| Volume 143 Number 99 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
When people who are in jail or prison want to call family and friends, they can only use official service providers for either collect or pre-paid calls. The per-minute charges for these calls can be costly. And that’s how scammers have found a way to take people’s money. Click here for more.
Home values surged over the summer
Homeowners saw their net worth rise over the summer as home values increased at a pace not seen since the market recovered from the Great Recession.
Zillow, an online real estate marketplace, reports that the typical home value increased in September to $259,906. The 0.8 percent increase over August was the largest since November 2005, at the peak of the housing bubble.
For the third quarter, the typical home value increased by 2.2 percent, the biggest jump since 2013. On a year-over-year basis, values were up 5.8 percent, the largest increase in two years, according to Zillow researchers. Click here for more.
Your Money
Not everyone relishes the idea of proactively managing money and maintaining a budget. However, creating a budget – and sticking to it – are key first steps toward reaching financial goals large and small. From old-school methods to the latest apps, here are 10 simple and free budgeting tools to keep your spending on track: Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Letter that provides notice of change in debt ownership may be actionable under FDCPA. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied a debt collector’s motion for summary judgment, holding that a letter which provides notice of a change in debt ownership and requests payments be remitted to the new owner qualifies as a communication related to a debt under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), which restricts how debt collectors can collect from debtors. The court noted that that a communication from a debt collector can have dual purposes, such as giving notice and demanding payment. VALENZUELA v. AXIOM ACQUISITION VENTURES, LLC Click here for more.