The Battle for Stuyvesant Town

The high profile case of Stuyvesant Town’s reversed rent control is at the forefront of the rent-controlled property struggle of many metropolitan areas. In 2006, Mayor Bloomberg helped fund the purchase of Stuyvesant Town for $5.4 billion dollars by Metropolitan Life, even providing them tax breaks.  These new owners set forth trying to turn many of the the11,277 apartments of Stuy, a rent-controlled property, into a luxury apartment complex. Residents suddenly paid $4,000 market rent rate a month when they had previously paid thousands less.

Residents countered that since Met Life had enjoyed a tax reduction and other public benefits, the attempt to raise rent remains illegal.  Their forthcoming class action lawsuit seeks to reinstate the rent stabilization and give damages amounting $300 million and allocate the rent overcharges. 

The Tishman Speyer realtors aren’t the only ones to lose big—the property has already depreciated to 1.99 billion dollars, deflated from its original $5.4 billion purchase.  Several investors funneled money into that purchase, including $500 million from CalPERS that’s already sunk to $100 million, as well as the real estate investment firm Capmark.  These real estate investors are hearing alarming rumors that the underlying realty company Tishman Speyer may default on a $3 billion dollar loan.

In an economy where a bloated “luxury” real estate market led to collapse, speculators worry that this default might force Tishman Speyer to file bankruptcy to avoid not just the owed damages but the depreciated value to investors.  Investment companies have a wide span of influence that can affect thousands of innocent renters and, eventually, homeowners who need to file bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure.  If you’ve been affected by the bloat of real estate investment with a huge rent spike, you may worry about eviction.  The automatic stay of bankruptcy can prevent eviction.   If you’d like to learn more about how bankruptcy can keep a roof over your head, please contact the bankruptcy consultants at Legal Helpers.  We provide a free initial bankruptcy consultation—call us today toll-free at 1-800-260-1402.

With the economy only just now beginning to look up a bit, it comes as no surprise that the personal bankruptcy totals for the first nine months in 2009 passed the 1 million mark. This is the highest those statistics have been in the last four years.

According to a figure from the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) this same time last year, personal bankruptcy claims were up 35% in 2008. Only 37.6% percent of those filing personal bankruptcy cited job loss as the reason. This year, that percentage is estimated to be significantly higher due to the fact that unemployment reached 9.8% in September 2009.

Are you struggling with your finances? Filing a personal bankruptcy may be the solution for you. Contact a skilled bankruptcy attorney by calling 800-260-1402 today. Don’t wait till things get further out of control to contact us for help. Take that first step now.   

According to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and the National Bankruptcy Research Center, the number of consumer bankruptcies filed has topped one million for the first three quarters of 2009, the highest numbers since the overhaul of the bankruptcy system in 2005. The ABI, an organization comprised of attorneys, accountants and other bankruptcy professionals, showed personal bankruptcy filings at 1,046,449 as of September 3, 2009. According to the institute’s data, this number is in comparison to 773,810 personal bankruptcy filings for the same period a year ago. September 2009 filings were 41% higher than those of September 2008, at 124,790.

The entire U.S. bankruptcy system was revamped four years ago to make it more difficult for people to discharge their debts by filing for personal bankruptcy. In that year, before the new laws took effect, 1.35 million Americans filed for bankruptcy during the first nine months.

However, this brutal economy has sent bankruptcy filings soaring again; the ABI expects personal bankruptcies to surpass 1.4 million by the end of 2009. "Bankruptcy filings continue to climb as consumers look to shelter themselves from the effects of rising unemployment rates and housing debt," the institute's Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano said in a Wall Street Journal article by Sara Murray.