Business is booming, says Leslie H. Tayne, a Long Island attorney who specializes in consumer debt reduction and who just this month opened offices in White Plains and Mount Kisco.
While that is a positive sign for Tayne and her employees at Leslie H. Tayne P.C., it does not bode well for the many Westchester residents who have been struggling to pay off their personal debt, often on top of mortgage-related struggles.
While Tayne advertises that she will take on clients who have as little as $5,000 in outstanding personal debt, she said that the average debt among her clients is much higher ”“ as in, $80,000 higher. “Now I deal with high net-worth individuals and people who are struggling tremendously to deal with a limited cash flow,” she said.
Tayne, who runs a solo practice in Melville, said the move to Westchester County was prompted by high demand for consumer debt assistance in the area and represented a “natural progression” for her business.
“I recognized in the Westchester area ”¦ the real need among the middle-class to upper-middle class,” she said, pointing to deflated home values and diminished investment portfolios as major issues facing area residents.
At her practice, Tayne said she has increasingly seen business professionals, lawyers, doctors, and even business owners. Of the latter, Tayne said that many businesses are struggling to support day-to-day operations with the limited availability of credit, often leaving their owners to pay out-of-pocket for business-related expenses.
The biggest challenge Tayne said her clients face is a lack of financial literacy. In addition to working to reduce her clients”™ debt levels, she seeks to help them understand their finances, such as the relationship between credit scores and debt.
While she does not work in mortgage refinancing, Tayne said that getting clients”™ personal debt under control often enables them continue paying down their mortgages.
Currently, Tayne has seven employees, all at her Long Island office, and said she hopes to hire several employees within a year and as many as 10 employees over the next several years to staff her Westchester offices.
At both new offices, which are at 445 Hamilton Ave. in White Plains and at 100 S. Bedford Road in Mount Kisco, Tayne is leasing space from Stark Office Suites ”“ which she said hopes will be a permanent arrangement for her practice.
“Right now I consider the Stark business offices permanent for me. This is where I”™m going to stay.”