Ventura County consumer bankruptcy filings jumped 122 percent last year as lenders toughened refinancing requirements, area bankruptcy attorneys say.

County residents filed 1,285 bankruptcies in 2007, up from 580 the previous year, according to data pulled for The Star by an analyst at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles.

Ventura County falls within the Central District, a seven-county region that reported all bankruptcy filings rose 91 percent, from 17,802 in 2006 to 34,028 in 2007. In comparison, the national average increased 37.8 percent over the same span.

The days of being able to "refinance away" problems, as has been a tradition in California, are over, said Michael Sment, chairman of the Ventura County Bar Association's Bankruptcy Section.

With lenders tightening standards to qualify for a loan amid the subprime mortgage meltdown, it's become increasingly difficult for homeowners to tap their equity to consolidate and reduce their debts.

Sment is seeing county residents with all sorts of problems coming into his office. He said they include people who have lost income as a result of downsizing at "a local big company," and people with unexpected tax liabilities after a foreclosure.

"It's a train wreck," said Louis J. Esbin, president of the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association. "We're seeing people who in the past may have been able to refinance their way out of debt, but now many lenders are out of business.

"Lenders now require proof of income, tax returns. No longer can a person who fogs a mirror get a loan."

What hasn't changed, lawyers say, are the types of troubles that typically lead to bankruptcy — lost jobs and unexpected calamities.

"We're seeing so many people coming through," Esbin said, "and when I say we're seeing, it's the greater whole through the bar association."

To deal with the rush, Esbin said, a self-help desk has been set up at the Woodland Hills bankruptcy courthouse to help people who cannot afford an attorney.

"The consumer bankruptcy lawyers group is really trying to reach out and help the community as much as possible," Esbin said.

The nation overall is expected to see 1.2 million to 1.4 million bankruptcies in 2008, a substantial increase over last year's 800,000 filings, said Jack Williams, resident scholar at the American Bankruptcy Institute.

"Bankruptcy filings tend to be a lagging economic indicator," Williams said.

The filings tend to erupt three to four quarters after the economy sours, he said.

"We see the economy slide, and then people take steps to manage their credit, slow purchasing, try to work out debt."

On the Net:

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