lynn LoPucki, a UCLA law professor who researches
bankruptcy.
The
bankruptcy rate is climbing as well. In the past 12 months,
about four people or businesses for every 1,000 people in the
country filed for bankruptcy according to the Associated Press
analysis. That is twice the rate in 2006, and close to the
average of about five for every 1,000 in the decade leading up to
the change in the law.
Lawless
said the shame of bankruptcy may have eased somewhat in recent
years, but added, "This still a very stigmatizing, traumatic event
for most everyone who files."
Previous
recessions also drove people to bankruptcy court, though those
increases were more moderate. Bankruptcies went up 19 percent
amid the economic contraction in 2001, and about 15 percent during
the recession of the early 1980's, according in the Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts.
Bankruptcy
is considered a lagging economic indicator, since it is generally a
last resort.
Under
the 2005 law, Congress imposed higher fees on those seeking
bankruptcy and began requiring credit counseling sessions and a "means
test" to assess debtors' ability to pay what they
owed.
Lawless
said his research found that the law simply increased the cost of
filing by 50 percent and led many more people to cling to false hope
longer.
"The
point of the bankruptcy system is to give the honest but unfortunate
debtor a fresh start." Lawless said "The fact that people are
waiting longer to file shows just how mean-spirited the law is."
|
TRENDS IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY FOR THE
TOWNS OF:
YONKERS, MT. VERNON, WHITE PLAINS, NEW ROCHELLE, PORT CHESTER,
PEEKSKILL, CORTLANDT MANOR, MOHEGAN LAKE, ELMSFORD, AND
MAMARONECK
As of February 2009
RealtyTrac.com reports that Westchester now has 2,841
homes in some stage of a foreclosure proceeding.
YONKERS leads the list with a total of 652 homes in
foreclosure with 47 homes entering foreclosure in February 2009.
MOUNT VERNON has a total of 463 homes in foreclosure
with 32 homes entering foreclosure in February 2009.
WHITE PLAINS has a total of 207 homes in foreclosure
with 22 homes entering foreclosure in February 2009.
NEW ROCHELLE has a total of 181 homes in foreclosure
with 18 homes entering foreclosure in February 2009
PORTCHESTER has a total of 141 homes in foreclosure with
13 homes entering foreclosure in February 2009
PEEKSKILL has a total of 144 homes in foreclosure with
12 homes entering foreclosure in February 2009
CORTLANDT MANOR has a total of 88 homes in foreclosure
with 11 homes entering foreclosure in February 2009
MOHEGAN LAKE has a total of 33 homes in foreclosure with
6 homes entering foreclosure in February 2009
ELMSFORD has a total of 35 homes in foreclosure with 6
homes entering foreclosure in February 2009
MAMARONECK has a total of 40
homes in foreclosure with 5 homes entering foreclosure in
February 2009
April 2009 Foreclosure Rate Heat Map
Foreclosure
Activity Counts -
Westchester County, NY
|
