Beware of predatory lenders

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After almost a decade in the real estate sales profession and dealing with countless lenders I came to the conclusion that the only way my clients would receive the honest high level of service I provided as a realtor was to handle the loan side of the process myself. I thought I knew a lot about loans but really had no idea of the details and nuances of the process before working in the business for the past 10 years.

Predatory lenders typically target what’s known as the non prime mortgage market, where people with blemished credit records try to borrow money for homes in less desirable neighborhoods, which means that it’s often minority groups, such as African-Americans and Latinos, who are the victims of predatory lending practices. .

California Mortgage Lenders and The Center for Responsible Lending describe a number of such practices. Some of them include loan flipping, in which the borrower is forced to refinance a loan, sometimes several times, solely for the purpose of generating new fees for the lending institution. Another common practice is insisting that borrowers also purchase such things as credit life insurance or other products–again, primarily designed to generate more income for the lender.

The bottom line is that there are lending institutions that make a great deal of money by charging extra fees to those borrowers who can least afford them, thereby either depriving those borrowers of the American dream of home ownership or, worse yet, setting them up for eventual foreclosure.

As the real estate market slows down and interest rates creep up, it’s more important than ever to become a knowledgeable consumer. Learn the basics of mortgage lending here from California Mortgage Lenders, so you’ll know when you’re being charged too much for a loan or for things you don’t need. Shop around to see what’s available, and then make sure you’re comfortable with your loan payment, because you’ll be paying that amount for many years.

Buying A Home After Bankruptcy

Carrie Reeder

If you have a recent bankruptcy and are looking to buy a home, be careful of unethical or predatory lenders. Whether you are looking online or offline for a mortgage lender, it is becoming increasingly more common that subprime lenders are taking advantage of bad credit borrowers.

Many lenders will take advantage of borrowers with recent bankruptcies and bad credit because they know that the borrowers loan options are limited. Sometimes these lenders will charge excessively high fees, extensive pre-payment penalties on the home or ask for a fee upfront to “process” the loan.

Here are some tips on applying for a mortgage loan after a bankruptcy:

Beware of the Lender Asking For a Fee Upfront – Anytime you are applying for a mortgage loan, the only fee you should ever have to pay is the application fee which covers the cost of the lender pulling your credit application. Some lending scams involve asking for a processing fee of hundreds to thousands to process the loan.

Compare Loan Offers – If you can compare from 3-4 mortgage application quotes then you will know what to expect the current interest rate for subprime mortgage loans to be. If you accept the first mortgage loan offer you have, you may be paying a much higher interest rate than what is reasonable for your credit history.

Get Closing Costs in Writing – Brokers know that if a borrower has bad credit, they are most likely going to be more concerned about getting a reasonable interest rate and just getting approved than making sure they get normal closing costs. This is where many lenders will ding the borrower with credit problems. They will sometimes charge excessive closing cost fees. Get the list of closing costs in writing ahead of time and then do research online to make sure that the costs are reasonable. If the costs are not, go back to the lender and tell them that the closing costs are too high and you will not go through with the loan until they are lowered to be what is normal. The broker will usually comply, because they don’t want the loan to fall through.

A Debt Management Plan Could Be Your Salvation

Although we as a society have become used to the potential pitfalls of irresponsible lending and borrowing, there are still countless people who have to face a situation where they are placed under extreme pressure to make repayments because unforeseen circumstances interfered with their ability to keep up with the account. If it appears that you are going to be among them, debt management can be the answer – however it is important to be able to differentiate between the debt management plans that work in your favor and those which are out to make a quick buck.

Debt management should, if done correctly, be a way of reducing the debt that you are required to pay by getting in contact with the credit lender and negotiating a stop to interest being placed on your account – along with an agreement not to place late payment fees. Additionally, this process can be paired with a concerted policy of credit repair where an expert will go through your credit file to find the unfair penalties applied and look to overturn them. This means that with time you may be able to borrow again in a situation where it becomes necessary.

Debt management is not ever going to be the most simple process. Banks are tricky to deal with when they feel that they are going to be able to get money out of you one way or another. Think before choosing your debt management partner. The right one can be your pathway to financial security – the wrong one could leave you even worse off.