Are Greedy Mortgage Brokers Responsible for the Foreclosure Crisis?

There have got been a growth figure of narratives in the news about householders suing their former mortgage agents over the loan that they were given. Lawyers, as usual, are seeking out victims in order to drag more than people into the tribunal system and effort to contort money out of them, rather than actually providing any utile service to society. Many of these lawyers will be able to pull out some kind of legal judgement payments out of the mortgage brokers, of course, but it is dubious how much existent duty mortgage agents have got in the current foreclosure crisis. In fact, the lawyers as a community may have got more than than to make with it all.

The norm agent may be just as victimized as the homeowners, and many more former agents and loan conceivers are feeling the hurting of tighter recognition and declining place values. Their possible client alkali is quickly shrinking. The easy concern is just not there any longer, and Banks are not approving loans without better recognition and existent down payments. For agents who specialised in or got a important amount of the income from providing loans to borrowers with mediocre credit, they may not be able to remain in the concern at all.

This environment of easy recognition and loose loaning policies was created by the government, the functionary place of the lawyers. The Federal Soldier Modesty lowered involvement rates drastically in order to excite the economy, but only managed to make a immense fiscal bubble in the lodging market. Local authorities and big Banks turned a unsighted oculus to the fact that many of the place values were being exaggerated beyond any premise of reality. Place taxations rose and loaners were able to supply immense loans on places worth far less than stated, bundle them into incomprehensible fiscal products, and sell them to unaffectionate hedgerow funds.

The mortgage agents played the most direct function with the homeowners, but they were only offering the mortgage companies' merchandises to a marketplace of householders and purchasers who wanted them. If the adjustable charge per unit or interest-only mortgages were not utile or desirable, then they would not have got been so popular. Brokers would have got had to offer more than reasonable, less brassy merchandises to their customers, like loans on low-cost places or higher, fixed charge per unit mortgages. But many householders either did not desire this type of loan, or they did not measure up for a more than than criterion mortgage but wanted to purchase a house anyway.

In all cases, besides that of fraud on the portion of the broker, mortgage lender, or service company, the duty lies more with householders than any other party. It is up to the consumers of mortgages to understand how their loans will work, not just now but old age down the road, and be able to analyse at least the biggest risks, such as as declining place values and rising involvement rates. Few people purchase autos without researching their options and evaluating the characteristics of their prospective choices, such as as cost, security, mileage-per-gallon, and so on. And autos have got far more than technical, moving pieces, and are less expensive, and are shorter committednesses than purchasing a house with a mortgage.

Although avaricious mortgage agents may go the whipping boy of the foreclosure crisis, they were not the lone 1s taken in by the epoch of easy credit. The Banks and hedgerow finances encouraged the usage of these loan merchandises in every case, and the authorities created a immense bubble instead of recognizing that economical bubbles make not work out former economical bubbles. The lawyers, if they really wanted to throw the right political party answerable for the foreclosure mess, would travel after the government's mediocre pecuniary policies. But that would be like expecting a domestic dog to seize with teeth the manus that feeds it. Lawyers in authorities make the laws and policies that let the fiscal bubbles to occur, and then utilize other laws to debar answerability away from themselves, encouraging the lawyers out of authorities to make their best to steal money from the productive of society and retarding force them in presence of another lawyer in authorities wearing a achromatic robe.

Harbor Mortgage Hosts Telephone Seminar for Seniors May 24 - Reverse Mortgages Made Understandable

Published on: May 8th, 2007 12:01am by:

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Braintree, MA (OPENPRESS) May 8, 2007 -- Senior homeowners and their families are invited to stay at home, pick up the phone, and dial in to hear a free Educational Telephone Seminar on Reverse Mortgages and Retirement Planning on Thursday May 24 from 11 AM to 12 Noon.

Moderated by Greg Porell, the Editor of the South Shore Senior News and the Neponset Valley Senior News, this telephone seminar will provide objective information about the unique government backed programs that allow seniors (age 62+) to access the equity in their homes. Now seniors and their families can learn about an important financial option without leaving their home, just by listening.

Listen and Learn
Businesses have used telephone seminars for years. IT’S SIMPLE! Participants don’t need to say a word; they just dial in to a specially designated 800 number from the comfort and privacy of their home or office on May 24 at 11 AM and hear:
• How to access the equity in their home.
• Implications for retirement planning.
• Answers to THEIR questions (submit with RSVP).

Seminar speakers will include: Attorney Francis X. Small, Elder Law Attorney, Heaney & Small, LLP, Milford, MA; and George Downey, founder of Harbor Mortgage Solutions, Braintree, MA and former Chairman of the Massachusetts Mortgage Association.

Advance reservations are required. Call 1-800-597-5133 to RSVP and find out how to dial into this informative seminar on May 24th.

Those who dial in to the Reverse Mortgage seminar will learn how a reverse mortgage can help homeowners over the age of 62 cash in on the investment they made in their home without having to sell, move, or take out a home equity loan. Reverse mortgages can help provide a steady source of tax-free income enabling seniors to have the extra cash needed to pay off their bills and stay in their own home.

A recent study conducted by the National Council on Aging found that impaired, older Americans are struggling to live at home at a time when they own more than $2 trillion in untapped housing wealth. Senior homeowners throughout Massachusetts are struggling to make ends meet, yet most are unsure of how to proceed to unlock the equity in their homes.

A reverse mortgage, essentially the opposite of a traditional or “forward” mortgage, can enable seniors to tap into accumulated equity without having to face ongoing payments. Unlike traditional mortgages where borrowers make monthly payments, in a reverse mortgage the cash flow is reversed, and the lender makes payments to the borrower, enabling borrowers to use the tax free cash they receive in any way that they wish.

There are no minimum income, asset, or credit qualifications to meet and no effect on Social Security or Medicare benefits. The property must be the primary residence of the borrower and properly insured and maintained, with real estate taxes kept current. As long as the borrower continues to live in the property the loan can never be called.

Unlike a traditional mortgage where the balance starts high and the borrower’s monthly payments systematically reduce the loan balance, the balance of a reverse mortgage loan starts low and continues to increase as more cash is drawn and the deferred interest charges are added to the balance. Repayment is required if the home is sold, or when the last borrower permanently leaves the property, or passes away. At that time, the heirs can sell, or refinance, the property to pay off the loan.

Once the province of a few small banks and private lenders, the great majority of reverse mortgages today are provided through government-sponsored programs, namely the HUD/FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and the Fannie Mae Home Keeper (HK) programs.

Telephone Seminar Sponsor - Harbor Mortgage Solutions
The Senior Homeowner Division of Harbor Mortgage Solutions is dedicated to providing customized service, obtaining the best possible solution for each individual client every time.

An equal opportunity lender licensed in Massachusetts (license #MC0041) and Rhode Island (license #20041821LB), Harbor Mortgage Solutions is a member of the Massachusetts Mortgage Association, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, and the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, strictly subscribing to their rigid code of ethics. Harbor Mortgage Solutions is also an Educational Subscriber of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

For additional information on services offered by Harbor Mortgage Solutions please call 781-843-5553 or 800-599-8700, or visit www.HarborMortgage.com.

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Chase Says It Will Move if City Balks

is threatening to move thousands of employees from Midtown to Stamford, Conn., if New York officials do not give it a larger subsidy package to build a 50-story skyscraper near ground zero, according to real estate executives and government officials involved in the talks.

Officials view the bank’s threat to relocate outside Manhattan as the latest move in what has become a routine game of corporate poker in which companies try to extract special benefits. But Chase has gotten in touch with at least one large property owner in downtown Stamford, although it remains unclear whether the bank is serious or bluffing.

Chase struck a tentative deal with the Port Authority in late March to pay about $300 million for the development rights at the site of the soon-to-be-demolished building, at Greenwich and Cedar Streets. Chase planned to build a 1.3-million-square-foot tower there and move thousands of employees from Park Avenue to Lower Manhattan, in what was widely regarded as a boon for the beleaguered district.

Officials expected that the move would solidify Lower Manhattan’s place as a world financial center and validate the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site as a commercial complex.

In subsequent negotiations, state and city officials offered the bank the kind of benefit package available to any company moving to ground zero: a combination of tax breaks, cash payments and subsidized electricity benefits worth more than $100 million. But Chase has continually pushed city and state officials for a batch of subsidies akin to what got in 2005 to build a headquarters in Battery Park City. Critics described that deal as an egregious example of corporate welfare.

State and city officials have resisted the bank’s demands. They regard the Goldman deal as an aberration. And Mayor has said that the city will not grant any special benefits beyond what any other company would get.

“We would hope that Chase recognizes that Lower Manhattan is the financial capital of the world and that they would want to be located here,” said John Gallagher, a spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg. “Because the market in Lower Manhattan is strong and because Chase will realize more than $100 million with the incentives in place for Lower Manhattan, giving them an additional incentive package at this point would be difficult to justify.”

Joseph Evangelisti, a spokesman for Chase, declined to comment. Last week, Chase reported a 55 percent rise in first-quarter profits.

Stamford has been a relatively sleepy rival for Manhattan corporations compared with Jersey City, where U.S. Trust, Goldman Sachs, Chase, UBS and other financial institutions have moved at least part of their operations. Until recently, only UBS and some hedge funds had major operations in Stamford. But now the Royal Bank of Scotland is building a $400 million office complex there for what will be its North American headquarters. The complex includes a 95,000-square-foot trading floor and room for up to 1,400 traders.

State and city officials in New York continue to express optimism that a deal can be struck downtown for Chase. One official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about Chase, said that the snag centered on sales-tax breaks on building materials for the tower, while another said it had to do with payments the bank would be required to make in lieu of taxes.

Office rents are considerably cheaper downtown than uptown, but holding the line on subsidies has still been difficult since the 2005 Goldman Sachs deal. Goldman negotiated with state and city officials to build a headquarters in Battery Park City, a significant financial investment and the first dramatic boost for Lower Manhattan after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

But after a series of missteps by aides to Gov. , the state was forced to grant an unusually large subsidy package to ensure that Goldman would build the tower.

Goldman Sachs got incentives worth an estimated $650 million in cash grants, tax-exempt bonds, sales and utility tax breaks and discounts on required payments in lieu of taxes. Since then, Chase, and have sought similar packages. City and state officials have rebuffed them.

“The atmosphere in the city and downtown has changed dramatically since Sept. 11,” said Patrick J. Foye, co-chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, who is talking with Chase executives. “Rents downtown are very strong and demand continues to grow. The state would welcome JPMorgan moving part of its operations to the city’s vibrant downtown.”