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Qualifying for a Mortgage Is Getting Tougher »

Borrowing for a home has been tough ever since the subprime securitized loan market collapsed a couple years ago.  Without government help through the FHA, many such loans would not be made right now.
But although the government is backing FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and shoring up the mortgage market by backing many of [...]

Foreclosure Litigation is No Miracle »

There are realistic hopes with foreclosure litigation.  It can stall a foreclosure and lead to an affordable resolution. 
There are also unrealistic hopes.  A deceptive adjustable rate mortgage doesn’t hurt you if you can’t pay the original payment.  An unenforceable retroactive assignment probably won’t help you if your foreclosure begins after the date of the assignment.  [...]

Common Sense v. Legal Sense: You Can’t Get Refinanced? Guess Who Got A New Second Mortgage? O.J. Simpson »

Washington Mutual’s history of reckless lending and predatory tactics doomed the 119 year institution to failure in 2008. WaMu specialized in subprime home loans and more than 1/3 of WaMu subprime loans failed.

Daily Interest Mortgage Loans Are Dangerous »

Daily interest mortgage loans can cause the loss of your home.

Landmark Decision Creates Foreclosure Defense in Kansas »

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in Landmark National Bank v. Kesler, 2009 Kan. LEXIS 834, that MERS, a company designated as nominee on millions of real estate security instruments, has no standing and can not initiate or maintain an action to foreclose a defaulted loan.  A private company, MERS was created by a combination of [...]

Mortgage Modification: Watch Out for Bad Terms in Fine Print »

Read those loan modification documents!  All the fine print, every page.  Take your time and make sure you understand exactly the terms of the modified loan.  Watch out for bad terms in the fine print.
Clients Joe and Mary were shocked to learn recently that the loan modification they had succeeded in getting was not the [...]

Resist the Offer of a Debit Card That Draws on Your HELOC »

Lenders have come up with a lot of products that have turned out to be bad news for consumers-exploding ARMS, payment option loans, just to name a couple-but the one I heard about this weekend may have far greater negative potential for consumers than any of the others.  Bank of America is offering some of [...]

New Rules To Prevent Inflated Appraisals »

I recently wrote about evils of inflated appraisals.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have proposed new rules for appraisals, effective May 1, 2009, called the “Home Value Code of Conduct.”  They are applicable to “conventional” or “conforming” loans intended for resale to those agencies.
Among the provisions is a requirement that only lenders may order appraisals, and not [...]

Debt Cures: Does Kevin Trudeau Make Money or Sense? Part 9: Homeownership »

Part 9 of my review of Kevin Trudeau’s book, “Debt Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know” examines Chapter 14:  Home is Where the Start Is.   The purpose of the review is to examine whether Trudeau,  who has had extensive involvement with credit card fraud and the Federal Trade Commission for some of his previous books, makes [...]

Inflated Appraisals »

Inflated appraisals are one of the many abuses of predatory lending.  Lenders and brokers earn more from higher loans, which are based on inflated appraisals, because of the commissions, fees, and interest.  Even the borrower benefits in the short term from borrowing more than otherwise would be, or should be, available.  But things can go south in a hurry.
Consider [...]

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