Countrywide Financial is the nation’s largest mortgage lender. As of Friday, Countrywide was telling brokers to stop offering the option of no-money down.
“Please get in any deals over 95 LTV (loan-to-value) today!” Countrywide said late on Friday in an urgent e-mail to brokers. “Countrywide BC will no longer be offering any 100 LTV products as [...]
There are some interesting facts out today from Experian:
- 1 in 7 Americans carry 10 or more credit cards
- The average credit score nationally dropped to 674
- The average American holds four credit cards
Check out the National Score Index for some revealing data about our credit card nation.
Understanding how credit scores are calculated can help [...]
It does not get much worse than foreclosure. Think of it as the worst case scenario that both you and your lender want to avoid. Nobody wins in a foreclosure situation. The mortgage company has no choice once a borrower gets so far behind in their payments and is forced to initiate the legal process [...]
Sometimes it is nice to know that you are not the only one who is having financial hardship. Coming to grips with spending habits and debt levels is not easy for some to do. Not talking about it will not help the situation get better. Here are a few consumers who have taken their effort [...]
According to the Department of Justice, identity theft is passing drug trafficking as the number one crime in the nation. Victims spend an average of 330 hours recovering from this crime over 6 months. The University of Indiana reports that 14% of phishing scams are successful. With an estimated cost to US businesses and consumers [...]
Make no mistake about it. The evolution of credit scoring has helped consumers. The system was designed to give lenders a faster, unbiased idea about the risk associated with making a loan to someone. Think of it as a measure of a person’s credit worthiness. How exactly is the score calculated? There are [...]
In most cases, subprime loans are for borrowers with impaired or limited credit histories. This has been one of the fastest-growing parts of the mortgage industry. Over the last few years, subprime lenders have helped open the door to home ownership for many borrowers who might not have otherwise qualified for a home loan. These [...]
There are a lot of great websites to help you manage your personal finances. If you are having trouble keeping up with your monthly bills, give some serious consideration to asking for help. In most cases, once the late fees, penalties, and increased interest rates kick in, a bad situation can get out of hand [...]
