Posts tagged as:

mortgages

Reverse Mortgages Threaten Seniors’ Wealth

October 9, 2009

A new report from the National Consumer Law Center explains in detail how “[a]buses and abusers from the subprime mortgage industry have begun showing up in the reverse mortgage market, putting at risk the equity and savings of millions of seniors.” (Report is here (pdf); press release is here (pdf).)
In the aftermath of the implosion [...]

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Reverse mortgages: trouble brewing

July 2, 2009

In recent years, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)– the main federal regulator of the nation’s biggest banks – has seemed concerned with consumer protection only when it was acting aggressively to protect “its” banks from the prospect of being sued by state attorneys general for their predatory practices.  The OCC pursued [...]

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Mortgage modification: what you can and cannot get

July 1, 2009

The government and the banks say consumers are getting mortgage modifications, while the numbers and consumer advocate say otherwise. Minnesota business lawyer Nathan Brandenburg took a stab at unraveling the confusion which may be part of the reason why consumers are not getting the modifications they want.
He points out two important features of the loan [...]

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Link roundup

May 14, 2009

Time to clean out my Google Reader queue.

How to complain about: credit report errors | The Red Tape Chronicles
Does it make sense to pay “points” upfront to lower your interest rate? Decoding the Mysterious Mortgage Points Game | Alpha Consumer
What’s The New Credit Card Reform Bill All About? | Consumerist
Stop fighting bankruptcy. When bankruptcy is [...]

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The banking industry hates America

April 30, 2009

Why would bankers oppose legislation that would save millions of homes and $300,000,000,000 of their money? They hate America. This is the only conclusion I can come to.
The “cramdown” legislation would have enabled bankruptcy judges to modify home mortgages, which they used to be able to do, anyway. In doing so, millions of homeowners would [...]

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48 hours left to save 1.7 million homes and $300 billion

April 28, 2009

The word from AFFIL’s Partners in Washington is that the Senate will vote on Thursday on judicial loan modifications.  Lifting the ban on these court-supervised modifications would save 1.7 million homes and $300 billion in home equity for neighbors of families facing foreclosure.  (For background info on judicial loan mods, see this previous post by [...]

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Chase sees the light, wants to rework 400,000 subprime mortgages

November 1, 2008

Chase announced a plan Friday to rework up to $70 billion in mortgages for borrowers who are already behind, but also for those who may soon be behind.
The move by the New York bank will cover as many as 400,000 borrowers. They’ll be moved into loans carrying lower interest rates, smaller principal amounts or other [...]

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Return of the Living Debt: How Lenders Enable Predatory “Zombie Debt” Collectors

August 18, 2008

Return of the Living Debt: How Lenders Enable Predatory “Zombie Debt” Collectors | The Mortgage Whistleblower

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In Pictures : Mortgage Guidelines Get Tough For All Borrower Types — Quickly

August 13, 2008

In Pictures : Mortgage Guidelines Get Tough For All Borrower Types — Quickly | Homes and Money

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Bush signs housing rescue law

July 30, 2008

“President enacts controversial measure that aims to help borrowers, bolster the housing market and provide a fail-safe for Fannie and Freddie.” Bush signs housing rescue law | CNN Money

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Bush Administration Considering A Takeover Of Freddie And Fanny

July 11, 2008

Bush Administration Considering A Takeover Of Freddie And Fanny | Consumerist

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Moody’s triple-A security ratings led to the subprime meltdown

April 28, 2008

NYT on how Moody’s triple-A security ratings led to the subprime meltdown. | crosspost: Consumerist

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Why few seem to be able to work out better loan terms

April 25, 2008

Call it what you will, the borrower bailout/rescue/whatever does not seem to be working. Foreclosures are still on the rise along with defaults and sad stories. And while those numbers go up, the economy continues to worsen.
This is not doing the banks any good, either. Banks lose a ton of money every time they have [...]

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The sub-prime market explained

March 13, 2008

This is at once quite funny and quite instructive.

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Attention: do not take out a 9-year auto loan (for crying out loud)!

March 5, 2008

Lenders around the country are apparently offering 9-year auto loans mortgages. I am willing to make a sizable wager that 90% or more of the people who take out a 9-year auto loan will be upside-down on their loan when they trade in their whip for a shiny new one.
[photo: Kerry A Adamo]
P.S., I am [...]

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Sure you owe somebody for your mortgage loan, but who?

February 27, 2008

Sure you owe somebody for your mortgage loan, but who? Since lenders buy and sell loans so frequently, many are unable to prove they own the loans they hold, resulting in as much as $2.1 trillion in “orphan” loans. Says former foreclosure victim Joe Lents: “If you’re going to take my house away from me, [...]

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Attention homeowners: your lender can help you avoid foreclosure

January 31, 2008

[Consumer Law & Policy Blog crosspost]
According to a Freddie Mac study, 57% of homeowners are unaware of the workout options that could help them avoid foreclosure. And this is an improvement, up from 61% in 2005. Will the lender actually work something out? It’s worth a try, and lenders do know that allowing a house [...]

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New financial plan: walk away from your mortgage

January 29, 2008

I am torn. I don’t know whether I should post this link or hope it dwindles into obscurity (unlikely). The website says it all:

You Walk Away promises to help homeowners walk away from their current mortgage with no debt, no strings, and says ballsy things like this:
You will immediately know the exact amount of days [...]

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What the Fed rate cut means

January 22, 2008

This morning, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors made an “emergency” rate cut today of .75% to the federal funds rate. (Federal Reserve press release.) The Fed, in addition to everyone else, seems to be worried about the state of the economy and the potential for recession.
But what does this really mean? If you already [...]

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Closing documents may be requested prior to closing

December 13, 2007

A colleague who recently purchased a home passed along the following:

When I purchased my home this summer, I contacted my mortgage consultant about one month in advance and told her that I wanted to see all my loan documents prior to closing so that I could read them over. [ . . . S]he told [...]

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