O.C. bankruptcies in January jumped 57.8%

March 3rd, 2009, 6:00 am · 8 Comments · posted by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

In January, 800 Orange County individuals and businesses filed bankruptcy, 57.8% higher than the same period a year ago.

The increase is slightly lower than the 60.4% hike for the entire U.S. Bankruptcy Court Central District covering Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. But both far exceed the 34% jump in bankruptcies nationwide.

Here are the numbers (click on the chart for a larger view):

Source: U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Local and district bankruptcies in January actually declined from December, but that is not yet a foreshadowing of improvement, said economist Esmael Adibi, director of the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University in Orange.

“It seems to me, hovering around 800 (bankruptcy filings) a month is no indication that things are turning around,” he said. “I would like to see the numbers go down to 700, 600, 500. The drop from December to January may just be seasonal.

“Before, bankruptcies were tied to foreclosures due to mortgage resets. Now the problems are real; people are losing jobs. Further down the road we will see more bankruptcies,” he said.

“All the actions governments are doing are giving false hope to some people to hold on and not go through foreclosure or bankruptcy,” Adibi added. “I am trying to see a silver lining in all the economic data but I don’t see any.”

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Boomtime says:

March 3, 2009 at 7:06 am

You know, if we could just get these people approved for some loans, they could buy up some of the old houses and fix them up with some granite and wood floors. Then they sell them for s huge profit!

I don’t understand why they can’t just get some no-doc loans, buy 5 or 6 primary residences, toss in the travertine and some lawn, and flip their way to the average millionairehood in OC.

Once the ball gets rolling, it will start to employ mortgage brokers, who will stoke the economy by purchasing expensive cars and suits. Realtors and appraisers will get back into the average 6 figure income that their critical professions deserve.

Bottom line: now is the time to get easy money back into the hands of the brilliant property barons of OC and reprime the mortgage pump that is the heart of our exclusively service based economy.

Joe Weber says:

March 3, 2009 at 7:15 am

Yes, the filings are going up and up. I’m seeing 6-7 people every day who are considering bankruptcy and there’s no end in sight. Lots of folks have lost their jobs or are upside down in their homes.
-Joe Weber, Esq.
http://www.bkrights.com

Hank Burden says:

March 3, 2009 at 10:50 am

Like I told my banker, I just need a lone to tide me over until I can get my hands on some credit cards…

March 3, 2009 at 10:51 am

Make that a “loan.”

Shaun LaFountain says:

March 3, 2009 at 12:18 pm

wow, that sucks

caseclosed says:

March 3, 2009 at 1:01 pm

bankruptcy up 57.8% and what has Obama’s great stimulus bill done for you or anyone that you no?????????CHANGE we could all live without.

Samm says:

March 3, 2009 at 1:16 pm

Gee, caseclosed, he’s been in office for all of 6 weeks trying to fix GWB’s 8 year mess. Instead of CHANGE, you wanted things to stay the same way they were?

LIBERTYLAW says:

March 3, 2009 at 1:25 pm

I love seeing that brand new Bentley with 2008 registration tags.

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