| Homeowners squeezed as lenders tighten rules | | Posted Monday, March 12, 2007 3:01:23 PM by Blog57 Team | | Edward Booker is one of nearly 3 million homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages who've had trouble paying their bills. And like Booker, many of them won't be able to refinance their loans once the interest rates start rising. At that point, they'll have to tighten their belts, sell their homes or lose them through foreclosure. This month, the mortgage payment on Booker's Chicago home rose $200, to about $1,300. It'll go up again in September. He wants to refinance, but he fell behind on payments after his wife died of cancer in 2005, so no lender wants to take the risk. "I'm just trying to hold onto my house until I can figure out something else to do," says Booker, 58, a former rail-car inspector who's on disability. Shutting the door Since the start of the year, more lenders have been shutting their doors to people like Booker, just as those homeowners' interest rates are rising.... | |
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| | | LendingTree.Com Introduces Expanded Smart Borrower Center | | Posted Tuesday, January 09, 2007 1:17:43 PM by Blog57 Team | | CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- LendingTree.com today announced a major upgrade and expansion of its Smart Borrower Center, an online education resource that arms borrowers with the information, tools and advice they need to navigate the often-confusing world of credit, debt and loans. Located at www.lendingtree.com/smartborrower, the LendingTree Smart Borrower Center was initially launched in 2004. It has grown dramatically since then, evolving from a basic collection of loan product descriptions and articles to a more dynamic, tools-based, and advice-driven resource that allows its users to find and opt into the information and education they want. "At LendingTree, we're passionate about empowering consumers," said LendingTree Chief Marketing Officer Bob Harris. "This newest iteration of the Smart Borrower Center, which is the cornerstone of our borrower education and advocacy program, represents another strong step forward as we seek new ways to help customers 'win' in the process of getting the loan that is right for them." "We've heard firsthand from our customers that the borrowing experience can be confusing, and sometimes even a little overwhelming," said Bridget Smith, editor-in-chief of the LendingTree Smart Borrower Center.... | |
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| | | Low Credit Score Mortgage Refinance – Refinance Loans For All ... | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 1:16:33 PM by Blog57 Team | | Having bad credit may seem like the end of the world. Because of a negative credit rating, you may be turned down for personal loans, credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages. Those unfamiliar with bad credit lenders may attempt to obtain financing through a bank or credit union. However, these financial institutions rarely offer bad credit loans. To get approved for financing with bad credit, you must select lenders that specialize in all credit types. What are Bad Credit Refinancing Lenders? Declining interest rates have many homeowners contemplating refinancing. Years ago, the average home interest rate was about 9 percent. Today, rates are as low as 5 percent. Those who refinance will receive a significantly lower rate. Hence, their monthly mortgage payment will also decrease.... | |
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| | | Hertz Profit Slumps 77% as Owners Refinance Debt (Update1) | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 7:25:29 AM by Blog57 Team | | Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Hertz Global Holdings Inc., which plans to sell shares to the public in two days, said profit plunged 77 percent as its buyout owners took on debt at higher interest rates to pay off their investment in the company. Interest expense nearly doubled to $672.6 million from $353.2 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30. Since Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc., the Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch & Co. bought Hertz in December for $15 billion, they have raised new debt and refinanced existing loans at interest rates higher than those on Hertz's previous loans. Underwriters are canvassing possible investors as the private-equity partners look to sell shares to the public less than one year after buying Hertz. In a leveraged buyout, the acquirer tends to borrow most of the purchase price and use the target company's cash flow to repay lenders.... | |
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| | | Oct. Morgage Loans Fall at Countrywide | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 3:20:26 AM by Blog57 Team | | Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. said Thursday that mortgage loan fundings fell 12 percent to $41 billion in October. Countrywide said that purchase activity has started to slow, but lower interest rates in September spurred October refinance activity to $24 billion, the highest dollar volume since the year-ago period. Average daily mortgage loan application activity fell to $2.6 billion from $2.8 billion in the year-ago period. The mortgage loan pipeline was $61 billion at Oct. 31, compared with $71 billion a year earlier. In the year to date, funding volume fell 7 percent to $375 billion. Shares of Countrywide Financial fell 12 cents to $38.56 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. .... | |
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| | | NWA to borrow up to $779M to refinance jets | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 7:27:45 PM by Blog57 Team | | A unit of Citigroup Inc. has agreed to lend Northwest Airlines Inc. up to $779 million to refinance some of its Airbus A330 jets. The airline included that information in bankruptcy documents filed Monday in New York. The Eagan-based airline said Citigroup Global Markets Inc. agreed to make the loan last week. Northwest (Pink Sheets: NWACQ - News) said the refinancing will allow it to save money and also make the loans "more liquid and more attractive to subsequent investors." The carrier said the credit could continue after it comes out of bankruptcy, which it expects to do next year. Published November 8, 2006 by the Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal .... | |
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| | | REAL ESTATE: Adjustable rates worry homeowners | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 11:17:21 AM by Blog57 Team | | Homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages worry about rising interest rates, but many believe they will be able to refinance if necessary, according to a recent study. As reported by The Associated Press, a survey of homeowners conducted for Wells Fargo & Co., the San Francisco-based bank, found that about one in seven respondents had an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM. With an ARM, the interest rate rises or falls, often in lockstep with an underlying security such as a Treasury bond. The study found that nearly 80 percent of homeowners with ARMs said they were "somewhat" concerned, "very" concerned or "extremely" concerned about rate increases. But more than half said they believed they could refinance their loans. And about 20 percent said they were prepared for rate adjustments and didn't plan any changes.... | |
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| | | We are too comfortable with debt | | Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 3:27:20 AM by Blog57 Team | | Debt has become a way of life in this country. We are too comfortable with mortgages, car loans, school loans, credit cards, home equity loans, 401(k) loans, overdraft protection loans, no payments for 12-month loans, payday loans ... the choices are nearly endless. We price a purchase now by how much the loan payment will be, not how much we are borrowing or how much interest we will pay over the life of the loan. Sometimes it's hard to even find the price of anything because the monthly payment is what gets advertised. "For $299 a month, you can drive this car." .... | |
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| | | ADJUSTABLE-RATE LOANS | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 3:20:47 AM by Blog57 Team | | The future is gnawing at homeowner Scott Klimek. Will the interest rate on his adjustable-rate mortgage go up? Will he be able to afford the monthly payments if it does? Klimek, 47, bought his home in Brighton, Colo., with a five-year ARM. ``If it was, like, this year that it was going to adjust, then I would really be worried, but I'm just moderately worried,'' said Klimek. He has four more years until the rate on his mortgage changes. He is not alone in his concern. With the explosion of financial choices, consumers must continually sharpen their assessments of whether certain mortgages make sense for them, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday. ``Some evidence, including recent Federal Reserve research on consumers holding adjustable-rate mortgages, suggests that awareness could be improved, particularly among borrowers with lower incomes and education levels,'' Bernanke said in prepared remarks.... | |
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| | | Lowest Interest Rate Mortgage Refinance Loans – 3 Ways To Get A ... | | Posted Wednesday, November 01, 2006 1:25:07 PM by Blog57 Team | | The lower your interest rate on your refinance mortgage, the more money you will save. But not all refinance loans are created equal. To get the lowest interest rates, follow these three tips when applying for you refinancing. 1. Refinance Your Entire Mortgage Refinancing your entire mortgage will help you to qualify for the lowest rates. Having split mortgages or a home equity line of credit elevates your risk level and rates. However, if you have a really good rate on one mortgage, then you may not want to combine those mortgages. Take the time to request quotes for both loan situations. Within minutes, you can get an answer from lenders and know which is your best option. .... | |
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