Mesa, AZ Bankruptcy Law Blog

Arizona residents are expected to receive about $1.6 billion from the nationwide foreclosure settlement announced today.

The settlement comes after a year of negotiations between the nation's five largest mortgage servicers, the federal government, and attorneys general from 49 states. The mortgage servicers will pay $25 billion to settle the suit which alleged foreclosure abuses, including improperly dealing with property owners who sought mortgage relief.

Creditors and debt collectors in Arizona generally have a six-year time window in which they may sue debtors for nonpayment of credit card debt. The federal government is making moves to stop collection agencies from engaging in creditor harassment and pursuing lawsuits against debtors after this statute of limitations has expired.

The Federal Trade Commission recently reached an agreement with one of the nation's largest consumer-debt collectors to settle a lawsuit that alleged the collector was deceiving consumers in order to collect old debts.

For the first time since 2006, bankruptcy rates around the country have begun to decline. Although the United States economy is not yet considered to be booming, the decrease in personal bankruptcies is interesting.

With job loss slowing down and the charging off of credit cards reaching record low levels, the health of consumer credit is beginning to show an up-turn in Mesa. Additionally, consumers in Arizona and elsewhere have decreased spending in these past few years of the recession and focused their money on debt repayment. These small changes have proven to be beneficial to the economy since the number of bankruptcies filed throughout the U.S. have decreased.

A recent news article about how shopping can become a dangerous compulsion may be of interest to Mesa readers. Many people may not see their shopping sprees as a problem, especially during the holidays; however, the truth of the matter is that shopping can be considered an addiction and it can lead to bankruptcy. In fact, it is so close to being an addiction that it may show up in the 2013 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

As a shopper, you may act on impulse. Similar to impulse gambling, shopping can lead you into financial trouble and in need of bankruptcy protection. With after-holiday deals being promoted everywhere you go and online, you could easily reach your spending limits too quickly and in many cases, exceed them significantly.