Easy Loans

If youre hiding from the telephone or cringing every time you pick up the line, you might be a victim of debt collector harassment. Im not going to outline exactly what constitutes abuse from collectors because Ive talked it half to death in the past, but I am going to point out some good ways to document debt collector harassment and create an evidence folder of the abuse. Not only does creating a paper trail help you defend yourself, it can be essential in making the abuse stop.

Documenting Debt Collector Harassment

Many, many people I talk to fail to properly document debt collector harassment because they feel that doing so would be both pointless and difficult. If youre skirting collection calls, youve already got a lot on your plate. I know that. But keeping a log of the abuse helps you prove it in court.

Now your eyes have gotten big and youre thinking, "But Lee, I dont want to go to court!" I know that too. Keep in mind, however, that you may have grounds to sue the very collectors that are harassing you. If you win, you may be entitled to monetary compensation and the collection agency may just think twice before inflicting the same torment on another debtor. Documenting your communications with collectors also helps you defend yourself in court if the collection agency sues based on something you supposedly did or said that you can subsequently prove never occurred.

Documenting Telephone Harassment 

The vast majority of debt collector harassment takes place over the telephone. This is because the majority of a collection agencys business occurs over the phone and because its much harder for debtors to prove that a debt collector violated the FDCPA during a phone call.

Heres what I want you to do: If youre old school and youre receiving collection calls over your landline phone, put a pad of paper and a pen next to the phone. Dont move it. Tell your family not to move it. Youd be surprised how often debtors actually try to pull this off only to discover that their paper and pen is gone when they need it most. Glue it to the counter if you have to, just make sure its there. If youre taking the calls over a cell phone, grab paper and a pen as soon as you answer the phone or see the call coming in. Note the following:




After the call, take the time to put your notes into a manila envelope or folder meant for housing nothing but your documentation of the harassment harassment.


Documenting Mail Harassment

A collection agency is going to take great care not to openly harass you via mail. The company knows better than to provide you with clear lawsuit fodder. That does not mean, however, that collection agencies never violate the FDCPA in their written communications with debtors; they do. Because of this, its important that you save each and every letter you receive from a collection agency. Make a photocopy of each collection letter and put the collection letters in the same envelope as your phone harassment logs.

Organizing the Evidence Folder 

Keeping a thorough record of debt collector harassment isnt always enough. You need to create a paper trail of events that demonstrate the collection agencys action, your reaction, the collection agencys response, etc. Thus, its important that you date each piece of evidence you create and keep your files in order.

If you send the collection agency a cease and desist letter, for example, include a copy of the cease and desist letter in your evidence folder. If youre smart and send all communication CRRR, keep copies of the green cards in your folder. You can also include any communication you may have had with the original creditor about the debt in your evidence folder as well.

How Documenting Harassment Benefits You

I know what youre thinking: "If I show up in court with a bunch of written notes, its just my word against theirs! The judge will never believe me!" Heres how keeping good track of your evidence, even handwritten evidence benefits you:



and here comes what is, for some, the best reason to keep good documentation of harassment by debt collectors:


The moral of the story? Start creating an evidence folder documenting debt collector harassment as soon as possible. You never know what the future may hold, and keeping good records and creating a paper trail can never hurt.

BELLEVUE, WA-New York City-based Joseph Merrill Capital, a real estate investment banking firm, has structured a seven-year CMBS loan of -million for RP Realty Partners Bellevue Galleria. The Galleria is a class-A mixed-use office and retail asset consisting of more than 203,000 rentable square feet.

James Rizzi, managing principal of JMC, tells GlobeSt.com that the company is encouraged by the continued loosening seen in the securitization market. "The property was well positioned for long term fixed rate financing given RP Realty Partners successful repositioning of the property, which involved converting the previously existing Cinema into class-A office space and increasing the overall rentable square footage of the property," Rizzi said.

Rizzi adds that the asset is "high quality," and was "appropriately repositioned by a high-quality sponsor." JMC structured the loan with the Royal Bank of Scotland that used its balance sheet to warehouse the loan until its larger securitized pool goes to market for execution in the coming months.

RP Realty Partners, owner of the Galleria, is experienced in implementing complicated repositioning strategies involving retail and mixed-use properties of 100,000 square feet to 600,000 square feet, according to a prepared statement.

In the case of the Galleria, RP sought a change in zoning to convert the previously existing movie theater space into office space, which added 18,000 rentable square feet to the property for a combined 84,000 square feet of office space and enhanced the propertys overall net operating income, according to Rizzi.

The attractive interest rate environment coupled with the return of the CMBS market will continue to have a positive impact on the ability for property owners to execute their business plans and prepare certain assets for sale back into the market, according to JMC. "We are in a great position to help our clients capitalize on the low interest rate environment and remain committed on bringing measureable value to the refinance, acquisition, and recapitalization process," Rizzi explains.

As lenders continue to become more aggressive in their underwriting criteria and as long as interest rates remain low, transaction volume will continue to increase dramatically to bring a much needed clarity to a marketplace where it has been challenging to determine true market valuations and fitting asset strategies, Rizzi says.

The Galleria is 96% occupied with a diverse mix of tenants including the Mens Warehouse, Gene Juarez Salons, Microsoft, and LA Fitness.

 

In its June 19th and 20th meetings, the Federal Open Market Committee discussed the extension of Operation Twist through year-end without much hint of additional monetary stimulus according to the FOMC minutes released today. One member disagreed with extending this program through the year-end with a dissenting vote. In addition, some members noted the risk that continued purchases of longer-term Treasury securities could, at some point, lead to deterioration in the function of the Treasury securities market which could undermine the intended effects of the policy. However, there was a general agreement that such risks were presently low.

The FOMC minutes also showed that strains in the global financial market pose a significant downside risk to the committee’s economic outlook and that fiscal policy continues to act as a drag on economic growth.

Read the minutes.

In November the trade deficit unexpectedly widened to its largest level since April due to a surge in imports. The November trade gap widened to $48.7 billion from 42.1 billion. The trade gap has remained under $43 billion for the past five months prior to November’s jump.



A small rise in exports was not enough to offset the surge of imports seen in November that pushed the deficit wider. Exports rose 1.0% in November to $183 billion. Imports, however surged 3.8% rising to $231 billion.

The real goods deficit, which is important for the calculation of GDP, rose 12.8% to $51.9 billion.

Read the Census report.

According to April’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices conducted by the Federal Reserve, domestic banks, on balance, reported having eased their lending standards and having experienced stronger demand in several loan categories over the past three months.

Tightening standards for prime mortgage loans decreased 7.8% and demand for the prime loans increased 39.1%. The subprime mortgage market still reported tightening. Both large and medium, as well as small firms said the C&I loan market tightening decrease by 19.1% and 23.1% respectively. Moreover, loan demand increased for both categories. Banks that eased their C&I lending policies generally cited increased competition for such loans as an important reason for having done so.

The survey is based on responses from 68 domestic banks and 21 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.

Read the Federal Reserve release.