New York Law Blog

If you are ready to take the plunge into real estate investment, you may be wondering whether to start with residential or commercial properties. Perhaps you already own a residential investment and wonder about the benefits of adding commercial real estate to your portfolio.

You may already know how much variety there is in the commercial property world, and that makes it a smart way to invest. If you are considering branching out beyond residential ownership, you will want to begin by gaining as much information as possible about your options.

Debt is a way of life in the United States, and nearly 80 percent of people in New York and across the country carry some debt. You are likely among those who tread dangerously close to the edge each month while prices for necessities rise and your debt continues to climb.

If you have at least $38,000 in debt plus a mortgage, you are not alone. This is the average debt burden in America, and reports show that being in debt is now a lifetime status for most, beginning in the earliest years of adulthood and continuing well into the senior years.

He could not stand the pressure of the monthly note payments so he visited us for advice. We determined that he could not file chapter 7 bankruptcy because his house was worth too much. It appraised at $485,000 and he had paid down his mortgage to $63,000. That left $422,000 in equity. His wife owned half the house, so his share was worth $211,000, but he was entitled to a homestead exemption of only $165,000. That left $46,000 of equity that could not be protected. If we filed a chapter 7 case, the bankruptcy trustee would ask him to pay a lump-sum of $46,000, and if he could not pay it, the Trustee would sell the house.

Getting into debt is easy. A credit card purchase, a vacation, a medical emergency and before you realize it, you are unable to make your minimum payments. On the other hand, your money troubles may have hit you all at once following a job loss or divorce. While everyone's path to debt is different, many people in New York share the goal of getting out from under the burden of debt.

If you have sat down with your bills and attempted to organize a pay-off plan, you may have felt overwhelmed. Falling behind on certain bills, such as your taxes or your mortgage, can have serious and rapid consequences, but every delinquent bill comes with a cost. The trick is to choose a debt payment option that does not make matters worse for you.