Happy New Year

I want to wish my readers a happy and prosperous new year and thank everyone for the comments, both on the blog and on the street, in the yard, in court.  Three of my kids graduated from college this year - don't ask me how that happened - they are each about a year apart from the other.  But I'm ready to become a couch potato and spend my time writing, especially on the Supreme Court and Bankruptcy.  I suspect I'm going to have to put that off for a while however since I expect Congress to pass a law early in 2009 which will allow homeowners to write down their mortgages and pay the new loan balance over 30-40 years at a reasonable interest rate.  When that happens, there is going to be a staggering number of new chapter 13 filings.  I would bet it will be double last year.  Persons who never would have considered bankruptcy will file as the benefit will be so huge.  That's what I do for a living when I'm not in the classroom.  That's how I make my own house payment.  I have hired a couple of law clerks to make sure I am ready.  I think its a completely appropriate response to the problems today.  Lenders will not get more than the value of the home anyway when they foreclose and will not get more than current interest rates when they re-lend the money from the foreclosure sale.  So why not let the homeowner do that and keep their home?  I digress - again - Happy New Year.

Jon Hayes