News
Firms Accused of Fleecing VA Mortgage Borrowers
Thirteen lenders — including Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America — allegedly collected illegal fees worth millions of dollars from VA borrowers. In hundreds of thousands of VA refinancing transactions, the lenders allegedly charged an additional $300 to $1,000 per loan, according to claims made in a lawsuit by two whistleblowers. In [...]
6Oct2011 | Chris Birk | 0 comments | Continued
VA Waives Funding Fee Gap for Mortgage Borrowers, Lenders
Some last-minute confusion regarding legislative changes to VA loan fees has left some lenders and prospective homeowners scrambling for clarity with home closings on the line. But the Department of Veterans Affairs sought to calm fears over the weekend, pledging to cover additional costs while waiting for President Obama to act on a bill that [...]
5Oct2011 | Chris Birk | 3 comments | Continued
American Chopper — Family Values, Family Conflict
In the usual scheme of things a foreclosure is a pretty big deal, but on the American Chopper TV series it’s not much more than a distraction. Instead of mortgages, the bigger issue is family dynamics — in this case a father and sons with a lot of visible and verbal collisions, inter-personal disputes which [...]
4Oct2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
America’s Big Banks, America’s Financial Vietnam
Three years ago the most-powerful instutitions in America were the nation’s largest banks and brokerages, Wall Street for short. While millions of people were losing their homes, their jobs and their savings, the nation’s elite extracted a $700 billion line-of-credit from Uncle Sam. Now Wall Street is our financial Vietnam. It’s broken. The old cures [...]
3Oct2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Should Government Set Mortgage Rates?
With all the talk of getting a new mortgage there’s one question which no one seems ready to touch: Why doesn’t the government ought to set mortgage rates? At first this may seem like an audacious idea, a violation somehow of the free market absolutism preferred by so many businesses and industries — at least [...]
26Sep2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Ready For The 3 Percent Mortgage?
It was in the 1880s that long-term interest rates hit 3.5 percent, something we may soon see with mortgages. Mortgage borrowers are now seeing home loans at not much more than 4 percent for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages. And, reports HSH.com, 15-year loans are already below 4 percent. The lower rates result in substantially reduced monthly [...]
23Sep2011 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Pawn Stars — How To Win At Haggling
If it’s true that American Chopper is a metaphor for the workplace then there’s little doubt that Pawn Stars is its retail equivalent, a place where each week viewers get a chance to see the odd, the interesting and the way business really works. With the economy the way it is — driven into the [...]
21Sep2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Foreclosure Activity Falls in 2011 — For Wrong Reasons
Foreclosure activity continues to fall when compared with 2010, but the problem is the same as it has been for nearly a year: There are fewer foreclosures because actions against homeowners have stalled. In other words, we don’t have fewer foreclosures because the economy is improving, employment levels are materially rising or household incomes are [...]
15Sep2011 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
American Chopper: Why Foreclosure Had To Happen
Like millions of property owners, Orange County Choppers has felt the sting of foreclosure and could be moving to smaller quarters. It’s a “business decision” says the senior Paul Teutel, speaking on the downsizing episode of the American Chopper TV series. You could see this coming for much of the past year. In November 2010, [...]
13Sep2011 | Peter G. Miller | 10 comments | Continued
New FHA, VA and Conventional Mortgage Loan Limits
As of October 1, 2011 new and lower mortgage loan limits will be here unless Congress unites and stops the planned changes. Since Congress unites over very few things borrowers are likely to find bright and new loan limits as of Oct. 1st. Note: This material is now out of date. Please go to: FHA [...]
12Sep2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
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