tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22149027177011985562009-02-03T12:15:50.638-05:00Welcome to the Blog of the Law Office of Stephen M. Otto, LLC. To contact us, please call our office at 1-800-741-8469 or email us at <a href="mailto:info@sottolaw.com">info@sottolaw.com</a> or <a href="http://www.sottolaw.com">click here to visit our main website.</a>Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-28538687207217075402009-02-03T12:05:00.004-05:002009-02-03T12:15:26.711-05:00

Law Office of Stephen M. Otto LLC is in the process of a web presence overhaul. Please visit our new website at sottolaw.com. The development on Sottolaw.com and the linked "practice area" sites has supplanted the need to update this blog; therefore, please check Sottolaw.com for all future updates.

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-10580555593313940192008-10-27T11:15:00.003-05:002008-10-27T11:23:30.749-05:00

On Sunday October 26th, Bank of America ran an ad in the New York Times which claims the company will be offering $11 billion in mortgage loan payment reductions for "customers in trouble". They are hoping that these funds will enable over $100 billion in loan modifications resulting in "630,000 borrowers" remaining "in their homes". Let's hope that this boils down to real relief for

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-13698942466617502542008-02-08T17:22:00.001-05:002008-02-29T07:01:36.870-05:00

There seems to be much confusion among consumers in Pennsylvania with regard to the right of creditors or debt collectors to cause wages to be garnished for the payment of past due obligations. This may be due to the fact that Pennsylvania is one out of only a handful of states that have thus far thwarted the strong creditor lobby in favor of wage garnishment laws. There are two fundamental facts

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-16243754956872337642008-01-23T01:42:00.000-05:002008-01-23T01:50:40.313-05:00

As a joint venture between Attorney Amy Good-Ashman and the Law Office of Stephen M. Otto LLC, a new website has been launched with the goal of educating Pennsylvania consumers regarding their rights vis-a-vis aggressive debt collectors and debt buyers. The site is called "Abusive Debt Collection in Pennsylvania". Please feel free to visit! Amy Good-Ashman earned a Bachelor of Science in

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-24509754706343731022008-01-20T21:50:00.000-05:002008-01-20T22:05:07.451-05:00

Contrary to much of the negative static that has been circulating about the state of the economy since the beginning of 2008, bankruptcy debtors have received one bit of good news -- the United States Trustee has announced a suspension of the audit program, as reported by Jill Michaux. Debtor audits have been subject to harsh criticism due to their perceived lack of utility and the fact that

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-85474918986212662972007-11-21T10:37:00.000-05:002007-11-21T10:59:35.251-05:00

Recently, I posted about the varying procedures employed by Pennsylvania bankruptcy judges on Bankruptcy Law Network. Bankruptcy Law Network ("BLN") is a collaborative legal information site which I started with several other bankruptcy attorneys. The federal judiciary in Pennsylvania is divided into three separate and distinct Districts. Each District has its own post on BLN to describes the

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-91766152415931544432007-09-20T14:21:00.000-05:002007-09-20T14:40:29.609-05:00

The Law Office of Stephen M. Otto LLC is not limited to serving the Sewickley Valley. We are committed to providing conscientious bankruptcy assistance to individuals in Beaver County, including Ambridge, Baden, Conway, Freedom, Rochester, Beaver, Chippewa, Beaver Falls, Darlington, Midland, Koppel, Aliquippa, Hopewell, Monaca etc. We are also available to assist those in Allegheny County.

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-50408869734180214092007-09-19T19:22:00.000-05:002007-09-19T19:40:15.718-05:00

Law Office of Stephen M. Otto, LLC has relocated its main office Suite 270 of The Car Barn Shops Building, 409 Broad Street, Sewickley, Pennsylvania 15143. Formerly, the office was located in Suite 260 of the same building. The move represents a significant expansion in terms of available space for office operations. The firm will continue to represent exclusively consumers in several practice

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-53287981795446184622007-09-19T19:21:00.001-05:002007-09-19T19:21:38.680-05:00

IMAGE MASTERS, INC, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania mortgage brokerage files for chapter 7 bankruptcy. The filing is of concern to consumers due to a service offered by the company called the "Equity Slide/Wrap-Around-Mortgage program". Evidently, this program caused the brokerage to act as a middleman between the consumer and the mortgage servicer.read more | digg story

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-10259896344158501012007-08-04T18:14:00.001-05:002007-08-04T18:14:18.337-05:00

Easy credit has been the economy's lifeblood in recent years. It gave people who previously couldn't afford homes a crack at the American dream. It fueled multibillion-dollar takeovers of some of corporate America's biggest names. It buoyed the stock market and propped up the prices of many other assets.read more | digg story

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-59688020733849118492007-08-04T18:08:00.001-05:002007-08-04T18:08:56.686-05:00

It's easy to forget that despite infuriating scripts and adherence to dogmatic corporate policies, CSRs are real people. A former call center worker wrote in to describe the extraordinary pressure CSRs feel from management to keep customers from canceling their accounts...read more | digg story

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-60954106831893753262007-08-04T18:07:00.001-05:002007-08-04T18:07:51.581-05:00

"Every dollar you spend has consequences elsewhere in your life. Remembering that will change the ways you spend and save."read more | digg story

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-26762804797012799592007-08-04T18:06:00.001-05:002007-08-04T18:06:41.735-05:00

Eleven years ago, researchers discovered a quirk in consumers’ thinking about prices: they acted as if low digits were farther apart than higher ones. For example, consumers behaved as if there were more of a gap between three and four than between eight and nine.read more | digg story

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-51708600837785039052007-08-04T18:03:00.001-05:002007-08-04T18:03:47.123-05:00

Economists disagree whether soaring foreclosures in California suggest the world's eighth-largest economy is poised to slump or if it is just seeing its share of disarray from the subprime segment of the mortgage lending industry.read more | digg story

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-17752464520941967362007-08-04T18:02:00.001-05:002007-08-04T18:02:33.215-05:00

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday against Hurricane Katrina victims who argued their insurance policies should have covered flood damage caused by levee breaches that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans. policies did not distinguish between floods caused by an act of God — such as excessive rainfall — and floods caused by an act of man.read more | digg story

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-2627047940721244592007-03-12T18:33:00.001-05:002007-03-12T19:06:17.745-05:00

Homeowners facing foreclosure in Colorado now have a foreclosure assistance hotline available to them. The hotline promises to offer professional counseling to those under financial duress and will direct these consumers to appropriate resources.Check out the digg story or go directly to Brian Methner's March 12th post on Bankruptcylawnetwork.com. read more digg story

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-33566465694188054032007-03-12T18:11:00.001-05:002007-03-12T18:11:05.417-05:00

Students can consolidate student loans to relieve the pressure of having multiple loans, large monthly payments and higher interest rates. Many students and graduates that have student loans look to consolidation in order to make them more manageable.read more | digg story

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-29313391662881368042007-01-17T09:03:00.000-05:002007-01-17T09:22:40.763-05:00

Credit Card Debt is related to Medical Debt and the need for health related expenditures, according to a new study. The study is entitled "Borrowing to Stay Healthy" and was conducted by an organization called "The Access Project". Click here to view the study. Check out The Access Project's home page.

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-85278798808900946762007-01-16T00:03:00.000-05:002007-01-16T00:04:50.615-05:00

If you need to find what the IRS has on file for you, I have the ability to obtain your file from the IRS literally within minutes (in most cases) using a special hotline and my personal "CAF" number. Please contact me for more information.

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-50484266775264601422007-01-15T23:50:00.000-05:002007-01-16T00:01:18.476-05:00

If you feel that you are the victim of "predatory" mortgage servicing, you need to do something about it. Do the numbers on your statement just not add up? Are you receiving letters from your mortgage company indicating that you are in default, when you know that you have made every required payment in a timely basis? Have you been served with legal process related to your mortgage, but the

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-78702994582538424212007-01-15T23:47:00.000-05:002007-01-15T23:48:34.067-05:00

Complications arising from merger between Bank of America, MBNA, etc. Some of you may not be aware that Bank of America and MBNA merged. In order to fully execute the merger, the two companies have been trying to integrate their very enormous and complex computer systems which track all of their consumer credit card accounts. Unfortunately, there have been serious problems with the new system.

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-45786790338245399942007-01-15T19:45:00.000-05:002007-01-15T21:39:23.672-05:00

Consumers need to recognize that the company which accepts their mortgage payments is emphatically not the same company that owns their mortgage. Typically, as soon as the borrower becomes committed to the mortgage loan , the loan is sold into a "securitized trust". The securitized trust is filled with other similar loans. The trust is held and maintained by a trustee on behalf of far-flung

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902717701198556.post-35430677687390914682007-01-15T11:33:00.000-05:002007-01-15T11:43:21.606-05:00

I intend to dedicate this Web Log to the developments in the law (and in society) which affect us as citizens of the United States and as members of our communities. Abstract theories will be eschewed in favor of plain language explanations and commentary highlighting practical applications.Special attention will be given to issues related to mortgage accounting, predatory lending, abusive debt

Stephen M. Otto, Esquirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17016023010412340359noreply@blogger.com0