Buying a home, especially for the first time, can be a daunting experience. There are endless credit checks, bank checks, employment checks, appraisals and more paperwork than seems to make sense. Adding to the angst associated with buying a home is the endless list of fees that are added to the cost of the mortgage. In addition to the interest rate quoted for the loan itself, lenders add other items to the closing costs, including appraisal fees, loan origination fees, credit report fees, document preparation fees, postage fees and all manner of other items that are often not even mentioned by the lender until closing time. The borrower often ends up suffering from a form of “sticker shock” at closing time, as the costs associated with closing on the loan are often substantially higher than expected. That may change, however, as several banks are about to introduce so-called “no fee” mortgages.
The concept of lending without a long list of additional fees isn’t new; banks have been offering “no fee” home equity loans for several years. The continued boom in the national real estate market has prompted increased competition among lenders. Dropping the itemized fees from first mortgages is the latest attempt by several large banks to try to stay ahead of the competition. The fees, some of which are nothing more than added-in profit, will still exist. It just isn’t possible to obtain a mortgage without a credit check or an appraisal of the property. What the “no fee” mortgages offer is an interest rate that is slightly higher than the standard mortgage. The fees are simply rolled into the total price, and the borrower has a much simpler set of paperwork at closing. Lenders think that by streamlining the process, overall costs can be lowered, and the savings can be passed on to the customer.
Those interested in purchasing a home with a “no fee” mortgage should ask around, as several large national banks are offering them now. Be aware that the name is a bit of a misnomer; “hidden fee” would probably be more accurate. Still, the process is simpler with a “no fee” mortgage, and there is definitely less “sticker shock” at closing time.
Home Loans – Identity Theft Protection Could Hurt Home Sales
Identity theft has been a hot topic in the news during the last few years. Just a month or so ago, forty million credit card numbers were compromised due to a computer attack on a credit card processor. Consumers are rightly concerned, as it can take years to unravel the problems created when someone’s identity is stolen. New legislation in Texas and California, also proposed elsewhere, is designed to protect consumers by letting them put a “freeze” on their credit reports. Those in the real estate industry are worried, however, that doing so may make it difficult for some people to buy homes.
Debt Consolidation – How to Protect Your Credit Accounts from Theft
Last week, a security exploit at CardSystems Solutions, Inc, a credit card processor, may have allowed thieves to obtain as many as 40 million credit card numbers from unsuspecting victims. The theft was brought about though a virus introduced into the CardSystems that allowed external hackers to obtain access to the account information. Adding to the problem was the fact that CardSystems wasn’t supposed to have the account information at all. It appears that CardSystems “inappropriately” held onto the information after clearing the credit card transactions. At that point, the account information should have been deleted. CardSystems held onto the account information for supposed “research purposes.” Fortunately for those involved, the compromised information only included account numbers and not Social Security numbers, which would have assisted the thieves in identity theft scams. This latest security breach at a credit card processor outlines how anyone can be vulnerable to account or even identity theft. Is there anything that can be done about it?
New Bankruptcy Law – Targeting the Wrong People?
Last April, President Bush enthusiastically signed into law the oddly-named Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act. This bill, representing the biggest overhaul of bankruptcy law in twenty-five years, was written in order to discourage “bankruptcy of convenience.” Proponents of the bill, which included the credit card industry, say that the bill is necessary in order to stop an avalanche of bankruptcy filings by drug users and compulsive shoppers and gamblers. The law makes it harder to have debts wiped away, requires credit counseling for those considering bankruptcy, and holds attorneys responsible for paperwork errors by their clients in bankruptcy cases. The net result will probably be chaos, as fewer attorneys will handle bankruptcy cases, credit counselors will raise their fees, and more consumers with problem debt will be clueless as to what they should do next. Adding to the confusion are some new statistics that suggest that a large number of bankruptcies that are thought to be personal are actually business bankruptcies. As a result, the new law may be unfairly targeting consumers for punishment when they are not actually the biggest part of the problem. Worse, it could be harming small businesses.
