Debt Collection

The Basics of What a Foreclosure Is and How it Works

Mortgage lenders on seller-financed properties sometimes ask questions like “If I start a foreclosure on this property, then when do I get my property back?” This question makes little sense because the lender may never get the property back. The person asking it may not understand what a foreclosure is, how a foreclosure works, or […]

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A Basic Primer on Usury Law in Texas

Usury Definitions “‘Usurious interest’ means interest that exceeds the applicable maximum amount allowed by law.” Tex. Fin. Code Ann. § 301.002(a)(17). “‘Interest’ means compensation for the use, forbearance, or detention of money. The term does not include time price differential, regardless of how it is denominated. The term does not include compensation or other amounts

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Reimbursement of Your Attorney’s Fees When You Win Your Case

The so-called “American Rule” provides that, in most of the United States—Texas included, each side to a lawsuit, Plaintiff and Defendant, must pay its own attorney’s fees. While we inherited most of our legal system from the British common law, we do not generally follow the “English Rule,” which states that the losing side pays

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Texas Tools for Recovering Assets on Behalf of Defrauded Investors

Financial Record Requests/Subpoenas: In my experience, the financial record request is one of the most powerful tools for finding assets on behalf of defrauded investors. Section 30.007 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code provides that these requests are governed by Section 59.006 of the Texas Finance Code. In Texas Finance Code Section 59.006,

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Contracts for Deed: Do the Volume-Dealer Penalties of Section 5.077(d) Have an “Anchoring” Requirement?

One bankruptcy court says yes. Here is an argument for the answer being no. Under Section 5.077(d), the volume-dealer penalties apply to “A seller who conducts two or more transactions in a 12-month period under this section . . . .” One bankruptcy court has interpreted this provision as meaning that the volume-dealer penalties apply

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