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O.C. bankruptcy filings top 10,000
October 26th, 2009, 6:00 am · 16 Comments · posted by Jan Norman, small-business columnist
In Orange County, 1,277 individuals and businesses filed for bankruptcy court protection in September, 48.1% more than a year earlier, marking the 35th straight month of year-over-year increases.
Here are the latest numbers from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (click on image for a larger view):
Note that “So. Cal.” encompasses the counties of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.
Orange County has had more than 1,000 monthly bankruptcy filings most of this year. Compare that with a mere 252 filings in September 2006. While filings, no doubt, will taper off we won’t be back to those low numbers for some time.
One glimmer of hope: The filings in September are 7.9% fewer than in August. But it’s too early to declare a turnaround. Filings dipped from March to April too.
We’ve yet to work our way through the commercial real estate problems for shopping centers, industrial and office properties, not to mention unemployment that continues to rise.
Through the first three quarters of 2009, 10,619 individuals and businesses in Orange County have filed for bankruptcy protection, 65.7% more than the same period a year ago. At that pace, we will exceed 14,000 filings, but I’m guessing we’ll fall short because the increases are slowing.
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But… but… real estate has bottomed! Buy now or be priced out forever!
Yes, and home sales for exsisting homes are up in the OC …. so get ready for more bad home loans in the OC to go belly up.
Only a complete fool would believe all the hype in this paper the last three weeks about how the economy is turning around, housing prices are going up, blah blah blah….
I have been in real estate as an agent and investor since the mid 80’s. This is only the calm before the storm. Just wait till next year after the initial shock of all the ARM’s that are about to readjust in the coming months. Oh, an least we forget to mention all the modified loans that took place in 08′ that are now going delinquent.
Dear Hilary and Bill. Thank you so much for your ideology that every American is entitled to the American dream, from the old standard of, “The American dream, work hard, save, and you too can live the dream.”
I guess that means they get to keep houses they can’t afford. Dam I wish I thought of that. Buy a great big house I can’t afford and file BK. Set for life. Crime pays.
The new BK laws that went into effect a few years back don’t allow you to keep your home in most cases.
Yep. This is more fallout from corporate communism on Wall Street. Bankrupt society then receive $24 trillion in bailouts from your friends in government and report record profits while the dollar is tanking, foreclosures are at record highs and unemployment continues to climb. Quite a system they’ve devised, eh? All club members. This would be like all the homes in your neighborhoods in foreclosure, so the government gives you free money to BUY ALL OF THEM, thus driving the home value up and you profit from the appreciation. hah! This is EXACTLY what government has done for the Wall Street crooks while you get hosed!!! WAKE UP, FOLKS. YOU’RE BEING BAMBOOZLED!!!
We’ve only just begun..lalalalalala
So in essence the pain is less… hard to convince the patient that is in pain.
I blame the SEC who looked the other way, I blame the crooks in the mortgage/banking industry.
And I blame every Representative or Senator that took their PAC money and looked the other way and voted to help their industries.
To those of you who supported candidates who took the PAC money you got hosed. Neither industry cares about you then or now.
The way out? Hope for luck to survive. Stop supporting those who take $$ from banks, insurance, mortgage companies. Vote to regulate the heck out of them. Will that stop free enterprise? NO! What makes free enterprise work is there is always someone ready to take your spot.
freddie mac and fannie mae for the win.
Good thing Obama is fixing everything!…
What REALLY bothers me is that there were those using their houses as an ATM machine, now they can’t pay pay the money they spent.
Again, those of use who WERE responsible with our money are paying for those who had a “good time”. Shameful and disgusting…..
That right BR. You’re catching on!! The rule followers get hosed while the rule breakers get rewarded. How long do you think a government that advocates such rules will survive?? If you answered NOT LONG go to the head of the class. Americans are slow learners. But they’re beginning to smell a rat. And once they figure out how they’ve been conned and heisted, katie bar the doors!
The credit card companies are raising rates and cutting off credit. They are shooting themselves in the foot…and that’s a good thing. I hope the banks eat it, they have it coming.
johnb,
the cc companies are raising the rates so that the good customer who pays his bills on time can compensate for the one who defaults. Imagine that. You collect less than a percent interest on your passbook account. Yet citibank can charge you 30% on your unpaid balances! hah!
the american people need to put a stop to this nonsense. If just 20% of us could get together and refuse to pay another dime on our mortgages or cc balances they would have to scream ‘uncle’ and their scam would come to an immediate end.
but americans just arent that smart.
ocobserver, if they keep raising their rates, the good customers will cancel their cards, and customers deep in debt will file for bankrupcy. The CC are just shooting themselves in the foot.
“The CC are just shooting themselves in the foot.”
This is where government bailouts come in handy. You’ll pay for it anyway even if you dont use credit cards.
And you all just let it happen! Be quiet calm down, the green shoots are sprouting all around this “jobless recovery”. Everything will be just fine. ;-P