Uncle Sam is hiring civilian employees — and when the federal government hires it offers both good pay and great benefits. There are full and part-time jobs as well as jobs for entry-level workers and for experienced professionals. Oh, and to make things better, the application process is quick and easy, there’s no charge or fee and you can locate jobs online.

Living as I do outside Washington, I see people everyday who work for the government. The range of jobs is remarkable, from doctors (research at the FDA) and lawyers (pick any federal agency) to letter carriers and Park Service employees at the Antietam National Battlefield. There are jobs available from New York to California and everything in between — and the pay scale runs well into six figures for those with experience and training. In addition, of course, the benefits package is among the best available.

The great beauty of government jobs is this: The government has entered the modern era. You can post a resume online, search for a job online and even get a job which allows telecommuting.

How To Apply For A Government Job

“Many Federal agencies fill their jobs like private industry by allowing applicants to contact the agency directly for job information and application processing,”  says the Office of Personnel Management. “But, while the process is similar, there are significant differences due to the many laws, executive orders, and regulations that govern Federal employment.

“Many years ago, applicants who passed the civil service test were placed on standing registers of eligibles maintained by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In addition, applicants had to complete a standard Federal employment application form, the SF-171, to apply for all jobs.

Now, however, the OPM no longer maintains registers of eligible job candidates.

• Applicants can mail, fax their resume, or apply online using their resume.
• An optional application for Federal Employment, the OF-612, is available for those who do not have a resume.
• Job seekers do not need a rating from OPM to enable them to apply for non-clerical vacancies.
• Only a few positions require a written test.
• The old SF-171 is obsolete.

Post A Government Resume

So how does the system work? In basic terms there are two steps required to get a government job interview.

First, you post your resume online. In fact, you can post up to five different resumes online, each oriented toward a different skill or job field. To post your resume you must first create an online account. This is done by going toUSAJobs.gov.

Once on the page you will see that creating an account is a two-minute job — name, address, citizenship and veteran’s status, if any.

Search Federal Job Listings

Second, the government has an online jobs search engine. In just a few minutes you can get search by agency, occupation and location; see featured jobs and employers; and find out which jobs are in demand.

To search for a federal job go to this link at USAJobs.gov. You can search by keyword, location, job category and salary range.

Types of Federal Jobs Online

There are two classes of jobs in the Federal Government:

Competitive Service jobs are under OPM’s jurisdiction. These jobs are subject to the civil service laws passed by Congress. These laws ensure that applicants and employees receive fair and equal treatment in the hiring process. They give selecting officials broad authority to review more than one applicant source before determining the best-qualified candidate based on job-related criteria. A basic principle of Federal employment is that all candidates must meet the qualification requirements for the position for which they receive an appointment.

Excepted Service agencies set their own qualification requirements. These agencies are not subject to the appointment, pay, and classification rules in Title 5, United States Code. However, they are subject to veterans’ preference. Some Federal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), have only excepted service positions. Other agencies, may have some divisions or even specific jobs that may be excepted from civil service procedures. Positions may be in the excepted service by law, by executive order, or by action of OPM.

How Government Job Candidates Are Selected

In filling competitive service jobs, agencies can generally choose from among three groups of candidates:

1. A competitive list of eligibles. This record lists the applicants (in rank order) who meet the qualification requirements for a specific vacancy announcement.

2. A list of eligibles who have civil service status. This list consists of applicants who are eligible for noncompetitive movement within the competitive service. These individuals presently or previously served under career-type appointments in the competitive service. They are selected under agency merit promotion procedures and can receive an appointment by promotion, reassignment, transfer, or reinstatement.

3. A list of eligibles who qualify for a special noncompetitive appointing authority established by law or executive order. Examples of special noncompetitive appointing authorities include the Veterans’ Readjustment Appointment (VRA), the special authority for 30% or more disabled veterans, and the Peace Corps.

Agencies in the competitive service are required by law and OPM regulation to post vacancies with OPM whenever they are seeking candidates from outside their own workforce for positions lasting more than 120 days. (Agency, in this context, means the parent agency — i.e., Treasury, not the Internal Revenue Service.) These vacancies are posted on OPM’s USAJOBS and in America’s Job Bank (AJB). Excepted agencies are not required to post their job announcements in USAJOBS. To learn about their job opportunities you must go to their websites.

How To Get A Federal Government Job is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

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Okay, what does this mean and why should borrowers care?

When you sell a home and list with a real estate broker that broker works for you as an agent. When you engage a real estate broker as a buyer broker that broker works for you as your agent.

The term “agent” is very important, it means that the individual must put your interests first, even if it means a smaller real estate commission.

With lenders, we’re told, the obligation is to serve the best interests of an investor — and not the borrower. With the huge exception of the UpFront Mortgage Brokers Association, lenders have repeatedly said they do not and cannot represent borrowers.

One result is that borrowers looking for the best rates and strongest mortgage quotes have often gotten loans with higher costs and worse terms than could be justified by their income and credit.

As an example, according to the Wall Street Journal 55 percent of all subprime borrowers qualified for FHA, VA and conventional financing in 2005, a figure which rose to 61 percent in 2006. (See: Subprime Debacle Traps Even Very Credit-Worthy, The Wall Street Journal, December 3, 2007)

New Licensure Law

For the past year or so the states and the federal government have not moved to force an agency obligation onto lenders, instead they have required lenders and loan officers to register under the NMLS. Each registrant, in turn, gets a nice, shiny number which they must attach to loan packages under the Wall Street Reform Act.

The registration number is important because there’s only a single permanent number per lender or loan officer. One result is that if you lose your license to lend in one state you cannot open shop elsewhere.

No less significant, if a given number has a high foreclosure level relative to a local area then investors might want to reject loans from that registrant for a mortgage-backed security (MBS).

Is the new FHA requirement good for borrowers? The answer is yes — after all, registrants with lousy records will be forced out of the business over time. That’s not as good as requiring an outright fiduciary obligation, but it’s a start.

FHA to lenders: Show us your license is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

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Speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, FBI Assistant Director Kevin L. Perkins noted that the FBI now has new funding to chase mortgage fraudsters under the Financial Intelligence Center (FIC).

The FIC, says Perkins, allows the FBI “to investigate mortgage fraud, predatory lending, market manipulation, and other financial frauds. The FIC is currently staffed with one supervisory intelligence analyst, eight staff operations specialists, and six intelligence analysts. In FY 2010, the FIC should be fully operational with a total staffing level of 58.”

This is a big jump in personnel and the effort should be welcomed but the problem concerns predatory lending.

What, exactly, is the FBI supposed to investigate? Predatory lending where a borrower is hurt by the actions of a lender is not a federal crime while mortgage fraud — where a lender is hurt — is entirely unlawful.

As an example, Smith qualifies for an FHA loan but is sold a subprime mortgage by his nearby, friendly mortgage lender. The result is that Smith pays, say, 7 percent rather than 5 percent interest and his monthly cost for a $200,000 loan goes from $1,073 for principal and interest to $1,331. That’s an additional $258 a month or $3,096 a year, a loan which is less affordable and far more likely to result in foreclosure. It’s also a loan which is fundamentally unfair given Smith’s credit and financial standing.

Why is it that unfairly taking an additional $3,100 a year from borrower Smith is lawful but robbing $20 from a convenience store is a crime? As Woody Guthrie explained, some people will rob you with a gun and some with a pen. In either case, it’s still robbery.

Under federal rules, mortgage lenders have no obligation to get the best rates and terms for borrower Smith. There is no fiduciary obligation to a borrower, no agency requirement. Unfortunately, Smith has no place to get mortgage information other than, well, mortgage lenders. Smith relies on lenders for information, advice, product options and rates.

It’s great that the FBI has more funding and will be able to field more people in the fight against financial fraud. That’s right and proper. But it’s not fair to the FBI to ask for their help in the fight against predatory lending when predatory lending is perfectly lawful under federal rules.

FBI Expanding Fight Against Mortgage Scams is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

Technorati Tags: agency, crime, FBI, fiduciary, foreclosure, lending, loan, mortgage, predatory, Woody Guthrie

A “salesperson” is also licensed by the state. However, a salesperson must work under the authority of a broker and does not have the right to contract directly with the public. This means if a home is listed for sale by Thompson — a salesperson working for Broker Williams — the listing agreement is actually a contract between Broker Williams and the property owner.

A salesperson is typically an independent contractor and not on salary. Payment comes from income earned through a broker, an arrangement which is negotiated between the two parties.

Brokers and salespeople are sometimes known generally as “agents” but this term is not correct in all cases. In some jurisdictions a real estate licensee can function as a “facilitator,” someone acts as a middleman and who does not represent either a buyer or seller.

————————
Syndicated originally by Content That Works and posted with permission.

Real Estate Brokers Versus Salespeople — What’s The Difference? is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

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>>>Instead of a majority of valuation assignments going to appraisal managment companies we now have virtually ALL assignments being controlled by these joint venture arrangments. Notice how the market is doing?

There is a certain irony here. The worry pre-NVCC used to be that lenders and loan officers would pressure appraisers to come up with the “right” valuation. Now the worry is the cost and speed of services. Here’s a concept, why not let the borrower — who is paying for the appraisal — select the appraiser from the names on a local roster approved by the lender? The list would have to have at least 50 names for properties within a major metro area. No management companies would be needed.

>>>These appraisal managment companies, usually someway affiliated with First American Title, will have data on almost every home in America through their data collection process. Taken right from the appraisal reports, floorplans, interior and exterior photos, upgrades all the data that can be misused, abused but most importantly; resold. Because thats what its all about.

This is not really an HVCC problem; rather this is an issue which now confronts many professions: How do we deal with technological change? Many in real estate plainly believe there will be lower appraisal fees and fewer revenue opportunities for appraisers in the future. Many also believe that reduced appraisal costs should be passed through to borrowers and not used to pump up profits elsewhere in the lending process. As always, it pays to follow the money.

Automated appraisals may well work when you have a thousand identical townhouses with three models and lots of recent sales. The problem is that if an appraisal is inaccurate the lender is safe because it’s risk is spread among thousands of loans. The borrower, however, typically has one house — for the borrower an errant appraisal can be a disaster.

I think, though, that borrowers are better served when appraisers physically see the inside of a property and borrowers are certainly better off with a full appraisal when a property is in anyway distinctive — think of a homes in an older neighborhood with no common model or a house which has been unusually well maintained (or not).

>>>Just another line of easy profit by our big banking system. We should never have bailed them out, they have not demonstrated any gratitude to the taxpayer. Rates are still to high, credit is way to tight and no loans are being modified. Refinancing is not even an option. Best way to purchase is cash if you want to close in less than two months.

I suspect the dawning conclusion among the public is that bank reform is urgently needed. Let’s start with a Consumer Financial Protection Agency that can subpoena records and documents and let’s allow state regulators to finally have a real voice in the banking system.

>>>So how is this HVCC deal working out ?

Not badly enough that the entire idea should be “suspended” for 18 months. Fixed and made better, sure.

We thank Tim for a great post.

Appraisal Worries Really About The Future is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

Technorati Tags: agency, appraisal, banks, code, Conduct, consumer, fees, financial, home, HVCC, management, Protection, Valuation

For decades the banking community refused to lend to minorities. There was redlining and there were gentleman’s agreements. Discrimination was so ingrained that it was literally written into the lending system.

Institutional Bias

For example, it wasn’t until 1977, according to The Washington Post, that basic appraisal textbooks were updated to say “it was once common practice to examine the racial, religious or ethnic composition of a neighborhood in an effort to detect any sign of nonconformity or change. Such an approach is now regarded as misdirected and the use of factors relating to the racial, religious or ethnic composition of a neighborhood in arriving at a conclusion of value is now deemed an unreliable practice.” (See: Appraisers Institute Settles Suit, Nov. 19, 1977)

In 1980, the appraisal industry finally agreed to a policy which said that “the value attributed to the property is not dependent upon the homogeneity of racial, religious or ethnic characteristics of the neighborhood…and the lack of such homogeneity in a neighborhood does not cause a diminution of value.” (See: Agreement Set In Rights Case Against Lenders, The Washington Post, Jan. 26, 1980)

Under the old rules merely by integrating, neighborhood home values would automatically go down — indeed, values were required to go down — not because of the worth of bricks and mortar but because of the people who lived in the community.

Given this background, efforts were made to reduce discrimination within the mortgage lending industry. One idea was to require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy more loans from lenders that had been made to minority borrowers, thus the development of goals.

Clinton Versus Bush

So what were the goals? The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the government regulator now running Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after they were seized in 2008, recently provided a chart that showed the goals for 2009 and back to 2004. But what about earlier goals? We asked FHFA to go back to the year 2000, the last year President Clinton was in office, and FHFA’s response is illuminating.

As you will see, the goal was substantially less than 50 percent under President Clinton (his last full year in office was 2000) and was raised significantly under President Bush — something our dinner speaker neglected to mention. Here are the figures from FHFA:

Minority Loan Purchase Goals

2000 — 42%

2001 — 50%

2002 — 50%

2003 — 50%

2004 — 50%

2005 — 52%

2006 — 53%

2007 — 55%

2008 — 56%

2009 — 51%

Goals Reduced Under Obama

In April 2009, FHFA announced that goals for 2009 would be reduced.

“FHFA has determined that in light of current market conditions, the 2009 housing goal and home purchase subgoal levels previously established in regulation are not feasible unless they are adjusted,– said agency director James B. Lockhart. “Restrictions on the availability of private mortgage insurance for borrowers with lower down payments, a surge in refinancing, particularly by higher income borrowers, the increasingly important role of FHA in the mortgage marketplace and a slowdown in the multifamily market, among other factors, mean fewer goals-qualifying loans in 2009.”

Minority Mortgage Housing Goals — What’s The Truth? is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

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“U.S. home prices rose 0.7 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from January to February, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. January’s previously reported 1.7 percent increase was revised to a 1.0 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in February, U.S. prices fell 6.5 percent. The U.S. index is 9.5 percent below its April 2007 peak.

“The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally-adjusted monthly price changes from January to February ranged from –1.2 percent in the East North Central Division to +3.8 percent in the Pacific Division.”

This is a big survey, but also one which does not reflect much of the marketplace, the properties financed with loans which were not bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Also, these numbers may not be final — January’s previously reported 1.7 percent increase was revised to a 1.0 percent increase.

Regional Results

Pacific Census Division: Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California — UP 3.8%.

Mountain Census Division: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico — UP 0.1%.

West North Central: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri West South Central: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana — UP 1.5%.

East North Central: Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio — DOWN -1.2%.

East South Central: Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama — DOWN -0.2%.

New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut — UP 2.2%.

Middle Atlantic: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania — UP 0.7%.

South Atlantic: Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia,
Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida — DOWN -0.8%.

Can This Be? Home Prices Are up? is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

Technorati Tags: agency, federal, FHFA, finance, home, housing, price, value

It’s not an easy question because employment agencies offer a variety of services to a variety of job seekers and a range of businesses. Some agencies specialize in entry-level positions or in given professions. Others are generalists.

Also, of course, there is the question of whether or not you need an employment agency at all. The Internet is here and there are well-known employment sites online. Ask the agency what advantage it has over online applications. In some cases an agency may have a long-term relationship with an employer which could be beneficial, in other cases they may do little more than search the Internet for job opportunities — something you can do with little if any cost.

To see if an employment agency makes sense for you, ask these 10 questions:

1. Who is the client?If you’re paying the bill then you are the client and the employment agency is obligated to get the best possible job for you. However, if the employer is paying then the employment agency works for them and it’s goal is to get the best person to fit a given job — “best” may mean not only well-qualified by at the lowest cost possible.
2. What is the relationship between the agency and the employer?Is the agency exclusively seeking to fill a job for an employer or are 30 agencies looking for the right candidate? Has the agency previously obtained jobs from the employer? Similar jobs with other employees? Does the agency have a personal relationship with the employer or with someone at the employer?
3. Does the agency actually have the job you want?An employment agency’s stock and trade are the names of its business clients. You can’t expect an employment agency to give away client names but you can expect them to tell you the specifics about the job such as: What education, experience and training are required? What are the salary and benefits? Where is the general location (think of commuting)? Do you need a license or certificate? Must be you be able to be bonded and insured? What are the hours? Etc.
4. Are you the only candidate the agency is sending to the employer?If yes, great. If no, do they send every warm body they can locate? No, good. Then how do they decide who to send? Get a real answer. Don’t settle for generalities. Get specifics.
5. Will the agency help perfect your resume?This can be important in situations where the employer has a stack of applications. Not only do you want a resume geared to the specific employer, you also want an appropriate cover letter.
6. Will the agency help you prepare for a job interview?For instance, what are the 10 questions you are most-likely to be asked? What are the best answers? Remember, packaging and tilting your answers is important, stressing some points and not others can get you hired — or ignored.
7. What happens if you accept the job and leave a few months later?Are you responsible for the agency fee? What is your liability? Even if termination is required because you move? Get injured? Are fired? If you have any liability for the agency fee when does it end?
8. Is the agency state-licensed?State license standards vary. For example, the New York Better Business Bureau says that employment agencies in that state must have one license to charge applicants a fee but a different license if they only charge employees.
9. Is there any up-front cost for registration or for some or all of thefee?Some states ban upfront fees but that may not be the case everywhere. In general, up-front fees are a bad idea because you are paying for services in advance — services which may not result in a satisfactory job or in any job.
10. Will you receive a copy of the employment agency contract?This document should show the fee and when it is earned, due and payable. You must have a copy of this document to avoid future fee disputes.

10 Questions To Ask Every Empoyment Agency is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

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“The very success of the mortgage industry creates a dilemma for those who want to reform the system,” says Jim Saccacio, chairman and CEO at RealtyTrac.com. “How do you make the mortgage industry better without ruining the present system, a system which to this point reliably makes loans available nationwide at low rates and with little down?”

By “better” a growing number of consumer groups and lawmakers mean giving borrowers a stronger shot at low rates and less-expensive loans. Forget about how loans are packaged or sold, say reformers, who instead argue that the mortgage system is enormously successful and profitable precisely because borrowers routinely overpay for their loans.

Consider “stated-income” loan applications. If you apply for a loan and with a stated-income application the lender doesn’t check your salary or income. Of course, such applications mean extra risk for the lender so the loan rate is increased. The catch is that many of those who use stated-income loan applications don’t need them and don’t need to pay a premium rate for their loans, a premium that produces additional profits for loan officers and lenders.

Why is it that many borrowers don’t need stated-income loan applications? Because they’re employed. They can easily provide payroll stubs, W-2 forms and tax returns. For them, a stated-income loan application is unnecessary.

Reformers essentially argue that loan officers and borrowers are not equals. Borrowers enter the lending system every few years and are entirely dependent on experienced and skilled loan officers for current loan information. Shopping around for the best rates and terms makes no difference because loan officers have no obligation to obtain anything other than the financing which produces the highest commissions and largest profits. In effect, there’s no borrower advocate in the lending system and borrowers have insufficient knowledge and experience to make informed decisions.

Carolyn Warren, in her insider’s book, Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers, offers this example:

As a wholesale account executive, I got a loan approved for a couple who had six pages of late payments and paid-off collections. These people had stiffed everyone from Visa to the pizza delivery guy. It was one ugly credit report! But this lucky family had just inherited money, so they got their loan. The catch was that they had to make a 20 percent down payment and take a high interest rate with a two-year obligation (prepayment penalty).

What’s interesting is that the investor wasn’t the only one who wanted more money. On top of the lender’s high rate, the loan officer jacked up the rate by an additional 1 .25 percent so she could collect the maximum back-end commission for herself. Then she added a couple extra points up front, too, because she figured they’d consider themselves “stuck” and wouldn’t shop around. So Mr. and Mrs. Lucky ended up paying triple for their bad credit, because on top of what the lender required. the loan officer saw an opportunity to take advantage. And that’s the way it usually goes.

But what if the system were changed? Instead of loan officers who have no obligation to the consumer, what if loan officers were required to act like doctors, lawyers and real estate brokers and put client interests first?

That’s exactly the standard being pushed by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY). Under Schumer’s proposed Borrower’s Protection Act, every mortgage loan officer would have a “fiduciary relationship with the consumer.”

Think about when you use a doctor, lawyer or real estate broker. In each case there are standards and expectations. If a doctor, lawyer or broker fails to put your interests first or does not meet basic standards of practice then you have recourse, you can sue for damages and the professional can lose his license.

However you can’t readily sue if there are no performance standards in place or if the professional does not have a “fiduciary” or “agency” obligation. In effect, you can’t sue a car salesman, loan officer or waiter if you pay too much.

In basic terms a “fiduciary” obligation means that your interests come first and that your doctor, lawyer or broker is really your agent. The word “agent” is a loaded expression because it means that an individual has defined, lawful obligations to serve your best interests.

The Schumer bill at this moment is merely a proposal, it’s not law. One can expect the lending industry to oppose Schumer’s proposal at every step in the legislative process.

“Some have proposed,” says Harry Dinham, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, “that a fiduciary duty standard should be implemented and mortgage originators and their loan officers should act in the ‘best interests’ of the consumer. NAMB remains opposed to any proposed law, regulation or other measure that attempts to impose a fiduciary duty, in any fashion, upon a mortgage broker or any other originator.

“Simply put, a mortgage broker should not, and cannot, owe a fiduciary duty to a borrower. The consumer is the decision maker, not the mortgage broker,” according to Dinham.

John Robbins, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association said during June 2007 congressional testimony that “notably, MBA does not believe that a disclosure of function and fees is warranted for mortgage lenders. Unlike a broker whose role may be uncertain — agent or loan provider — a lender’s role is clear. A lender underwrites, approves and funds the loan. The lender does not hold himself out as an agent of the borrower. While a lender must serve its customers fairly, and the industry has done much to assure high professional standards, a lender owes a duty to its shareholders and investors. A borrower knows a lender offers its own products and does not offer to shop for borrowers.”

What are the odds that the Schumer bill will pass? In today\’s financial environment, perhaps 50-50 because you have a powerful and important senator competing with a powerful and important lobby. But if foreclosure rates rise, if the lending system becomes a political hot topic in the way that telemarketing was important to voters a few years ago, then no one would be surprised if Schumer prevails.

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Published originally by RealtyTrac.com during May 2007 and posted with permission.

Who Should Loan Officers Represent? is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

Technorati Tags: agency, borrower, client, fiduciary, lending, loan, mortgage, obligation, officer

I’m not sure how unique the mailing is, however. The item was sent with bulk rate postage and — what do you know — the tracking number on the envelope was the very same one used in a similar mailing last month.

As to the object in the envelope, it sure has some check-like elements — a signature line, a greenish print background, a “pay” command, and my name and address. Alas, the check-like item, whatever it might be, is “non-negotiable,” “non-transferable,” “non-toxic,” “non-habit-forming,” and perhaps even “non-fat” — notices somehow not visible in the envelope window.

The good folks who sent this missive would like me to borrow money from them. Yes, I might qualify to borrow $50,000 with my home as security for the debt — or maybe even more. Of course, the letter does not represent a loan commitment and I might not qualify to borrow a dime, but such details are hardly prominent in the letter.

About those details. Did I mention the interest rate? I don’t know what it might be because no rate is mentioned. The length of the loan? Closing costs? Possibility of a balloon payment? You can hold the letter up to the light, read between the lines, fold it, mutilate it, and spindle it and still not find such information. For all I know, the loan could be a one-year balloon at 19 percent interest with $12,000 in closing costs.

If you read the small print, it turns out that I had the good fortune to be selected for this exciting financial opportunity because my name set off the right bells with various credit reporting agencies. Interestingly enough, such agencies have “opt-out” programs to prevent the distribution of consumer names for certain solicitations.

You can find more information regarding opt-out programs by visiting OptOutPrescreen.com. The information is very clear and there’s no cost or obligation.

As to that $50,000 check-like thing, I don’t think I’ll spend it — though several years ago a gentleman in California did cash a $95,000 promotional check delivered through the mails, no doubt much to the chagrin of the party that sent it….

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Published originally by Realty Times on September 9, 1998 and posted with permission.

Curious “Check” Hides Important Mortgage Questions is a post from: OurBroker.com -- Refinance, Home Mortgage Loans & Rates, Home Equity Loan

Technorati Tags: agency, bogus, bureau, check, credit, mail, opt-out, report