Add to your shopping list: Get a mortgage.
Costco shoppers will now find that they not only can buy their
groceries in bulk at the warehouse retailer, but they can also shop for a
mortgage too.
Costco announced that it will offer a full-service mortgage lending program on its Web site with First Choice Bank and 10 other lenders. The site gathers quotes from various lenders.
The warehouse retailer has been testing out offering mortgages for a
year in some of its locations. Its lending partners have issued more
than 10,000 mortgages to Costco members so far.
"I went in to buy some bottled water, big bags of chips, cereal, and
some Nutri-Grain bars that I eat on my route," one Georgia shopper told
CNNMoney. "I saw a home loan brochure on my way out and picked it up."
The shopper said he went onto the Costco site and was able to get
mortgage rates from four lenders, as well as estimated closing costs and
terms. He was able to refinance his mortgage and lower his monthly
payments by $500 per month.
"We've always known that our members wanted more financial services,"
says Lauren Kutschka, Costco's manager of financial services, who adds
the warehouse retailer also offers health and auto insurance and stock
brokerage services. Costco next plans to add auto and student loans to
its mix.
Source: “Now on Sale at Costco: Mortgages,” CNNMoney (April 26, 2012)
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Storm Chasers Scammers Prey on Homeowners
Following a violent storm or
tornado, home owners are left to pick up the pieces and find ways to put
their homes back together. And insurance executives and legislators are
warning storm victims to beware of contractors who try to get home
owners to sign costly contracts before the insurance adjusters arrive.
These insurance executives are being dubbed “storm chasers” or “storm scammers,” who offer quick, costly deals to desperate home owners, USA Today reports.
Several states are considering or already have passed legislation to prevent these “storm scammers” from duping vulnerable home owners following a storm. For example, Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would “void repair contracts signed when the contractor represents himself as working for an insurance company, promises to rebate a deductible, or fails to give customers a disclosure about how to cancel the contract,” the USA Today reports. Lawmakers also recently added a provision for consideration to make it so that such contractors can be prosecuted under consumer fraud law. Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, and South Dakota have already passed similar bills to protect home owners after storms.
"There are some very good contractors who set up their businesses to be able to respond to storms, but there are good ways to do it and bad ways to do it," Bill Good, executive vice president of the National Roofing Contractors Association, told USA Today.
To help safeguard against being scammed, home owners need to make sure the contractor is licensed in the state (if it’s required in their state) and not sign any documents that authorize a contractor to negotiate directly with their insurance company, Good says.
Source: “States Fight Back on Shady ‘Storm Chaser’ Contractors,” USA Today (April 16, 2012)
These insurance executives are being dubbed “storm chasers” or “storm scammers,” who offer quick, costly deals to desperate home owners, USA Today reports.
Several states are considering or already have passed legislation to prevent these “storm scammers” from duping vulnerable home owners following a storm. For example, Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would “void repair contracts signed when the contractor represents himself as working for an insurance company, promises to rebate a deductible, or fails to give customers a disclosure about how to cancel the contract,” the USA Today reports. Lawmakers also recently added a provision for consideration to make it so that such contractors can be prosecuted under consumer fraud law. Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, and South Dakota have already passed similar bills to protect home owners after storms.
"There are some very good contractors who set up their businesses to be able to respond to storms, but there are good ways to do it and bad ways to do it," Bill Good, executive vice president of the National Roofing Contractors Association, told USA Today.
To help safeguard against being scammed, home owners need to make sure the contractor is licensed in the state (if it’s required in their state) and not sign any documents that authorize a contractor to negotiate directly with their insurance company, Good says.
Source: “States Fight Back on Shady ‘Storm Chaser’ Contractors,” USA Today (April 16, 2012)
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Foreclosure Scams Rise Nearly 60%
Mortgage foreclosure scams — which
seek to dupe struggling home owners with offers to save them from
financial troubles — have soared nearly 60 percent this year. Scammers
are increasingly using federal programs, like refinance programs such as
HARP and HAMP, to try to trick home owners, reports the Homeownership
Preservation Foundation (HPF), a nonprofit group that helps home owners
avoid foreclosure.
“Every new government initiative spawns a slew of foreclosure avoidance scams, often from the same cast of characters doing business under various names to avoid easy detection and identification,” says Colleen Hernandez, CEO of HPF. “Most of these scams involve individuals supposedly offering mortgage foreclosure avoidance assistance that trained HPF counselors provide at no cost. Sadly, with most scams, no meaningful services are ever provided.”
About half of the reported scams to HPF tend to involve claims of specialized “legal services” from attorneys or individuals to help home owners avoid foreclosure.
The HPF warns that scammers also are using the HPF logo and brand to try to dupe home owners in foreclosure rescue scams.
“The only way distressed home owners can be certain they are dealing with a trained HPF counselor is by calling 888-995-HOPE,” Hernandez says.
Source: Homeownership Preservation Foundation
“Every new government initiative spawns a slew of foreclosure avoidance scams, often from the same cast of characters doing business under various names to avoid easy detection and identification,” says Colleen Hernandez, CEO of HPF. “Most of these scams involve individuals supposedly offering mortgage foreclosure avoidance assistance that trained HPF counselors provide at no cost. Sadly, with most scams, no meaningful services are ever provided.”
About half of the reported scams to HPF tend to involve claims of specialized “legal services” from attorneys or individuals to help home owners avoid foreclosure.
The HPF warns that scammers also are using the HPF logo and brand to try to dupe home owners in foreclosure rescue scams.
“The only way distressed home owners can be certain they are dealing with a trained HPF counselor is by calling 888-995-HOPE,” Hernandez says.
Source: Homeownership Preservation Foundation
Monday, April 9, 2012
Judge OK's $26B Foreclosure Settlement
A federal judge granted final
approval to a landmark $26 billion settlement over foreclosure
processing errors, clearing the way for the nation’s five largest
lenders to begin unraveling aid to home owners. The settlement includes
guidelines for banks in compensating home owners who may have been
wrongfully foreclosed upon as well as mortgage modifications — including
principal write-downs — of up to 1 million home owners.
The settlement was first announced more than a month ago but awaited a judge’s final approval. The settlement is between the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders and the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia. The five lenders part of the settlement are Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally Financial.
Here's a breakdown of how the settlement money will be allocated:
As long as the banks abide by the terms of the settlement, they will have immunity from future claims by the state governments for wrongdoings in the processing of foreclosures.
Oklahoma is the only state that did not participate in the settlement agreement. In early February, the state reached a separate agreement with the nation’s five largest lenders for an $18.6 million settlement.
Watch this video to get more info on the mortgage settlement.
Source: “Court Approves $26 Billion Foreclosure Settlement,” CNNMoney (April 6, 2012)
The settlement was first announced more than a month ago but awaited a judge’s final approval. The settlement is between the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders and the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia. The five lenders part of the settlement are Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally Financial.
Here's a breakdown of how the settlement money will be allocated:
- At least $17 billion will go toward modifying mortgages of delinquent borrowers. The modifications may include principal reductions to mortgages of up to $100,000 or more for 1 million home owners who are underwater or delinquent on their loans.
- About $3.7 billion will go toward refinancing mortgages for home owners who are current on their payments. This aid is estimated to help about 750,000 home owners.
- $5 billion will go toward banks’ paying fines to the states and federal government for the foreclosure errors. A portion of that will go to funding compensation to home owners who lost their homes to foreclosure due to errors. They stand to receive payments of $1,500 to $2,000.
As long as the banks abide by the terms of the settlement, they will have immunity from future claims by the state governments for wrongdoings in the processing of foreclosures.
Oklahoma is the only state that did not participate in the settlement agreement. In early February, the state reached a separate agreement with the nation’s five largest lenders for an $18.6 million settlement.
Watch this video to get more info on the mortgage settlement.
Source: “Court Approves $26 Billion Foreclosure Settlement,” CNNMoney (April 6, 2012)
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