John James Roberts asked:




The lending business has gone through an evolution over the past few years and many changes have been implemented to improve options for the homeowners. Even though excellent mortgages are offered today, there are now new forms of fraudulent practices surfacing as well. This becomes a hazard to the unsuspecting homeowner who ends up with a “toxic” mortgage.

Fraudulent practices usually begin as soon as the lender or bank approves your mortgage, and you pay the initial payment. As time goes by either your interest rate will change a higher rate than you had ever agreed on or you cannot make the payments on your house because you were approved for a loan outside of your current earning ceiling.

This is where a forensic loan audit comes into play. If you suspect your current home loan has been modified, there are inconsistencies or violations, or some supporting documents are missing, you may have a case of predatory lending.

You would want to get in touch with a forensic loan auditing company who will perform a soft preliminary soft audit that overviews your loan situation for any signs of predatory lending. If it is successful, you will undergo a full, in-depth forensic loan audit. From there the process becomes a series of legal steps, but your goal outcome could be a stalled or stopped foreclosure, lower, secured interest rate or lower monthly payments.

Right now, more and more homeowners are in a tight spot with their mortgages and now homeowners now have protection from predatory lending. If you have any reason to believe you may be a victim of predatory lending, consider starting the forensic loan audit process.

Ron

Gabriel J. Adams asked:




The HPLR mortgage program, available through your credit union, is just one more of the many ways your credit union is serving its members. HPLR stands for Home Loan Payment Relief, and is referred to as the “Helper” Loan program. Once you understand what it actually offers, you’ll see why the name is appropriate. The HPLR program is specifically for those first-time home buyers who are buying a residence they will live in themselves. HLPR loans can be used on single family homes, duplexes, condos, or even co-op properties. These loans are available to families whose median income is less than the median income in the geographic area in which they are buying a home. And sometimes, that limit is extended to a higher level in areas where it’s known to be much more expensive to live.

All the details of this program are available by accessing the link at http://www.cuna.org/initiatives/hlpr/hlpr_borrower.html. There is an extensive amount of information on the program at that site as well as a message from Dan Mica, Credit Union National Association’s president. (CUNA is Credit Union National Association).
To quote Mr. Mica, “Owning your own home is part of the American dream, and for too many low and moderate income families, it’s becoming increasingly hard to reach. The gap between the incomes of average families and the affordability of a first home is a problem. Credit unions believe the HLPR mortgage is an innovative solution that will narrow the gap.”

As usual, credits unions are living up to their stated purposes in offering these loans. They are aware that many first time home buyers would be priced out of the market today with out a program like HLPR. Using this program, first time home buyers can expect to realize savings of $1000-$2000 a year on their mortgage payments. Larger loans may be offered under a HLPR program than with conventional financing, too. That is, lenders may be willing to lend a larger percentage of the home’s value under the HLPR program.

HLPR loans are three-year adjustable rate mortgages. Generally, first time home buyers are people who will find their incomes also going up slowly over time. Further, the initial down payment buyers must make on a HLPR mortgage is only 3%—a far more manageable sum than the 10-20% required to obtain more traditional financing. Even better, the loan can go up only one percentage point a year, and is capped at only a 5% increase for the life of the loan.

First time home buyers are, by definition, new at understanding how home financing works. There are any number of mortgage programs in the marketplace which are far less advantageous to the novice home owner than the HLPR program. Some of these loans may increase far more quickly, or have far less favorable interest rate caps over the life of the loan. Sometimes mortgage lenders tempt first-time home buyers with interest only loans. Imagine the surprise and shock of some of these buyers when they realize they have not been paying down on the principle of the loan, and have been paying literally ONLY the interest owed on the money borrowed. Sure, the payments are lower, but you are not actually gaining any equity position over and above home appreciation.

This may seem like one of those “too good to be true” financial fairy-tales you may hear about from time to time. But it actually is as good as it sounds, and it is true. Credit Unions are committed to help this segment of their membership become home owners. It’s actually that simple. Think about it this way: if you, the consumer, find yourself with an excellent mortgage loan in a home you love, where will you go when it’s time to finance an automobile purchase or a new roof on that home? It’s likely you will come back to your Credit Union. And that’s the best place for you to be.

Delores

Jackie asked:


Hi. I am in the process of buying a home. The seller is calling me and my mortgage broker 2-3 times a day asking for a closing date. My broker just told me that the only final condition is the payment history on my student loans. I just got out of school and consolidated my loans and put them in deferrment. They are including the payment in my monthly debt even though my 1st payment on the student loans isn’t until Dec. 06. Therefore, there is no payment history. My broker said Underwriting was using that as my payment history as I don’t have any other credit card debt. My car was paid off 1 1/2 yrs ago. Will this make my loan fall apart? Is there anything I can do to speed up the loan so the seller will back off? The house is a REALLY good deal! Help. Experienced answerers only. Thanks!

Rodney