Posted November 17, 2009 - 06:00 by Greg Go
From saving money to staying on budget, technology has made it easier than ever to stay on top of my personal finances. Here are 3 ways technology has helped me save money and time.
Posted September 2, 2009 - 10:00 by WC Porter
I confess: I'm about to break one of the cardinal rules of personal finance. I know it's not the responsible thing to do and it goes against every piece of "good financial advice" I've ever given. But I have my reasons. Good ones.
Posted August 5, 2009 - 09:00 by Paul Michael
Here’s a question for you that has been bugging me for years; why can’t home-builders follow the auto dealer’s classic model of old for new, and let people trade-in their old homes for new ones?
Posted July 21, 2009 - 08:25 by Xin Lu
If you are in the process of buying a new primary residence or second home, or considering refinancing a loan, a new set of federal consumer protection rules taking effect on July 30th, 2009 may affect you. These rules are a part of the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act of 2008, and they are designed to give consumers more disclosure of the cost of a loan and also more time to make a decision.
Posted June 17, 2009 - 17:45 by Nora Dunn
When a friend started quizzing me about different loan types the other day, I realized that there is a lot to know about the specific characteristics of the various species of loans. Do you know the basics yourself? If not, then check out this loan primer.
Posted April 29, 2009 - 16:48 by Xin Lu
The United States government launched the "Hope for Homeowners" program back in October, 2008, and so far only one loan has received final approval to refinance under this program. This week the Obama administration took another step to expand incentives to banks and borrowers to modify mortgages. This time, the plan targets second mortgages and it is called the Second Lien Program.
Posted April 24, 2009 - 09:28 by Xin Lu
The Obama administration announced a foreclosure prevention and mortgage reduction program about two months ago, and as of April less than 1000 loans have been refinanced under the program. One of the reasons that this program is getting a slow start may be that banks are hesistant to work with struggling homeowners who are still making their payments. A recent Los Angeles Times article profiled a family who tried to negotiate with their servicer to no avail, and once they missed a payment the servicer opened negotiations. So if you were a struggling home owner should you skip a mortgage payment just to get a bank attention?
Posted March 4, 2009 - 13:17 by Xin Lu
Today the Obama administration officially released the final details of the mortgage plan that was announced a few weeks ago. Here is a quick summary on what is in the plan and how homeowners can find out if they are eligible for a new loan.
Posted February 20, 2009 - 23:19 by Xin Lu
A few weeks ago I wrote an article about checking your mortgage statement, and interestingly enough my family was recently confronted with an erroneous mortgage statement. This is the story of how Countrywide tried to steal my parents' money. Additionally, I will give you some related information on the unscrupulous practice known as mortgage servicing fraud.
Posted January 28, 2009 - 16:02 by Xin Lu
This week the Federal Trade Commission sent out around $28 million in redress checks to more than 86,000 customers of Bear Stearns and EMC Mortgage Corporation. Apparently EMC Mortgage engaged in a flurry of unlawful practices such as misrepresenting mortgage amounts owed, charging unauthorized fees, and engaging in abusive collection practices. This is obviously a case of a dishonest company, but I am sure some customers were defrauded without even realizing it because they trusted the statements they received. This is a guide to how you can double check that the mortgage statement you receive is accurate.
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