Mortgage lenders must now pay the difference if a loan’s closing costs come in higher than they estimated, which means no more lowballing to lure customers. Facing new penalties if they lowball estimates of upfront mortgage costs, lenders and brokers appear to be coming clean about how much borrowers will pay. As a result, the [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Federal Housing Regulations, Lending Info, Market Update, Mortgage News, National Real Estate News on August 25th, 2010 | Comments Off
The folks at Esteemed Lending Services are out to teach people a lesson. Esteemed Lending isn’t a mortgage lender at all. It’s a fictitious company. If it existed, it might have taken a lot of people for a ride down the road to ruin. But it does live in cyberspace, where many scam artists lurk. [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Lending Info, Mortgage News, National Real Estate News on August 18th, 2010 | Comments Off
Reporting from Washington – Short sales have been the hot solution for financially stressed homeowners and their lenders for the last year, but here’s another potent foreclosure alternative that’s about to take center stage: deeds-in-lieu. Some of the largest mortgage servicers and lenders in the country are gearing up campaigns to reach out to borrowers [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Credit Scores, Economic Recovery, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Lending Info, loan modification, Mortgage News, Problem Solving, Refinancing on June 28th, 2010 | Comments Off
Reporting from Washington — New research suggests that buyers’ minds are so taxed after they go through the ordeal of finding a house that they often rush into the next step — applying for a loan — and make poor choices. Sometimes they opt for the first choice presented to them without regard to the [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, First-Time Homebuyers, Home Buying, Lending Info, Mortgage News, Mortgage Rates on June 11th, 2010 | Comments Off
By Kenneth R. Harney The Los Angeles Times If you plan to take out a mortgage or refinance any time soon, you might want to hear this blunt message from federal officials: Don’t fly blind. When you’re shopping among competing lenders for the best loan terms and fees, make sure you know which quotes come [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Federal Housing Regulations, Home Buying, Lending Info, Mortgage News, Mortgage Rates, National Real Estate News, Refinancing on March 1st, 2010 | Comments Off
Brent T. White, a University of Arizona law school professor, says that it’s in the homeowners’ best financial interest to stiff their lenders and that it’s not immoral to do so. By Kenneth R. Harney The Los Angeles Times Reporting from Washington – Go ahead. Break the chains. Stop paying on your mortgage if you [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Credit Scores, Economic Recovery, Federal Housing Regulations, FHA loans, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Housing Market Trends, Lending Info, loan modification, Market Update, Mortgage News, Refinancing on February 26th, 2010 | Comments Off
By Anthony Marguleas The Palisadian-Post The current financial crisis has had a tremendous effect on all aspects of people’s lives, and none more profound than buying and selling a home. In the past two years, I have seen a significant change in the way people react to the realities of buying and selling and to [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Economic Recovery, Home Buying on December 14th, 2009 | Comments Off
Knowing the age of your house will give you a rough idea of what kind of upkeep problems to expect. By Lew Sichelman The LA Times The typical American house is 34 years old. And given that households move every seven years or so, the average house is now just about ready for its fifth [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Home Buying, Home Inspections, Problem Solving on November 16th, 2009 | Comments Off
Months before a law takes effect that cracks down on abuses by credit card issuers, the bank increases interest rates to almost 30% on customers who pay their bills on time. By David Lazarus Ed Myska works as executive vice president of El Segundo’s Bank of Manhattan, so it’s pretty fair to say that he [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Economic Recovery on October 26th, 2009 | Comments Off
