The number of Chattanoogans going broke dropped for the fifth consecutive year in 2014 as lower interest rates and gasoline prices combined with higher home values and job prospects to help those in financial trouble.
But Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama still remain the top states for bankruptcy filings.
Last year, 5,882 individuals and businesses filed for bankruptcy protection in the Chattanooga office of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, down nearly 10 percent from the previous year and the lowest annual total since 2007 before the recession. Over the past five years, bankruptcy filings in Chattanooga have dropped by more than 30 percent.
“Sustained low interest rates and high costs to file continue to turn consumers and businesses away from the Bankruptcy Code for a financial fresh start,” said Samuel J. Gerdano, executive director for the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Bankruptcy filings also fell due to the drop in property foreclosures, which declined last year by 13 percent in Hamilton County from the previous year. Foreclosure filings against properties, which include default notices, bank repossessions or scheduled auctions, were down even more last year, according to the online real estate service RealtyTrac.