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Mortgage Rip offs


vickles
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I was wondering if anyone has experienced some problems with their mortgage companies.

I was with ameriquest and had heard it was something to be wary of so had my house refinanced with a broker. I got a mortage from a company that sold it to a company that sounds really shady.

Has anyone looked at www.ripoffs.com or something like that? Pretty interesting stuff. But what I noticed is that most people that have problems with their mortgage are people that are late. I have never been late.

I hate to change unless I have to because this payment for the house is the lowest I have ever had.

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It is good to be cautious.

My mortage is with country wide home loans and I have not had any problems. One of the things I do is verify payments via there web site (as well as verifying against my bank statement). about every 6 months I do a printout of my transaction history from the countrywide web site and keep it in a file. The transaction history report not only shows the payments and additional principle that I have paid, it also shows payments from my escrow account (house insurance and property tax).

A good mortage company should let you monitor your account via the internet. Maybe this is just me... I like knowing that my mortage company has an office (with real people) a few miles from my house. If there were a problem I prefer to talk to someone "face to face".

When I first baught my house (and when I re-finance for a better rate icon_biggrin.gif:D-->), The final paperwork was handled and signed at the office of the Title Company.

This is very important. If you have a question, make sure it is answered to your satisfaction before you sign anything.

(as a disclaimer, I have a VA home loan. This is providing me with additional safeguards.)

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I own shares in a cooperative, and have an adjustable rate mortgage with Charter One.

No problems here. Rate goes up and down depending upon how the market goes. But the rate cannot go more than 2% higher in a single year, which is a good safety.

Doesn't pay to refinance.

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I do the same as ZShot said - check my account online. I do this every month by checking the principal owed, the escrow balance and payouts from escrow.

I also keep a spreadsheet of my own that calculates what my interest and principal are every month. I compare my numbers with what the statement from the mortgage company says. They have always matched within a penny. I track the escrow $ in and out on the same spreadsheet. I have never had a problem and know the mortgage company is on the up and up.

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Ameriquest is a major con-artist, preying on people having problems paying their bills. They monitor credit ratings, looking for people having financial trouble.

They called me, offering to refinance my house at 100% (it was at 80% at the time), at the same interest rate I was currently paying. I told them to send me the paper work and I'd look it over.

Paperwork came. Interest rate was higher than what was quoted over the phone. I dug a little deaper and found that they lock you into a minimum of 3 years, with a major pre-payoff penalty. The begining interest rate is only good for 2 years and jacks up afterward. So you are at a minimum stuck paying a high interest rate for a full year, which negates the savings of the first 2 years.

People have lost their homes by financing with Ameriquest. They are not the only ones either. I get offers every week from similiar companies (a recent divorce left my financial situation in a state such that I'm a prime target for these people).

A regular bank, or a mortgage broker are probablty the safest bets. Either way, having a lawyer you trust look over the paperwork first is your best defense.

Vickles: If your current interest rate and payments are locked in, you should be ok. Just make your payments on time. It doesn't matter who owns the mortgage, it matters what is written into the mortgage when you signed it.

It is very common for mortgages to be sold, but the sale does not change the original mortgage.

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Many years ago, when far less adept at handling my finances, I had done a refi with Fairbanks Capital, who is the lead story on that ripoff site. The refi paid off a tax lien, but it came with a stiff price.

The problems were:

an uncapped ARM, tied to LIBOR, and Fairbanks' failure to credit payments in a timely manner. They charged me for late payments even though they received the payments before the late date, several times. I caught them with this by sending one payment certified mail, return receipt required. When they showed it late, I raised hell.

The only solution I had after that was to make the payments by phone, which cost me $5.00 / month but never was charged a late fee when doing so.

The interest rate on my home loan climbed to 13.5% before I finally realized what was happening, and refied with a more accomodating company.

My current primary residence is with IndyMAC Bank, and I am very happy with them. I have a low fixed rate, and they even contacted ME on their own to offer a quick, lower, no cost fixed rate after my 2nd year. They have wonderful internet access to the particulars of my loan, and I am very happy with the fact that now I will have this place paid off before I say NOMORE to the workforce.

My investment home has a loan with Chevy Chase Bank. I am not as happy with them, but the loan will be adequate until I resell the property. I am doing a fix and flip on it, and so the interest in the time frame I plan to keep it is not of great consequence to me.

The problems I have with Chevy Chase Bank loan is largely due to the lack of internet information on the loan, and the inability to make online payments. They will do phone payments, but they charge for that. I just make the payments through a guaranteed ontime delivery Billpay system with my bank, so it is not a big deal. The other problem is simply the ARM features of the loan, also tied to LIBOR, which is a hard to track index IMHO, and NEVER seems to go down. As I said, since I will resell this property quickly, I wanted an ARM to keep the monthly cash outflow low. It works in this unusual case for me.

Unfortunately, people who need some extra consideration in qualifying, often end up paying for it thru higher interest, and putting up with extra charges. This is because of the higher risks they are to the loan security, based on their credit scores. (it also has to do with the fact that their need makes them a target for the ripoff companies, since they are considered less wary in financial matters.)

I would encourage people who plan to be in the hunt for a mortgage to first work on improving their credit score by reducing the proportion of their credit card balance in relation to their credit limit. Also, ALWAYS be sure to pay your bills on time. I do this though internet bill pay or automatic withdrawals, depending on the particular bill to pay, and how much control I want on when the creditor gets payment.

Worse case scenario, at LEAST pay the minimum due on time, if that is all you can do at the time, and then follow up with an additional payment when you get your paycheck, to reduce the balances.

~HAP

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Hap,

What you said about checking out your credit score is VERY important.

I got my credit score through equifax. They will also assist if there are things on your credit report that accurate.

I found that I had credit card accounts that were still open (even though they were paid off and I haven't used them in years). They gave me the phone numbers, then I closed these accounts.

Managing your credit is an important part of managing your finances. The better your credit score the better the interest rate you can get on major purchases (such as a car) to everyday credit cards.

Because of my credit score, I have a better interest rate on my credit cards than some people I know who make more than me.

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I got in the mail today that the mortgage company that just bought it sold to another... icon_rolleyes.gif:rolleyes:-->, So I had just one payment to them and now to the next.

I get my credit rating all the time. There is a company that you can sign up and they send you any changes in your credit right away. Also, any enquiries about your credit...sometimes the enquiries are not anything I've applied for. The enquiries can also bring your credit rating down.

If anyone is interesting in this company pt me and I will let you know the name and website.

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vickles:

"I got in the mail today that the mortgage company that just bought it sold to another... icon_rolleyes.gif:rolleyes:-->, So I had just one payment to them and now to the next."

I do understand, over the years various mortgages of ours have changed at random intervals.

My father buys mortgages from mortgage brokers too, so I am aware that there do exist guys who do nothing but swap mortgages in poker games or swap them like baseball-cards, or something.

Buying mortgages is a really really good investment vehicle, by the way.

Your mortgage [dont take that personally, I do mean everyone's mortgage], has a 'face-value'. It is roughly the principle balance. It also has a set amount that over the term of its life will have been paid on it, usualy arond 3 times the principle amount. Mortgages when they are traded, are bought and sold at roughly 1/2 of their face value.

If you have a current outstanding principle of say $100,000 on your mortgage it can likely be bought by a 'buyer' for $50,000. If your mortgage's rating is low it could sale for as low as $30,000. Even though over the life-time of that mortgage it will collect over $300,000.

My father buys mortgages for $30k -40k, he only buys them if they are still holding face values of over 100k. So his $30k does pay back fairly well.

I am just saying this so you do know that these things are traded routinely, and it is normal.

:-)

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vickles:

"Galen, have you done this before?"

No, though my father does.

"It sounds really good but almost also sounds like it could be illegal in some way."

No, it is not illegal.

"Can you explain more in detail? I would appreciate it."

For you anytime.

In the example of my father, when he has an extra $30k-ish he calls a broker that he knows. The broker has a listing of mortgages with all their various ratings and face-values. My father is familiar with the 'rating system' used by mortgage companys. The higher the rating, means the more a company wants to keep a mortgage, but the lower ratings mean that the companys are hot to get rid of such mortgage. The lower the rating means that they are willing, no eager to dump it. My impression is that some banking corporations depend on the ratings of their holdings to 'build' their own corporate stock ratings. Anyway, he will end up buying a mortgage note with a face value of anywhere from $60k to $100k [depending on it's rating]. The selling broker then sends notice both: to the home-owner [to alert them that they will soon be sending their payments to a new note-holder], and to the city hall to record the change. Then my father sends the homeowner his address and a letter to reassure the homeowner that everything is cool and secure.

Over many years of doing this, he has had a few mortgages go into default. Meaning that sometimes a low 'rated' mortgage will predict that it's homeowner may someday stop paying his monthly payments. In this case, my father must find the town where the house is located. He must travel there, contact the sheriff to have the property vacated, contact the local union halls to re-furbish the property and ensure it is fully up to code and the property is listed with a realtor. So far the properties that he has had to foreclose on have all taken just a few months to be back on the market. When they do sale it immediately turns the investment into money.

Every couple of years my father reviews his investments with me, in case one day I must 'assume' them.

So, let's say your house was bought for $150k. It's mortgage is face valued at $100k. Should your 'rating' drop below your mortgage holder's threshold of pain, they will drop it to a broker who will sale the note for $30k to $50k. If you lose your job and default on the mortgage, a sheriff will show up someday to escort you from the property. The new owner will fix it up to market ready again and it will sale for $180k. When it does sale, the owner will recieve the full amount of purchase price [minus the realtor cut].

:-)

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Galen, This is the third investor for my mortgage...I just refinanced late last fall. Does this mean that I must be a hot potato? I know my credit isn't perfect but its not really super bad.

I do have a bankruptcy from my divorce in '2000 which brings my credit down but I think my credit score is over 600.

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vickles:

"Galen, This is the third investor for my mortgage...I just refinanced late last fall. Does this mean that I must be a hot potato? I know my credit isn't perfect but its not really super bad.

I do have a bankruptcy from my divorce in '2000 which brings my credit down but I think my credit score is over 600."

I know that mortgage notes do have a 'rating'. Though I truly do not know what all goes into making that rating.

I would not know how much of your personal credit score goes into it at all.

Here is my personal doubts, people only got into reading their 'credit scores' recently. Before that every bank had their own system for determining how good of a 'risk' you were. It was NOT standardized, like it is today. What happened to change things? I do not know.

I do know that mortgage notes did have a rating system long ago, and I beleive that such system pre-dates the personal credit-scores of today.

Simply because 20 years ago it was close to impossible to track a person's bank accounts, real estate holdings, stocks holdings, and money transactions. You could 'report' to a bank what you wanted them to know, and they could check individual institutions about what you have said, but beyond that they had to trust you. Today everything you do is available to them. Everytime you change a magazine's delivery address it is updated in the magazine publisher's database as a change-of-address, and immediately it is sold to Trans-Union, which updates everyone that you just moved.

The only thing that I am fairly sure about concerning a mortgage-note's rating is that it's locked-in interest rate is compared to the current interest rate, and the projected profits are calculated, both short-term and long-term. Long-term profit is handled one way before it is factored into the over-all rating and the short-term profit is factored a different way. Some mortgage-note holders want short-term profit, while others want long-term profit. So each will view that mortage differently.

Also each year corporations make many adjustments internaly [whether to ammoratize, to depreciate, etc]. How much [percentage wise] of their holdings are tied up in mortgage-notes, this is something federally regulated. To maintain their FDIC insurance, they must hold this ratio within a narrow margin. But banks make huge profits from 'loaning' money [ie, while performing the loan they charge lots of fees], but once the loan is established they no longer make those fees, so the short-term profits drop. If a bank wants to continue 'making' new loans they must drop the old loans onto another firm, to free up money to allow the bank to generate new mortgages.

I am fully aware that I have never taken any classes on this topic, and I know that others exist who know far more about this topic than I.

I stand ready to be corrected.

:-)

P.S. in short, I do not think that your credit rating is connected to when or why any institution will sale your mortgage-note. It is done routinely. I have had mortgage-notes transfered on me many times. It does not mean anything 'bad' about you. It is just a part of how today's corporations do business.

Kind of like the president trying to project the future of SSA. If a CEO wants to project that his companys will continue making profit far into the future, then today he needs to dump all extra cash into buying mortgage-notes, this can then be projected into his company's future profits showing that they fully expect to recieve 'X' amount of profits each year out for 'Y' years. "Hooray, what a wise and smart CEO we have, lets give him another bonus". Granted he might just close down a factory [we call it liquidating, they call it ammoratizing] to get the cash to make those purchases with.

:-)

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