Seems that a lot of us, at least in Hawaii, are following old Hawaiian Telcom into Chapter 7, 11 and 13 lands. “A review of U.S. Bankruptcy Court filings shows there were 215 filings in November, the most in any month this year,” says this Honolulu Advertiser story. “That was a 72 percent increase from a year earlier.”
Indeed, this Honolulu Star-Bulletin story says the number of bankruptcies–virtually all Chapters 7 and 13–are at their highest level since 2005, and that was apparently a banner year because people wanted “to beat a new law… that made it more costly and difficult to file for bankruptcy.”
And we’re talking the entire state here, not just Honolulu: “Maui bankruptcy attorney David Cain reported he’s seen a big rise in business,” says the Advertiser, “and that some of his new clients include former real estate and mortgage brokers who overextended themselves during better economic times.”
Former real estate and mortgage brokers who overextended themselves? That could be half the island…
Anthony Pignataro 