San Jose bankruptcy news / blog : Filing Bankruptcy can be a viable option when facing default and foreclosure

Bay Area delinquency notices on the rise

As reported Pete Carey of

pcarey@mercurynews.com on 11/10/2011 12:01:00 AM PST, deliquency notices filed is on the rise.

Thousands of homeowners in the Bay Area received delinquency notices last month, as lenders worked their way through a backlog of distressed mortgages that began building nearly a year ago, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac.

"We're definitely seeing signs that lenders are ramping back up," said Daren Blomquist, of RealtyTrac.com, an online foreclosure marketplace headquartered in Irvine.
Default notices are the first step in the foreclosure process and are sent to homeowners who are behind three months or more on their mortgage payments. But many of these homeowners actually have been delinquent for a year or more, Blomquist said. Lenders until recently have been bogged down in a robo-signing scandal, and default notices have been slow to go out.
"A lot of these are delayed or deferred foreclosures that under normal circumstances we would have seen earlier this year," he said. "But because of delays, many have not been making their payments for more than a year."
Lenders sent out nearly 3,500 default notices in October to homeowners in Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, according to RealtyTrac's data. That was up more than 10 percent from September but about even with September 2010.
"We're getting back close to where we were before all this robo-signing and foreclosure documentation controversy hit," Blomquist said.
Default notices were up 14 percent from last year in Contra Costa County and 18 percent in Santa Clara County and were almost unchanged in Alameda County. Only San Mateo County saw a drop.

More defaults could be on the way if the economy doesn't start adding jobs. Carlos Jimenez, a former state worker who lives in Tracy, said he's been out of work since June and is facing a grim choice -- make the credit card payment or pay the mortgage. It's not unlike the decisions thousands of families have had to make since the housing crisis began.
"You pay the credit card, because these credit card companies are worse than the banks," Jimenez said. His unemployment insurance runs out Jan. 7, and his wife's job is not covering their expenses. His efforts to get some relief from state and federal housing assistance programs have gone nowhere, he said.
Total foreclosure activity, including notices of trustee sale and bank-seized property, dropped 8.5 percent from a year ago but was little changed from September in the four counties.
Actual foreclosures, in which a bank sells a foreclosed home, were level with a year ago but up from September.
With so many more homes entering the foreclosure process now, actual foreclosures are expected to rise in the months to come.
Lenders still appear to be working their way through the backlog methodically, careful not to flood the market with foreclosed homes. Foreclosures often sell for 20 percent or more below the market price and can lower the value of surrounding homes.
The figures for default notices show that despite employment gains in some sectors such as tech, many Bay Areas homeowners continue to struggle to make their mortgage payments.
How quickly the default notices carry through to actual foreclosures depends on several factors: the volume of foreclosures being processed, how big a hit banks are willing to take on their balance sheets and the success of state and federal programs to prevent foreclosures.

At the law offices of Geoffrey C Nwosu in San jose Ca., we help many people faced with financial difficulties eliminate their debts. Our bankruptcy lawyer or debt relief attorney can be reached at http://www.nwosulaw.com/ or 408-375-7703

San Jose Foreclosure News

San Jose: Community group urges residents to fight foreclosure

As reported by San Jose Mercury News on 09/15/2011 05:55:31 PM PDT , as part of a statewide effort to help people keep their homes, a group of community activists urged residents in San Jose's Tropicana neighborhood Thursday to get angry about the housing crisis -- and then do something about it.

"We have to stand up," said Louise Vaughn, a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. "It's time for us to start talking to each other, writing letters, making phone calls."
A coalition of community groups kicked off their "Refund and Rebuild California" campaign by releasing a report called "The Wall Street Wrecking Ball, What Foreclosures are Costing San Jose Neighborhoods" at a news conference in front of a foreclosed home.
Prepared by ACCE and the California Reinvestment Coalition, a nonprofit organization that advocates for equal access to banking for low-income communities, the report claims San Jose homeowners will have lost $22 billion in home values as a result of the more than 43,500 homes foreclosed here from 2008 through next year. As a result, the city of San Jose has lost an estimated $135 million in property tax revenue.
"When people lose their homes, it affects all of us," said David Sharples, a member of the alliance. "Property tax revenues plummet, police, firefighters and teachers get laid off. We want banks to give homeowners reductions on their principal so they can stay in their homes."
According to the report, there have been 1.2 million foreclosures
statewide since 2008, "with the number expected to exceed 2 million by the end of 2012." In San Jose, in addition to the 43,544 foreclosures, more than 51,000 homeowners are underwater on their loans, meaning the debt is more than the property's current market value.
As Sharples and others talked, a tight core of activists chanted, "Shame on the banks. Shame on us for putting money in the banks. It's all about the money." Some held signs saying "Stop Foreclosures" and "Save Homes."
The group also claimed that once homes are foreclosed, banks allow them to remain empty and uncared for in the community for too long.
But Beth Mills, spokeswoman for the California Bankers Association, said state legislation passed a few years ago requires banks to maintain a property once it assumes ownership, or risk fines up to $1,000 a day.
"It takes over 300 days to complete a foreclosure," she said. "Banks can't come in and take care of that property until it's officially theirs."
Mills said banks in California and around the country have "been helping borrowers to stay in their homes when possible. We can try, when we can but what's consistently overlooked is that a good portion of borrowers have either lost their jobs or are underemployed and cannot make the mortgage payment."
For them, foreclosure is likely, she said.
After releasing copies of the foreclosure report Thursday afternoon, a couple dozen community activists walked through the Tropicana neighborhood knocking on doors.
"One woman said she's used all of her savings trying to hold onto her house," said Ana Guardado, 46, an alliance member and East Side resident for 27 years. "She expects to lose her home."
As the housing crisis worsened, Guardado said she watched longtime friends move away as they lost their homes on South King Road. "Two years ago, I saw a family standing outside in the yard on Christmas Day, and I decided I had to get involved. The family had all this stuff spread out and they had a Christmas tree in the front yard so their kids could have Christmas."

If you have any question about filing bankruptcy in San Jose, please contact San Jose Bankruptcy attorney or debt relief lawyer at the law office of Geoffrey Nwosu at http://www.nwosulaw.com/ or 408-912-5983. A bay area bankruptcy attorney will discuss your case with you.

San Jose Accident: Serious Injury from San Jose Accident

San Jose: Train crash survivors, one recovering, another "fighting for life"

As reported by Lisa Fernandez lfernandez@mercurynews.com on 11/11/2011 11:12:43 AM PST, two South Bay residents who were hit by trains and survived remain hospitalized, one of them is expected to recover and the other is in a coma, clinging to life, according to their families.

The two people were hit by trains five days apart, both in San Jose. Their families insist they were not trying to commit suicide.
David Hughes, 47, was hit by a Caltrain near Willow Street and Highway 87 on Nov. 4. Sandra Hughes, his sister, told this newspaper that her brother, told her that he fell asleep alongside the tracks.
When he awoke, she said he told he was "sideswiped" by the train, which was traveling at a speed of 25 mph heading toward the Diridon station.
"He didn't see or hear it coming," Hughes said.
Hughes said her brother is expected to recover from his injuries and soon leave Valley Medical Center. She said that her brother told her that he had been in a fight with someone and drinking before he fell asleep by the tracks, where he used to live when he was homeless. She said her brother lives with her in Campbell now.
The victim of an earlier train accident on Oct. 30 is in much worse shape.
But the family of Patricia Brosio hasn't been able to find out what happened yet, because the 55-year-old woman can't speak and is still in a coma at Regional Medical Center, according to Ben Cardoza, 54, her brother.
Brosio was struck by a VTA light rail at 10:45 p.m. at the intersection of Berryessa Road and
Capitol Avenue. San Jose police are investigating why she had been crossing the tracks.
Cardoza is anxious to get the results of the investigation: He said he simply wants to know if his sister was at fault, or the train operator.
He acknowledged that Brosio, who had once worked in San Mateo County as an advocate for battered women, had been battling alcoholism. But he added, "she's been doing extremely well for the last two years and had no reason to be suicidal."
She had two sons, ages 35 and 28, one of whom had been in a coma himself when he was in a car accident five years to the day of Brosio's train collision. Cardoza said his nephew was in a friend's Jaguar, and the driver was racing down Highway 101 near the San Francisco International Airport when the accident occurred. Since then, Brosio has been taking care of her son.
Cardoza said his sister has been heavily sedated, after suffering numerous strokes and bleeding in her liver. "She is fighting for her life, literally," he said.

If you have any question about San Jose auto accident, Car accident, Motorcycle accident or Pedestrian accident, please contact the accident injury law office of Geoffrey Nwosu at http://www.nwosulaw.com/ or 408-912-5983. An accident attorney will discuss your injury case with you.

San Jose bankruptcy Lawyer blogs about Bankruptcy

Federal judge releases Vallejo from bankruptcy

As reported by the Associated Press on 11/02/2011 11:56:33 AM 

VALLEJO, Calif.—Vallejo has finally emerged from bankruptcy. A federal judge released the historic Northern California town from bankruptcy Tuesday, putting an end to Vallejo's three-year bout as one of the nation's first and largest bankrupt cities.
Located about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco, Vallejo was the original capital of California. The city of 120,000 filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008, facing large deficits and a revenue crisis.
Since then, the city has closed fire stations and cut funding to senior centers, libraries and public works to save money, and worked to find new sources of revenue. Declaring bankruptcy gave the city protection from its creditors and allowed it to renegotiate contracts with employees, but The San Francisco Chronicle reports court proceedings also cost Vallejo $8 million in legal fees

Are you thinking about filing Bankruptcy in bay area, California? Please contact the Law Office of Geoffrey C. Nwosu at http://www.nwosulaw.com/ or 408-912-5983 to discuss your financial options and determine if filing bankruptcy will help you to eliminate your debts.

San Jose and Los Altos Bay Area Bankruptcy news/blog

Los Altos specialty markets saved from bankruptcy

Click photo to enlarge

Andronico's Market is pictured in Los Altos on Friday, Sept. 2, 2011. The specialty market chain...

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As reported by Daily News Staff Writer on 10/27/2011, two Los Altos specialty chain markets may avoid having to close after a private investment firm agreed to save them from bankruptcy.

Renovo Capital bought both San Leandro-based A.G. Ferrari Foods and San Francisco-based Andronico's Markets. After filing for bankruptcy in April, A.G. Ferrari was purchased for $1.2 million a few weeks ago. Andronico's was bought for $16 million last week.
"These things can take a little bit of time, but it's been a very quick process," Andronico's spokesman Adam Alberti said. "It's been a period of around 60 days -- that's really unusual."
Just months after closing branches in Palo Alto, officials from both chains have confirmed that the Los Altos stores are safe and preparing for the holiday season.
However, one of Andronico's four Berkeley stores will close this weekend as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Alberti said. "It's fairly safe to presume that it was not operating," Alberti said of the store at 1414 University Ave. in Berkeley.
Andronico's employs 440 workers in its stores and state Employment Development Department documents show that 24 jobs will be eliminated with the closure of the University Avenue store.
Founded by Greek immigrant Frank Andronico in 1929, the chain will continue to operate three stores in Berkeley, one in San Francisco and one in San Anselmo. The Andronico's name will be kept, and when asked about CEO Bill Andronico, Alberti said Renovo has "stated
that they intend to keep in large part the executive team."
After an aggressive expansion into the East Bay in the late 1990s failed, Andronico's continued to amass debt until it filed for bankruptcy protection on Aug. 22.
The Palo Alto store at the Stanford Shopping Center closed July 24 after about 14 years in business. Like A.G. Ferrari, which closed its downtown store five months ago, the two chains cut their Palo Alto locations due to high leases. Customers were redirected to the Los Altos branches, where Andronico's operates out of the Rancho Shopping Center and A.G. Ferrari in downtown on Main Street.
A.G. Ferrari was founded in 1919 and also operates two branches in Oakland, three in San Francisco, and one each in Berkeley, Lafayette and Corte Madera. The chain employs about 100 people overall, and fewer than 10 work at the Los Altos store, said Danielle Caponi, A.G. Ferrari's director of marketing.
The Renovo purchase is "a really positive change," Caponi said. Alberti added that there is a lot of optimism at Andronico's that Renovo will enhance the brand.
And there may even be opportunity for collaboration between the two chains in the future.
While Andronico's cater to specialty wine, deli and produce needs, A.G. Ferrari produces pastas, sauces, olive oils and vinegars from all over Italy. Those products could show up on Andronico's shelves at some point, Caponi said

Do you have any questions regarding bankruptcy in San Jose, Milpitas, Los Altos or any city in Bay Area? Please contact the Bankruptcy Lawyers and Debt Relief Attorneys at http://www.nwosulaw.com/ or call 408-912-5983.

San Jose Lawyer - Even Cities are Looking for Federal Bankruptcy Protection

Pa. lawyers, mayor oppose Harrisburg bankruptcy

As reported By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press on 10/14/2011 12:24:17 PM PDT

HARRISBURG, Pa.—Lawyers for the state of Pennsylvania and Harrisburg's mayor have asked a federal judge to throw out the bankruptcy petition for the city filed this week after a divided City Council voted for it.

Philadelphia attorney Neal Colton filed the state's objections to the bankruptcy on Friday, saying a state law expressly forbids it, while Harrisburg lawyer Kenneth Lee told the court the city and Mayor Linda Thompson believe the petition is not valid.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary France scheduled a status conference on the case Monday morning in Harrisburg.
"No one, least of all the commonwealth, denies that Harrisburg is confronted with serious financial difficulties that must be addressed," wrote Colton, who did not return a phone message. "That is all the more reason, however, why Harrisburg cannot afford to waste any further time and resources on this patently illegal usurpation of the commonwealth's sovereignty."
The law he cited was passed earlier this year to prohibit any third-class city that qualifies under state law as "financially distressed," a description that fits Harrisburg, from filing for bankruptcy until July 2012, and that it would lose all state funding if it did.
"The commonwealth is unaware of any reported case, from any jurisdiction in the United States, in which a municipality such as Harrisburg has so brazenly disregarded an express statutory denial of authority to file a Chapter 9 petition,"
Colton argued. Mark D. Schwartz, the lawyer hired by the council to pursue the bankruptcy, said the law is poorly worded and is unconstitutional because it targeted Harrisburg in particular.
"This hardly seems to be a prohibition," he said. "It says you shouldn't, but if you do, this is what happens. OK, fine."
He said a small amount of state funding is at stake.
"If that's the penalty for filing, so be it," Schwartz said.
Lee said the council majority and Schwartz did not have the authority to file for bankruptcy and asked France to dismiss the petition.
"The city is extremely concerned that members of the City Council and attorney Schwartz will attempt to further perpetuate this unauthorized bankruptcy case to the detriment of the city, its creditors and other stakeholders in blatant disregard of the proper procedures for the functioning of the city," Lee wrote in an emergency request filed late Thursday.
Schwartz said Thompson is not entitled to play an active part in the bankruptcy case.
"That may be the one thing the governor, General Assembly and I agree on—she has absolutely no role in these proceedings," he said.
Schwartz filed the Chapter 9 bankruptcy petition after City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to authorize it. It said the city is saddled with about $458 million in creditors and claims, and is in "imminent jeopardy" from six pending lawsuits related to its aging, debt-saddled municipal incinerator.
The council majority and Thompson have clashed over a recovery plan developed with state officials, leading area state lawmakers to push a bill that would let the governor declare a state of fiscal emergency and install someone to make decisions about government services and spending.
That measure, supported by Gov. Tom Corbett, has passed the House and is expected to be taken up by the Senate next week.
 Are you looking for a San Jose Bay Area Bankruptcy Attorney or San Jose Debt Relief Lawyer to help to determine if filing bankruptcy will help you? Please contactus at 408-912-5983 or http://www.nwosulaw.com/ in San Jose, CA

San Jose Accident - Motorcyclist was killed on the highway in San Jose

As reported in San Jose examiner on 10/28/2011, Highway 101 in South San Jose was shut down for an hour last week when a motorcyclist was killed on the highway.
The California Highway Patrol reports that Hoc Nguyen, 28, was headed southbound on his 2009 Yamaha motorcycle last Thursday at about 11 p.m. when he struck some ladders that had fallen onto the freeway.  The incident resulted in a crash that sent the San Jose man flying into oncoming traffic where he was hit by a car.
The driver of the car, a 63-year-old Gilroy man, remained on scene and was not injured or charged with any crime.
The CHP investigation revealed that Nguyen was driving at about 70 mph at the time of the crash, authorities said Tuesday.  It is believed that he landed two lanes away from the initial crash site near Metcalf Road.
It is unknown how the fiberglass ladders, which were partially blocking two lanes, wound up on the freeway.

Are you looking for a San Jose Bay Area Injury Attorney or San Jose Accident Lawyer to help to determine the value of your case? Please contactus at 408-912-5983 or http://www.nwosulaw.com/ in San Jose, CA


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