It is still not great news for Atlanta homeowners as home prices dropped in November in most U.S. cities including Atlanta, reports the Associated Press.
In the Standard & Poor/Case Shiller Index, home prices were down in 19 out of the 20 cities and steepest decline was in Atlanta. In fact, home prices in Atlanta are at their lowest since the housing crisis began.
Home prices in Atlanta are back to 2003 levels.
Add another one to the bookstore bankruptcy column. Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse will close down on January 26, 2012, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The iconic bookstore in Midtown, had been facing financial difficulties for some time. Owner Philip Rafshoon tried to keep the store going longer, but ultimately was not successful.
In an outgoing email Rafshoon wrote:
"Thanks to all of you who made Outwrite the special place it has been over the past 18 years. Thank you to all who came in on a regular basis, showing your commitment to supporting independent, local businesses. And thank you to all of the authors, poets, artists, musicians, volunteers, and activists, who have entertained, educated and energized us."
This week President Obama announced the formation of a mortgage crisis unit which will be chaired by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman, reports the Huffington Post.
The move has special significance because of the impact on a possible deal between America’s mortgage servicers and the states’ attorneys general.
With all of this tumult in the mortgage industry, many people still struggling to figure out their mortgage situation will be wondering how long it takes to process a foreclosure.
The answer, according to CNN Money, might surprise you:
Paul Ossmann, a former broadcaster on 11 Alive in Atlanta, has found a new gig after a tough patch which included going through a bankruptcy, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The long-time broadcaster will now be working as a weekend weather forecaster for CBS Atlanta. He will be on regularly at 6 and 11 pm, both Saturday and Sunday.
Not only is this a good media story in Atlanta about a local celebrity, but also has a helpful bankruptcy component to it. It turns out that Paul Ossmann went through a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, which was discharged last October.
The 2011 bankruptcy statistics held a little bit of a surprise, as total bankruptcy filings declined by nearly 12 percent, reports The New York Times.
In total, there were about 1.4 million bankruptcy filings last year, according to the University of Illinois College of Law.
Most of the filings -- nearly 70 percent -- were Chapter 7. This is a type of bankruptcy that allows an individual to avoid repaying his or her debts if they pass certain qualifying "tests." It is also equivalent of a liquidation.
David Darnell Brown, the rapper known as Young Buck, is facing bankruptcy and may have to dispose of his trademarked name during the liquidation, reports the Tennesseean.
A big part of Young Buck's financial difficulties is a contract dispute with the record label run by rapper 50 Cent, as noted by FindLaw's Celebrity Justice Blog.
A unique alliance between the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case, and historians, is set to reorganize the country’s bankruptcy records, reports the Third Branch, the blog of the Office of the U.S. Courts Office of Public Affairs.
Under the revised schedule for bankruptcy records, all bankruptcy dockets and opinions until 2009 will get sorted in all sorts of complicated ways. But the most interesting part is your chance to have a historic bankruptcy.
Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of the popular Twinkies and Wonder Bread, is filing for bankruptcy, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The purveyors of the cream-filled fantasy are based in Irving, Texas, and employ roughly 19,000 people, while carrying nearly a billion dollars in debt. The debt persists despite nearly $2.5 billion in sales. The reason is that all the good stuff that goes into those delicious morsels of heavenly manna with no nutritional value is costly (as divine foods should be). What is not so divine? Those lackluster sales.
A school connected to the now infamous Atlanta pastor Eddie Long is shutting down, reports WSBTV.
The New Birth Christian Academy, which had operated for 18 years inside New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, is no more. Tuition ranged from $5,725 for New Birth members to about $6,000 for non-members with more than $1,000 in non-refundable fees, reports NewsOne.
If you can buy or refinance a home these days, you are in an enormous amount of luck, as the thirty year mortgage rate is down to a record 3.91 percent, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The explanation for why mortgage rates are lower is because "they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, reports the AJC. It is not as important to understand what that means as to note it.
Of course, just because the financing is good these days doesn't mean that people are buying. In fact, until recently, Georgia's foreclosure rates have been quite high, beating most of the country.
It might soon be possible to have online chats with a bankruptcy court, and, in fact, some bankruptcy courts are already offering the feature, reports the Third Branch, which is the monthly newsletter of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Office of Public Affairs in Washington, D.C.
The model for having online chats with a bankruptcy court comes from retailers in the private sector, who often allow their customers to talk live with someone, just through the website. Now, bankruptcy courts in New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona are all using the feature.
