Search results for: “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “
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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Gets Tough on Mortgage Loan Junk Fees
Are lenders’ “junk fees” pushing the high cost of closing on a home even higher? The federal government thinks so. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says fees need to be more transparent, understandable, and reasonable. Why are the fees charged? Are they really “junk”? Do borrowers get a say in what they pay? Let’s…
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Before Applying for Your Mortgage, Get Familiar With the Official Consumer Toolkit
Know Before You Owe is a set of mortgage guides from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). It shows home loan seekers the steps they need to take to open and handle a mortgage account. It provides detailed information on interest rates, and explains how to find comparable deals on loans, too. This makes perfect…
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Feds Target Predatory Lenders, Call Out “Nightmare” Scenarios for Deed Seekers
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is acting to block predatory financing, redlining, and zombie mortgages. What’s all this about predators, red lines and zombies, you ask? Let’s break it down.
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Acquiring a Deed in Stormy Times: Consider the Contractors
If you’re making plans to buy a home, heads up. Especially if the location has been exposed to storms or other physical disruptions. When the Clever Real Estate company surveyed homeowners this year, a third of the poll responders said they might hire a contractor with a flawed reputation to save funds. In the aftermath…
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Federal Update: New Contract for Deed Rules
Contracts for deed – sometimes called installment contracts, land sales contracts, or owner carry – leave the deed until the borrower pays for the home in full. Until then, the borrower lives in and maintains the home. This is a type of seller-financed home sale – and it’s one way to avoid getting entangled with…
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Looking for a Path to Homeownership? Look Again at Down Payment Assistance.
The typical person can’t afford the typical home. As property values keep rising, down payments aren’t getting any easier to make. If you know the feeling, have you looked up down payment assistance? It can be a grant, with no repayment requirement. Or it could be a loan — possibly a forgivable loan. Even if…
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Out of Control: Title Insurance and Other “Extras” Home Buyers Pay
$18K annually. That’s what the average homeowner pays to be one — above and beyond the price of the home and mortgage, property taxes, and utilities. Mortgage closing costs make up a third of that figure. U.S. housing costs are outpacing the country’s overall inflation. Homeowners’ insurance alone is up 11% year over year. And…
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All About DTI: How Much Debt Is Too Much If I Want to Buy a Home?
Receiving the deed to a home is a major milestone. Typically, it depends on an earlier milestone: the mortgage approval. Apply for a mortgage, and lenders will consider your debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Why the DTI? Essentially, the lender wants to know how much of your earnings you spend, using credit. A low DTI suggests that…
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The Hacks Keep Coming: Private Customer Data Exposed at Four Major Mortgage Companies
Remember that Halloween cyberattack on Mr. Cooper? Hackers got customers’ names and birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses and phone numbers. They even got access to people’s banking details. Some customers — new and longtime — tried to log in and could not access their accounts. They could not make payments. Even worse, the breach…
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Behind the Scenes of a Home Purchase: What’s Your Title Company Doing?
You joyfully pick up the keys on closing day, and leave the office triumphant, a thick folder from the title company under your arm. The title company played a starring role in your day. At least it did if a mortgage is involved! Cash buyers need not hire experts to run a search on the…
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Locked Out: Less Than 5% of U.S. Housing Is Accessible to Older, Disabled Residents
Tens of millions of U.S. residents have a problem. There aren’t enough homes for the elderly and disabled population. One in four of us — more than 60 million people — have a disability. And our older adult population is rapidly growing. As a general matter, the United States needs something between 3 million and…
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Mortgage Forbearance, Continued: Is Pandemic Assistance Still Available?
In 2020, a federal law called the CARES Act offered support for homeowners and renters coping with the impacts of a pandemic. Millions of homeowners requested and received mortgage forbearance. Most recently, in March 2023, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac renewed and enhanced their plans that let hard-hit homeowners defer up to six months of…
