May 20, 2012 0
Over the past couple of days, a new possible excuse for the recession has been coming up here and there and it’s called the mark-to-market accounting rule, and not a lot of people know what it is. I had to look it up myself, and I’ll try my best to explain what it’s about.
May 18, 2012 0
A couple I know recently purchased a home costing $400,000. They weighed their options and felt that the best way to finance this is with an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM).
ARMs have taken a lot of criticisms for the mortgage crisis. With these loans like these, borrowers pay out at a low initial rate for a fixed period of time. After that, mortgages will defer to higher rates. Critics say they lure borrowers into purchases that they can’t really afford.
Continue reading How to Refinance – Are Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM) Bad?
May 17, 2012 0
At some point in time, you tend to ask yourself, who is in charge of protecting me from possibly bad mortgage business practices?
The Federal Trade Commission is the main government body that regulates the business of mortgage brokering. The FTC is tasked to enforce the basic consumer protection statute (found in Section 5(a) of the FTC act) that states that “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce … are … declared unlawful.” So in this case, your rights as a consumer are protected by the FTC and in turn, they watch over the business of mortgages.
States are also regulators for mortgage brokers. They issue licenses to brokers to allow them to run their businesses in their locality. In this sense, a lot of people who work on loans that pertain to mortgages and call themselves mortgage brokers really are not legally allowed to do so.
Further information about the regulators of the mortgage industry can be found on these websites:
www.CSBS.org
www.AARMR.org
www.namb.org
www.nabmb.org
May 13, 2012 0
Q. We have to relocate because of my husband’s job. Our home value has fallen nearly $100,000. We would like to get rid of it, but we don’t want to go into foreclosure. Someone mentioned a short sale. What impact would that have on our credit rating?
A. A short sale, in which you negotiate with the bank to sell your home for less than you owe on your mortgage, will have a dramatically negative affect on your credit.
A consumer who has been through a short sale could see a drop in her credit score of up to 200 points, essentially the same decrease as if the homeowner had gone into foreclosure. And like a foreclosure, the negative mark will pull down the score for seven years.
That said, if you’re underwater on your mortgage and you need to move, a short sale is a better option than foreclosure. Going through foreclosure will make it very difficult for you to get a loan for at least three to five years; if you’ve done a short sale, you may be able to qualify for a new mortgage within two years.
May 10, 2012 0
We have a mortgage for 10 years. It’s really hurting us. What can we do about it? We live on a very quiet neighborhood. We took out a home loan with a very optimistic term. Since we have very short terms, our the interest rates on our mortgage is quite low while our repayments are really high. We are considering to go for a refinancing scheme to avail of some lower interest rates but what can we do to make sure that this won’t hurt us in the long run?
