Treinen Law Office, PC

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused business shutdowns.  It has caused reduced income for many Americans.  Stay-at-home orders have cleared traffic from roads across the country.  Eleven of the largest auto insurance companies say they will give back a portion of premiums to policyholders because they have fewer accidents to cover.  Other companies will likely follow. […]

In these difficult COVID-19 times, many are out of work or working fewer hours through no fault of their own.  Promised stimulus checks have been held up or will come too late.  Things are tight.  New Mexico has put in place protections for renters and consumers. Sheriffs have been directed to NOT serve eviction orders.  […]

Be wary of COVID-19 scams.  They are out there.  Many of the scams involve calls related to the stimulus checks issued by the federal government.  Scammers may try to get your confidential personal information or confidential banking information.  This information can be used to steal your identity, sell your confidential personal information on the dark […]

Under the CARES Act, banks and mortgage servicers must provide COVID-19 relief plans that allow homeowners to skip up to six months of payments.  The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, a federal agency charged with enforcing consumer rights, recently clarified that banks and mortgage servicers must report any mortgage that is in a COVID-19 Relief Plan […]

If you have a federal student loan, you can stop paying it at no penalty until September 2020.  If you are unsure whether the loan you have is a federal student loan, rather than a private student loan from a bank, please call us.  Sometimes it is hard to tell.  We are happy to help […]

In these COVID-19 times, many families will fall into financial trouble.  Many wage earners will not be working.  Since most New Mexican families do not have much in the bank to fall back on, and instead live paycheck to paycheck, they will not be able to make it without help.  Aware of these realities, the […]

In these COVID-19 times, it has become shockingly clear that we are all interconnected.  And that we do best when we help each other.  Stuck at home with our families, we are reminded that the little things are really the most important.  Cooking and eating together.  Art projects in the garage.  Going outside to experience […]

It has been a long time since the corner bank loaned locals money to buy a home, kept the loan in-house and then worked with families through hard times. In today’s world, loan originators bundle mortgage loans into investment vehicles composed of thousands of loans and sell those bundles to investment banks or hedge funds.  […]

This great Consumer Reports article explains the dangers for the marketplace that result from forced arbitration. https://www.consumerreports.org/mandatory-binding-arbitration/forced-arbitration-clause-for-concern/

When a bank wrongfully forecloses, or a car dealer passes off a wrecked car without disclosure, or a consumer gets trapped on a treadmill of debt due to predatory payday loans, often the whole family suffers.  Mom is worried about where the family will live.  Parents are afraid to transport their kids in a car […]