Interest Rate

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Interest Rate on Tax Debts

Illinois Property Tax law provides an interest rate of 18% for tax debts where the debtor does not intend to redeem the property, even where the debt is owned by tax purchaser at the time of the debtor’s chapter 13 petition. In re Drake, No. 21-4903 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. Feb. 23, 2022).

The debtor failed to pay Illinois property taxes on her real property and Integrity Investment Fund, LLC, purchased the tax debt (“Sold Taxes”). Over the next few years, the debtor failed to pay the property taxes and Integrity, in accordance with its rights as the tax debt purchaser, paid the taxes (“Subsequent Taxes”) and added the amount to the debt. The debtor did not redeem the property by paying the delinquent tax debt as permitted by Illinois law. Instead, she filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy and proposed a plan under which she would pay off the debt of $30,711 at a 0.5% interest rate. Integrity objected to confirmation of the plan, arguing, in part, that the appropriate interest rate was 18% for the tax debts. The debtor objected to Integrity’s claim. [Read more…] about Interest Rate on Tax Debts

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Debtor May Pay Car Loan Outside Plan at 15% Interest Rate

The bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in confirming, over the trustee’s objection, a plan under which the chapter 13 debtor would pay her car loan outside the plan at the contractual interest rate of 15%. McDonald v. Chambers (In re Chambers), No. 19-10421 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 26, 2020).

The debtor had three loans with Dort Federal Credit Union (DFCU): a car loan, a credit card balance of approximately $1,500 and a cash loan of $1,000. She and DFCU compromised the two non-car loans to $2,000 which she proposed to pay through her plan. In addition, DFCU consented to her proposal to pay the car loan outside the plan at the 15% contractual interest rate. The trustee objected on the grounds that the interest rate exceeded the “prime plus” rate sanctioned in Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465 (2004), and would result in the car creditor receiving more than other unsecured creditors. The bankruptcy court confirmed the plan and the trustee appealed. [Read more…] about Debtor May Pay Car Loan Outside Plan at 15% Interest Rate

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Debtor may not modify default interest rate.

A “cure and maintain” plan permits deceleration of the loan but does not allow a debtor to return to the pre-default interest rate. Anderson v. Hancock (In re Hancock), No. 15-1505 (4th Cir. April 27, 2016).

The Andersons purchased residential property from the Hancocks, financed in the amount of $255,000 by the sellers. The Andersons signed a thirty year note agreeing to pay $1,368.90 per month including interest payments at 5%. In the event of a default, the note provided that the interest rate would increase to 7%. The note also entitled the Hancocks to accelerate the loan. When the Andersons defaulted on the loan, the Hancocks imposed the default interest rate, notified the Andersons of acceleration of the loan, and instituted foreclosure. The debtors filed chapter 13 bankruptcy proposing to cure the arrears and maintain payments at the 5% interest rate through the life of the plan. The Hancocks objected to the plan on two bases. First, they argued that the calculation of arrears was too low because it was based on the pre-default interest rate. Second, they maintained that all future payments on the loan should be at the 7% interest rate. [Read more…] about Debtor may not modify default interest rate.

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Court Gets it Wrong in Cure and Maintain Case

Contrary to the principle that “cure and maintain” permits a residential loan debtor to return to status quo ante, the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina found that while operation of section 1322(b)(5) reverses a loan acceleration, it does not reverse other contractual consequences of default; specifically an increased interest rate. In re Anderson, No. 13-5843 (Bankr. E.D. N.C. Sept. 5, 2014). [Read more…] about Court Gets it Wrong in Cure and Maintain Case

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Contract Interest Rate Only Through Confirmation

In First United Security Bank v. Garner, No. 11-10465 (11th Cir. Nov. 30, 2011) the court found that, under section 506(b), FUSB, an over-secured creditor, was entitled to receive post-petition interest at the contact rate of 10.5% until confirmation at which time the interest rate would drop to 4.25% as determined under the standard set forth in Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465 (2004). In so holding, the court relied on the Supreme Court’s statement in Rake v. Wade, 508 U.S. 464 (1993), that the temporal aspect of section 506(b) applies only from the date of filing to confirmation. The court additionally noted that the Second and Ninth Circuits have interpreted section 506(b) and the “cram-down” provision of section 1325(a)(5)(B)(ii) as allowing accrual of interest at the contract rate to continue only through confirmation.