Since the start of the housing downturn, the number of Web sites and foreclosure-prevention companies claiming to offer help to struggling borrowers has greatly increased. While some of the businesses are legitimate, others are fraudulent and offer services that consumers may be eligible to receive “free of charge”.
KEEP THIS IN MIND
• This month, Fannie Mae – the government-sponsored entity that helps set lending standards for most mortgages—started a Web site, KnowYourOptions.com. The site contains elements distinguishing it from those aiming to prevent foreclosure. All of the information on the site is available in Spanish or English.
• KnowYourOptions.com provides video explanations of what users might accomplish in each of the tabbed section of the site. In the “Take Action” section, for example,” struggling homeowners are advised that the first step to take in seeking help with their mortgage is to contact their mortgage company.
• Other features of the site include contact information for mortgage companies and loan counselors, calculators to determine if the borrower is eligible for assistance, and information on commencing short sales or deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure.
• Another helpful Web site for consumers is Hope LoanPort, which allows struggling homeowners and housing counselors to submit financial documents to mortgage companies and track the status of their efforts to avoid foreclosure. Hope LoanPort was created by Hope Now, a consortium of 12 mortgage companies and 250 counseling agencies.
To read the full story, please click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/realestate/22mort.html?_r=1&ref=realestate
The Federal Reserve Board is proposing enhanced consumer protections and disclosures for home mortgage transactions. Changes proposed include significant changes to Regulation Z (Truth in Lending). The latest proposal would:
Improve the disclosures consumers receive for reverse mortgages and impose rules for reverse-mortgage advertising to ensure advertisements contain accurate and balanced information;
Prohibit certain unfair practices in the sale of financial products with reverse mortgages;
Improve the disclosures that explain a consumer’s right to rescind certain mortgage transactions and clarify the responsibilities of the creditor if a consumer exercises the right; and
Ensure that consumers receive new disclosures when the parties agree to modify the key terms of an existing closed-end mortgage loan.
The comment period ends 90 days after publication of the proposal in the Federal Register, which is expected shortly.
More info. http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/20100816e.htm
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced last week it is pushing back the implementation date for new premium structures on FHA-insured mortgages to Oct. 4 from the original date of Sept. 7.
Following FHA Commissioner David Stevens’ recent announcement that up-front premiums for FHA-insured mortgages would be reduced beginning Sept. 7 from 2.25 percent to 1 percent, lenders expressed concerns that they would need more than five weeks to update loan disclosures and computer systems.
FHA previously raised up-front premiums from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent in April to cope with rising losses on FHA-guaranteed loans. The Obama administration promised to reduce up-front premiums if Congress gave it the authority to raise annual premiums beyond their statutory limit of 0.55 percent. HR 5981, legislation raising the statutory limit on annual premiums to 1.55 percent, was approved by lawmakers on Aug. 4 and has been signed by President Obama.
More information at: http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/ver-1/HUD/federal_housing_administration/docs/BottStatementPremiumChanges.pdf
Facing the possibility of foreclosure, California homeowners may be hit with more than just losing their homes. Due to a loophole in state law, they also can be sued by their lender. To prevent this, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) is sponsoring Senate Bill 1178 by State Sen. Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), which will extend anti-deficiency protection for consumers who have refinanced their original mortgage loans and now are facing foreclosure.
KEEP THIS IN MIND
• Currently, if a homeowner defaults on a mortgage used to purchase his or her home — known as a “purchase money mortgage” — the homeowner’s liability on the mortgage is limited to the property itself. Unfortunately, the original law did not extend the purchase money protection to loans that refinance the original purchase debt, even if the refinance only was to obtain a lower interest rate.
• Californians who refinance a property currently do not have protection if they default on a mortgage greater than the property’s value. Called a “deficiency” liability, under current California law, the lender can sue the former homeowner for the amount of the deficiency even after taking back the property.
• Recent years of low interest rates and aggressive marketing campaigns by lenders have induced tens of thousands to refinance mortgages. Few homeowners realized that by refinancing their mortgage, they were forfeiting their protections and now are personally liable.
• C.A.R. created a video detailing Senate Bill 1178. The video can be viewed here.
To read the full story, please click here:
http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2010/05/17/daily8.html
Great information in this Article, By Emily Brenner
Have you found yourself in too much debt and feel there is no way out other than to file for bankruptcy? It may seem that there are no other answers, but please, don’t file bankruptcy! The new bankruptcy laws do not provide the kind of protection that the older laws provided, and the new bankruptcy laws make debt settlement a better option. Many people have never even heard of debt settlement, and many attorneys who specialize in bankruptcy won’t even tell you about this option, but there are definitely some good reasons to give it a try. I must reiterate – take a deep breath and don’t file bankruptcy.
So what is debt settlement? Well, for years now, the legal world has been participating in all types of settlements. A settlement is simply an agreement between two parties; there are property loss settlements between two parties when one of them destroys the property of another (as in a car crash, for example), divorce settlements between a husband and wife when the marriage ends, and so on. Well, there can also be debt settlements.
This is basically an agreement between you and your lender – your credit card company – or whoever it may be. Most banks and other lenders realize that once you start having these financial difficulties, they run the risk of never getting any money at all, so many are willing to negotiate new terms. There are even reputable professionals who specialize in taking on this burdensome task for you, and some will even serve as trustee and make the payments on your behalf each month after you send them an agreed-upon amount of money.
Debt settlements usually include a clause about not destroying your credit rating, but even if they don’t, the process doesn’t hurt your credit nearly as much as a bankruptcy. The new bankruptcy laws make debt settlement a better option for most people.
