Ferdie Frederic asked:




As of Monday July 14th, 2008, the government has passed new laws which cause a decent amount of change within the mortgage industry and how these companies give out loans to homeowners. Even though they were passed on Monday, these rules wont take effect until October 2009 to give time for companies to transition to the new set of standards.

The concept being birthed in 2007, was in response to the treatment homeowners were facing from mortgage companies and to the foreclosure crisis that took place. It has been stated that the basis for these new rules are to protect future home buyers from mortgage companies.

The Foreclosure Crisis
Within the late 2006, the housing industry felt a large blow when a mass amount of foreclosures occurred due to rates on mortgages and also because of the fact that many of the new loans were made to individuals with either bad credit or too low of an income.

Experts believe that the basis for so many of these home loans being in place was the fact that many homeowners thought they could reap benefits when refinancing later on. Even though, their ideology failed because with the interest rates reset higher, refinancing was hard to come by which led to approximately a million foreclosures.

Mortgage lenders, banks and other financial institutions felt the impact dramatically reporting 100′s of billion dollars in losses. Not only was the housing industry devastated, but the US economy in a whole was also rocked by the housing crisis. These issues led to the US Federal Reserve cutting down interest rates and to the creation of the economic stimulus package which was passed by the government in 2008 to help offset debt and to spur on economic growth and instill belief in the US economy.

The Economic Stimulus Package
The Economic Stimulus Package of 2008 was passed in order to restore good faith within the economy. Its main purpose was to provide assistance to low and middle income citizens. From the economic stimulus package, all recipients were set to receive at least $300 and an extra $300 per dependent under the age of 17. The maximum pay that a person would receive would be no more that $600. Any individuals with an annual income over $75,000 would not receive any monetary funds except for those who had qualifying children.

In addition to citizens, the law also applied to businesses offered them certain tax incentives. Those include tax deductions on eqiupment meant to improve ones business and an increase in how much a business can deduct in business expenses.

In an article by James Temple from SF Gate he lists several key changes in mortgage practices that was just passed on Monday.

General Mortgage Rules:
- Prohibit creditors and mortgage brokers from coercing appraisers into misstating a home’s value.
- Require additional information about rates, monthly payments and other loan features in all advertising.
- Ban seven deceptive or misleading advertising practices, including calling a rate or payment “fixed” when it can change.

Lending Rules For Higher Priced Subprime Loans:
- Force lenders to consider a borrower’s ability to repay loans from income and assets other than the home’s value.
- Require lenders to document a borrower’s income and assets.
- Ban penalties for borrowers who pay off loans early, if the payment can change in the first four years. In certain cases, a prepayment penalty period can’t exceed two years.
- Mandate that creditors ensure certain borrowers set aside money to pay for property taxes and insurance, by establishing escrow accounts.

In reference to the new mortgage rules, many claim that these rules will assist many homeowners and aspiring homeowners from companies that prey on them to make a profit despite the views on their practices are questionable. Yet with this belief intact, many individuals still hold firm in their opinion that these rules are just a tip of the iceberg and much more needs to be done within the housing industry and in relation to some of the illegal practices carried on by some of the lending companies.

Judith

mmflint asked:

news.yahoo.com They warned us, but US eased loan rules By Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press WASHINGTON The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents. “Expect fallout, expect foreclosures, expect horror stories,” California mortgage lender Paris Welch wrote to US regulators in January 2006, about one year before the housing implosion cost her a job. Bowing to aggressive lobbying — along with assurances from banks that the troubled mortgages were OK — regulators delayed action for nearly one year. By the time new rules were released late in 2006, the toughest of the proposed provisions were gone and the meltdown was under way. More pissed off every day at www.michaelmoore.com

Christine

Ferdie Frederic asked:


As of Monday July 14th, 2008, the government has passed new laws which cause a decent amount of change within the mortgage industry and how these companies give out loans to homeowners. Even though they were passed on Monday, these rules wont take effect until October 2009 to give time for companies to transition to the new set of standards.

The concept being birthed in 2007, was in response to the treatment homeowners were facing from mortgage companies and to the foreclosure crisis that took place. It has been stated that the basis for these new rules are to protect future home buyers from mortgage companies.

The Foreclosure Crisis

Within the late 2006, the housing industry felt a large blow when a mass amount of foreclosures occurred due to rates on mortgages and also because of the fact that many of the new loans were made to individuals with either bad credit or too low of an income.

Experts believe that the basis for so many of these home loans being in place was the fact that many homeowners thought they could reap benefits when refinancing later on. Even though, their ideology failed because with the interest rates reset higher, refinancing was hard to come by which led to approximately a million foreclosures.

Mortgage lenders, banks and other financial institutions felt the impact dramatically reporting 100′s of billion dollars in losses. Not only was the housing industry devastated, but the US economy in a whole was also rocked by the housing crisis. These issues led to the US Federal Reserve cutting down interest rates and to the creation of the economic stimulus package which was passed by the government in 2008 to help offset debt and to spur on economic growth and instill belief in the US economy.

The Economic Stimulus Package

The Economic Stimulus Package of 2008 was passed in order to restore good faith within the economy. Its main purpose was to provide assistance to low and middle income citizens. From the economic stimulus package, all recipients were set to receive at least $300 and an extra $300 per dependent under the age of 17. The maximum pay that a person would receive would be no more that $600. Any individuals with an annual income over $75,000 would not receive any monetary funds except for those who had qualifying children.

In addition to citizens, the law also applied to businesses offered them certain tax incentives. Those include tax deductions on eqiupment meant to improve ones business and an increase in how much a business can deduct in business expenses.

In an article by James Temple from SF Gate he lists several key changes in mortgage practices that was just passed on Monday.

General Mortgage Rules:

- Prohibit creditors and mortgage brokers from coercing appraisers into misstating a home’s value.

- Require additional information about rates, monthly payments and other loan features in all advertising.

- Ban seven deceptive or misleading advertising practices, including calling a rate or payment “fixed” when it can change.

Lending Rules For Higher Priced Subprime Loans:

- Force lenders to consider a borrower’s ability to repay loans from income and assets other than the home’s value.

- Require lenders to document a borrower’s income and assets.

- Ban penalties for borrowers who pay off loans early, if the payment can change in the first four years. In certain cases, a prepayment penalty period can’t exceed two years.

- Mandate that creditors ensure certain borrowers set aside money to pay for property taxes and insurance, by establishing escrow accounts.

In reference to the new mortgage rules, many claim that these rules will assist many homeowners and aspiring homeowners from companies that prey on them to make a profit despite the views on their practices are questionable. Yet with this belief intact, many individuals still hold firm in their opinion that these rules are just a tip of the iceberg and much more needs to be done within the housing industry and in relation to some of the illegal practices carried on by some of the lending companies.



MICHEL

Tomas Boyer asked:


Lenders assign you a credit score any time you apply for credit. This is there way of them determining whether you are a likely candidate to give credit to, or not.

The credit score is a 3 digit number, typically in the range of 300 to 850. At the low end 300 means you have very bad credit and would be unlikely to receive a loan, and on the other end of the scale a credit score of 850 would have the lender salivating at the opportunity to loan you a heap of money.

Although there is no hard and fast rule about the way the credit score is calculated (and indeed many institutions have their own formula’s which are adapted from the standard way of calculating) here is a general guide to how it is determined (these figures are approximate).

35% of your score will be based on how on time your payments are (or how late they are/have been).

30% of your score will be based on the total amount of debt you currently have versus how much available credit you have. You would add up the total balances of all your debt to get the first figure, and then add up the total credit limits of your cards, and other loans to get the second figure.

15% of your score will be based on the amount of credit history on file.

10% of your score will be based on the type of credit (this area is a little vague and can be adapted by each lender).

10% of your score will be based on the amount of credit recently obtained and/or the number of recent applications for credit.

Again, these figures are a rough guide and there would also be a number of overrides built into the systems by each lender. For example if you had a number of very overdue payments this could drop your score well over 35%. Also things like bankruptcy, foreclosures, and judgments would dramatically decrease your score.

There would normally be a process where the lender would enter your details into their computer system and if the score came out lower than the minimal they have decided on for a particular loan, your application would get rejected.

When considering a poor credit home loans; we suggest you do some careful research first.

So what can you do to improve a bad credit rating?

1. If not already doing so, ensure you are making all payments on time, or even a little early. Paying a little extra can also help in some cases.

2. Get any judgements you may have on your credit report for unpaid accounts sorted out. Either pay the account, which will in some cases get the item removed from your credit report (if it is not removed, at least the lender will see that it has been paid), or double check it is correct (sometimes incorrect information gets put onto your report). It is sometimes possible to get your credit repaired by using a credit repair company. Be sure to do your homework and find reputable companies.

3. Cut down the amount of applications you are making for credit.

4. Consolidate your debts. For example if you have three items of credit, get rid of two of them, and just use one.

Or get the credit limits reduced on your credit cards. Sometimes a lender will look at the total amount of credit you have available and decide not to loan you money because that number is two high! Reducing your credit limits on each card, or reducing the number of cards would assist here. Unfortunately this can sometimes work against you as well, if the lender believes you have done this purely to obtain the loan.

5. Savings – Sometimes, showing a decent amount of money you have saved over a period of time will give the lender confidence in your ability to manage money.

6. If you have overdue accounts now, get them current now, and contact your creditors immediately to discuss – Don’t wait till the situation gets worse.

The problem of a bad credit rating does not go away quickly of it’s own account (generally an item on your credit report can last up to seven years), so prevention i.e. the best cure is paying your accounts on time.

If you are stuck with a bad credit rating now and need a loan, there are bad credit lenders who specialize in lending funds to people in your situation. Usually you will pay a higher interest rate but this can be an excellent way to start improving your credit score.



ANDREA

Ki Gray asked:


The White House has recently unveiled a plan to help mitigate the wave of foreclosures that have recently swept the US as reports continue to predict that an even greater number (some estimate as much as 2 million) of Americans are likely to default within the next year.

This plan involves the major US lending companies making an agreement to freeze the relatively low “teaser” interest rates that many Adjustable Rate Mortages are set up with, instead of allowing them to reset at their regular time, usually two years from the loan’s issue.

These subprime loans have an artificially low introductory rate of between 7 and 9 or more after the grace period, which many real estate owners have been unable to cope with in recent months, sending shockwaves through global markets as investors in mortage-backed securites have been spooked. As their loans have defaulted, the bonds that have been repackaged and sold have become basically worthless.

Bush’s talks with mortage companies have been concerned with solving both aspects of this problem by extending the introductory rates to a select cross-section of subprime borrowers, thus preserving some of the cashflow supposedly guaranteed to those investors who believed the AAA bond rating for the securities into which these mortages have been sold off. Since the cost of a forclosure is often over $50,000, the investors have little choice if they want to salvage any of their investment.

However, the standards used to judge which borrowers qualify for the rate freeze have been left (some say intentionally) vague. They have stated that those who are already in danger of default will be given no assistance, as well as those who can afford to pay their mortages at the increased rates. What is unclear is how the lenders will determine who is able to pay.

Those who fall into the middle bracket, or who are likely to default at some point if rates increase but who are able to make their payments now, are the targeted borrowers for the freeze, which is proported to last from two to five years past the date at which the rate would normally reset. Therefore, some foreclosures are still guaranteed, but the specter of falling property values, which threaten to send the entire US economy into a tailspin, will hopefully be offset somewhat.

Many economists have recognized the mortage-related woes as a necessary reassessment of the American economy. In combination with the falling dollar, recent developments in this crisis make it clear that the housing market of the US has artificially inflated for years, which would have to be corrected somehow anyway. And, while this scenario is relatively unpleasant, the US has had unsustainably high levels of consumer spending, coupled with the lowest percentage of consumer saving in three decades.

These statistics point towards a reckless tendancy of many Americans to spend because the economy will always grow. While this assumption has helped industrialize the world through American spending, it may do harm in the long run. With any luck, the real estate landing will be softened and Americans will be more apt to work with their lenders. If not, it may just encourage more recklessness by the government’s taking responsibility for the market’s woes. Only time will tell.



BARTON