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PRESS RELEASE: Robert H. Solomon presenting at a program discussing U.S.-Israel Relations |
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Robert is on the
Host Committee and is a presenter at a program sponsored by
the JCRC of Long Island and Congregation Beth Emeth discussing current U.S.-
Israel Relations featuring a conversation with Congresswoman Carolyn
McCarthy. The program will take place on Sunday, November 13, 2011 11:00 a.m.
at Congregation Beth Emeth located at 36 Franklin Avenue, Hewlett,
New York. Please RSVP to David Newman at 516.677.1867. A light
brunch will be served.
Directions to Congregation Beth Emeth: Google Maps
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Backlogs slow LI foreclosures in December |
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Originally published: January 11, 2012 10:04 PM
Updated: January 12, 2012 12:03 AM
By TOM INCANTALUPO
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Foreclosure
activity on Long Island was
slow last month, reflecting backlogged paperwork and court delays rather than
any real improvement in families' ability to pay their mortgages on time. California-based
RealtyTrac said foreclosure-related filings in Nassau and Suffolk fell
by 34 percent in December, to 527, from a year earlier. For all of 2011, the
number of Long Island homes
that received some type of foreclosure-related notice fell by 40 percent from
2010, to 7,811. The decline was particularly dramatic in Suffolk:
53 percent.
Garden City attorney
Keith Lederman, who represents clients in foreclosure matters, said the average Suffolk homeowner
probably fell behind on payments earlier in the recession than Nassau
homeowners, who tend to be more affluent. The year-to-year decline results
mostly from the lagging effects of documentation problems among lenders and
servicers that delayed many foreclosure filings. Fidel and Herminia Bonilla won
a dismissal in a Nassau County
court on Monday of the foreclosure action against their home in Freeport after their
attorney, Karen Ferrare of Hempstead, argued that the
lender's documents were flawed. The Bonillas fell behind on payments when their
interest rate began rising in 2008 and had no luck getting the loan modified.
"I called the bank and they didn't pay any attention," said Fidel,
who drives a tractor trailer while his wife cares for their two children. While
the delays have provided a reprieve for some homeowners, they also, in effect,
kicked the housing crisis can down the road. Foreclosed homes for sale have
helped to depress the prices of all homes. RealtyTrac said the delays have
lengthened the foreclosure process, which took an average of 348 days
nationally in last year's fourth quarter, up from 305 days a year earlier. New York's
average was the longest of any state: 1,019 days. Some experts forecast an
uptick in foreclosures this year, as lender paperwork and the courts catch up
with the backlog. "There were strong signs in the second half of 2011 that
lenders are finally beginning to push through some of the delayed foreclosures
in select local markets," Brandon Moore, chief executive of RealtyTrac,
said in a statement accompanying the figures.
Lederman, who worked with Ferrare on the Bonilla case, also expects a
rise: "You're going to see a big resurgence."
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Relief for Student Debtors |
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Published: August 26, 2011
Since
the start of the recession, record numbers of Americans have enrolled in
college in search of new skills that would improve their employment prospects.
Unfortunately, far too many students enrolled in expensive for-profit schools
end up dogged by ruinous debts, with little in the way of skills or credentials
to show for their efforts.
The schools sometimes push these students into high-cost private
loans that they can never hope to repay, even when they are eligible for
affordable federal loans. Because the private loans have fewer consumer
accommodations like hardship deferments, the borrowers often have little choice
but to default.
Worse yet, these loans and the bad credit history follow the
debtors for the rest of their lives. Even filing for bankruptcy doesn’t clean
the slate.
Legislation is pending in both houses of Congress that would make
private school loans dischargeable through bankruptcy, as most of them were
before Congress changed the law in 2005. It had long been the case that
federally backed student loans were protected during bankruptcy proceedings.
That is reasonable, since those loans were backed by taxpayer dollars and
flexibly structured so that borrowers could receive deferment in tough times
and resume payments when their finances improved.
The country has a compelling interest in making it as difficult as
possible for student borrowers to elude payment for federal loans. There was no
reason for extending that protection to private lenders of student loans.
For starters, that gives these lenders, who often turn a huge
profit, an undeserved advantage over credit card issuers, gambling casinos and
other issuers of unsecured credit whose debts are still subject to discharge in
bankruptcy. The change also encouraged reckless underwriting by lenders, who no
longer felt compelled to determine the borrower’s ability to pay. And it led to
financial catastrophe for students who were duped into signing up for pricey
private loans.
Bills sponsored by Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, and
Representative Steve Cohen, Democrat of Tennessee, would eliminate the unfair
protections for private student lenders and give struggling borrowers a chance
at a fresh start. |
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Loans From 401(k)s Are on the Rise As Investors Tap Their Inner Banker |
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By JILIAN MINCER Published: June 7, 2011
In
spite of decades of advice to the contrary and the improving economy, millions
of Americans are increasingly turning to what was once a lender of last
resort—their 401(k) plans.
In 2010, about one in seven workers borrowed from a 401(k)
plan, according to new data from human-resources consulting group AON Hewitt.
Companies that run the plans report double-digit increases in borrowing from
2009: up 14% in Vanguard Group Inc.-run plans; up 11% in plans run by T. Rowe Price Group Inc. Today, almost 30% of 401(k) savers have a loan
outstanding, the highest in recent history.
That is too many, says a pair of senators. Last month, Sens.
Herb Kohl (D., Wis.) and Mike Enzi (R., Wyo.) introduced the Savings
Enhancement by Alleviating Leakage in 401(k) Savings Act (or SEAL Act), which
would, among other things, ban products that promote withdrawals, such as
401(k) debit cards. "While having access to a loan in an emergency is an
important feature for many participants, a 401(k) savings account should not be
used as a piggy bank," Mr. Kohl said in a statement.
Such loans have always been tempting. Interest rates are
low, and as both bank and borrower, the employee gets to keep the interest. But
lately borrowing from a 401(k) plan has taken on new appeal, as credit-card
companies have cut cardholder limits and banks have frozen home-equity lending.
Meanwhile, there are few restrictions on who can borrow from
a 401(k). The loan typically can't exceed half the balance, or $50,000,
whichever is less, and the investment company that runs that plan typically
charges an initiation fee of about $75. But there is no credit check, the
paperwork is simple, and the money typically is yours within a week.
What is more, with interest rates so low and the stock
market volatile, a 401(k) loan can offer a decent rate of return. An investor
who took a $25,000 loan five years ago at 6% interest would have paid himself
about $4,000 in interest—about the same return as if he had invested in a
Standard & Poor's 500 stock index fund for the same period, without the
crash-induced stress. For borrowers who use the money to pay off high-interest
debt, the effective return can be greater, thanks to the savings they get by
replacing it with the lower-interest loan.
Still, there are enough strings attached to these loans that
financial advisers have typically cautioned against them. The loan can stand
only as long as you are employed by the company. Lose your job, and the full
balance is due, within 60 days, or it is counted as an "early
withdrawal," and the borrower will have to pay income tax and a 10% penalty
on the balance if he or she is younger than 59½.
"A loan from your 401(k) has the potential to leave
deep, deep wounds," says Thomas Muldowney, a financial adviser with Savant
Capital Management in Rockford, Ill.
If it is available, a home-equity line of credit may be a
better option: the rates are a little higher, but the interest may be
tax-deductible, and it isn't tied to the borrower's employment.
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