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Archive | James H MaGee

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Two “levels” of birth certificates?

The New York Times reported on January 5, 2011, of a growing movement that seeks that states will issue two different types of birth certificates.

If this movement gains sufficient steam to obtain amendments to state laws, then the states will grant a “Class A” birth certificate to children who have parents with legal residency papers or who are citizens.

A “Class B” certificate will be issued to children whose parents are both undocumented.

This would seem to be at odds to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution which grants citizenship to anyone born on American soil.

Gabriel J. Chin, a law professor at the University of Arizona is quoted in the NY Times as saying “This is political theater, not a serious effort to create a legal test….it strikes me as unwise, un-American and unconstitutional.

The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, was a repudiation of the Supreme Court’s 1857 ruling in the Dred Scott v. Sanford decision. The Dred Scott ruling held that people of african decent could never be citizens.

The US Supreme Court affirmed the 14th Amendment in 1898 in the case of US v. Wong Kim Ark, interpreting the citizenship provision to apply to a child born to Chinese immigrants.

Tea Party member (Arizona representative Duncan Hunter) said in the NY Times quote: “And we’re not being mean…we’re just saying it takes more than walking across the border to become an American citizen. It’s what’s in our souls.”

See NY Times, Wednesday, January 5, 2011, page A1, by Marc Lacey. “On Immigration, Birthright Fight in U.S. is Looming.”

Credit Cards: Additional things to think about before getting a new credit card – Preventing trouble

I have another post "Credit Cards: Things to think about before getting a new card…"

But here are four more things to think about – and probably these are the four most important TIPS anyone can offer when obtaining a new credit card.

– Look for the grace period – Credit cards DO NOT HAVE to offer a grace period during which you can pay off credit purchases (paying it in full) without incurring finance charges. Note that cash advances usually don’t ahve a grace period. Without a grace period, finance charges begin accruing immediately and a low rate may actually be higher than it looks.

Under the new CARD Act of 2009, lenders must mail your credit card statement at least twenty-one days before the end of the grace period. Of course, a grace period that is even longer is more beneficial. If you are running very close to the deadline, you might consider paying, at least for that month, over the internet or by phone. Under the new CARD Act, a lender can only charge you for paying by phone if you need the help of a live customer service representative.

-Watch out for bait & switch offers – Some credit card leners will send you an offer advertising a low-interest credit card wtih a high limit. However, nestled in the fine print in the offer is a less attractive, more expensive card if you don’t qualify. The substituted card often has a higher interest rate, more expensive fees, and/or a lower credit limit. If what they send you is not what they advertised to you, send the card back, certified mail, return receipt requested, along with a letter explaining your rejection of the card.

-Review and compare – BEFORE you send back the credit card application make a photocopy of the front and back of the application including the "disclosure boxes". When you receive the credit card, then compare the new disclosures you get with the card to the credit card application disclosures and make sure that they are the same.

-Cancel the credit card if you discover terms you don’t like – You don’t need to keep a credit card if you don’t like the terms. If the lender changes the terms for your card, you have the right under the Credit CARD act to reject the changes and close your account. If you have used the card you need to pay off the blance.

Many thanks to the National Consumer Law Center’s "Guide to Surviving Debt", available at www.consumerlaw.org for only about $20.00. You should also consider taking a look at our sister website www.life-after-bankruptcy.info.

3% Drop in Bankruptcies reported January 5, 2011 – Seattle Times

December 2010 bankruptcy filings decreased 3% nationally as compared to December 2009, with 113,000 bankruptcy filings in Dec. 2010.

There are about 90 bankruptcy districts in the nation.

There was a similar decrease in filings October 2009 to October 2010.

The nation recorded about 1.55 million bankruptcy filings in 2010, an increase of 8.0% from 2009.

There was an increase of 32% from 2008 to 2009, and a 33% increase from 2007 to 2008.

The number of filings in 2010 matched that for 2004.

The West, however, indicated ongoing growth in filings, with Hawaii up 22%, Utah increasing 19%, California up 19% and Arizona up 18%.

Bob Lawless, a University of Illinois College of Law professor believes that the slight decrease in filings might be a reflection of the increased difficulty in obtaining credit advances over the past couple of years.

As reported by Make Baker of the Associated Press, See The Seattle Times, 1/5/11 Page A-9 Business.

Unemployment up in two-thirds of metropolitain areas re: November 2010

Unemployment rates rose in more than two-thirds of the nation’s largest metro areas in November, a sharp reversal from the previous month and the most since June.

The Department of Labor recited on January 2, 2011, that unemployment rates rose in 258 of the 372 largest cities, fell in 88 cities and remained the same in 26 cities. That was worse than the previous month, in which rates fell in 200 areas.

Areas with weakness in the housing market are seeing growing unemployment e.g. California, Nevada, Florida and Georgia. Las Vegas, Atlanta, San Francisco and Miami also saw increases in unemployment.

November 2010 unemployment rose to 9.8% from 9.6% over October 2010.

Many laid-off workers are giving up on job searches.

Washington may have made some small gains during this time period, but remains at 9.2% unemployment for November 2010.

Lukewarm recovery will continue; no significant decreases in unemployment for 2011 or 2012.

[categories: Washington Bankruptcy Attorney]

The Seattle Times, Kristi Keim, page A13, January 14, 2011:

The U.S. is expected to chip away at unemployment only very slowly reports Michael Dueker, Russell Investments’ head economist for North America.

Usually, a recession is followed by a fast snap back to growth, as happened in the early 1980s. The economy grew 7.0% annually for the next year and one-half. This is not happening, says Mr. Dueker, and it will take all of 2011 to get the unemployment rate reduced by a mere 1/2 percentage point.

In contrast to slow U.S. growth, the world economy is expected to grow at 4.0% to 5.0% this year.

Ken Goldstein, an economist with The Conference Board, notes that the U.S. will grow only 2.5% this year and 2.6% in 2012. Confidence in the economy is a major problem, according to Ken Goldstein.

Commercial Real Estate: Looming crisis or are fears overblown? – the John Hancock Tower deal vs. Stuyvesant/Peter Cooper. One worked, one failed.

Boston’s John Hancock Tower, a 62 story glass skyscraper in Boston’s Back Bay was one of the first commercial real estate trophies to run into trouble when the speculative property boom abruptly ended some two years ago or so, according to the NY Times, December 30, 2010, article "A Real Estate Trophy In Boston is Sold", by Charles V. Bagli.

Bought at foreclosure sale 18 months ago for some $660.6 million, it was just recently sold for $930 million.

Commercial buildings have recovered some value.

In 2009, the owner had defaulted on 472.1 million in secondary loans, but the first mortgage remained current. The secondary loans were bought for about 30 cents on the dollar.

At the foreclosure, Normandy/Five Mile were the sole bidders on the second mortgage, paying about $20 million and taking on the senior mortgage.

The Hancock Tower had been valued at $1.35 billion in a 2006 purchase, more than double the 2003 valuation incident to a then sale, at $639 million. 82% of the purchase price was debt in the 2006 purchase.

Not all commercial properties have recovered so well. A similar attempted workout of Manhattan high rise apartments known as Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village failed, and the properties are now controlled by senior lenders through CW Capital. William A. Ackman of Persing Square Capital Management and Michael L. Ashner of Winthrop Realty Trust failed to gain control of the large complex, after investing $300 million in secondary debt for $45 million.

US Trade Deficit Narrows in October but still huge! Little improvement in manufacturing exports – recission will linger.

The New York Times reported on December 11, 2010 "U.S. Deficit in Trade Narrowed In October" by Christine Hauser that there is one small bright spot.

The Commerce Department reports that the trade gap was $38.7 billion in October 2010. the smallest since January 2010, when it had been down at 34.8 billion.

A trade deficit forecast of $43.8 billion had been forecast for October 2010, so the numbers were better than expected.

The narrowing was due to an increase in American exports. Most of the increase in exports was agricultural goods like food (soybeans to China) and some gas and oil sent to Mexico.

Unfortunately, there was no big increase in manufacturing exports, so while this narrowing deficit is good news overall, it is not as good as one would have hoped. Manufacturing increases are desirable, as this decreases unemployment.

Auto Sales in trouble (again!) likely never to regain 2005 peak of 17.4 million

Buyers are only just easing back into the market, reports the Seattle Times, January 5, 2011, page A-7.

Auto sales peaked at 17.4 million back in 2005 and dropped to 10.6 million in 2009. The peak was fueled, in part, by big incentives – like employee-discounts-for-everyone schemes popular in 2005.

GM vice president of U.S. sales for GM Don Johnson says GM expects sales eventually will creep back to 15 or 16 million, but not much higher.

The average vehicle on the U.S. roads is now 10.2 years old, the oldest since 1997, and a full year older than in 2007.

Cars made up 49.8 percent of sales in 2010, while truck sales made up 50.2 percent,a nd trucks and SUV sales keep growing: in December 2010, they were 54.3% of total sales.

Foreclosures are likely to peak in 2011, but can be stopped by a bankruptcy filing

Foreclosure woes for Washington homeowners are far from over, and bankruptcy filings may be the next step.

According to an article by Janna Herron of the Associated Press that was published in the Seattle Times, January 14, 2011, on page A13, the last three years of foreclosures in Western Washington:

Year 2008  2009  2010

King 2,052 4,190 6,063

Snohomish 911 1,968 3,240

Pierce 2,258 3,782 3,773

Kitsap 430 671 652

Total 8,802 16,017 20,749

One in every 45 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing last year, a record 2.9 million of them, and these lead to bankruptcy filings everywhere in order to stop foreclosure in Tacoma and also other jurisdictions. That’s up 1.67% from 2009. About 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgages.

The firm Realty-Trac predicts 1.2 million homes will be repossessed this year 2011.

In Washinton, the housing crisis started later than the rest of the country and also appears to be peaking later; total foreclosure filings were up 24 percent from 2009. Foreclosure filings in King County rose 29%; there were also increases of 32% in Snohomish and 8% in Pierce County.

Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate in 2010 for the fourth straight year. Washington state ranked 18th, with Snohomish County seeing the top foreclosure rate. Pierce County, Clark, Grays Harbor, and Cowlitz counties rounded out the top five.

The Law Offices of James H. MaGee can answer your questions about bankruptcy and foreclosure anywhere in the State of Washington. Contact us at our offices in Tacoma, Renton, Puyallup, Olympia, Chehalis, and Bremerton to learn more about your options. We strive to answer your questions in a courteous, confidential, and caring manner.

Credit Report Nuts and Bolts, Part 6 of 6: Who can see your credit report?

Creditors – can look at your report whenever you apply for credit, such as a mortgage, car loan, or credit cards.

Employers – can look at your report, but only under certain circumstances and only if you give them written authorization. Employers are allowed to look at your report to evaluate you for hiring, promotions, and other employment purposes – but I understand that it is done only with your permission in most states. A few states, such as Washington and Hawaii, have banned employers from using credit reports unless a good credit record is related to a job’s qualifications. (I will try to blog on this Washington state law in a later post)

Government agencies – some can look, but only if searching for hidden income or assets – usually only certain agencies can do this such as those trying to collect child support.

Insurance companies – home and auto insurers now use specialized credit scores to decide whether to issue you a policy and how much to charge for it.

Landlords – when deciding whether to rent you an apartment or home.

Utility companies – when deciding how much of a utility deposit (if any) to seek – but not in deciding whether to extend utility services.

Student loans – Usually, I am told by the NCLC’s Guide to Surviving Debt, that a credit score is irrelevant to obtaining government student loans, but it could be a factor in obtaining private (not government guaranteed) student loans. There may be an exception though, for Parent PLUS loans wherein parents–or professional students such as dental, law school, and medical school students–are seeking student loans in order to finance a child’s education.

Divorce, child custody, immigration, citizenship applications, registering to vote and other legal proceedings – your credit report should not be used against you, subject to a few limitations and circumstances.