Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for July, 2007

Recent Rumblings from Wall Street - What They Mean to You the Mortgage Holder

If you've followed the financial news lately you've probably heard some rumblings about how companies like Standard & Poors, Moody's and Fitch have updated the way they value and rate subprime mortgage securities held by investors.   The changes in their valuation models have drastically reduced the value of the loans that make up these securities sold and traded on Wall Street. This new model has made many of the loans that are held by investment banks, hedge funds, pension funds and overseas investors worth 50 or 60 cents on the dollar.   A huge loss by any measure.  ... more »

Protect Yourself from Mortgage Rip Offs: Know the Rules of the Game

It’s amazing how many people enter the loan process to purchase a home or refinance their current mortgage with out being properly prepared to manage the transaction. They begin the process with little more than an impulse. This leaves them with little foundation for negotiation and makes them a prime target for unscrupulous lenders. By doing some preplanning you can know the rules of the game position yourself to get the best possible mortgage. That is exactly what Carolyn Warren, author of "Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers" advocates. Her book outlines the shady misdeeds commonplace in the mortgage industry and... more »

About RSS

What Is RSS? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. When you subscribe via RSS, you’ll receive a list or ‘feed’ of information and links to recently published web content through an application called a feedreader. The RSS feed enables you to view new content on your favorite websites with ease. Understanding Feed Readers To subscribe to an RSS feed you must use a feed reader, a customized page like Google Personalized Homepage, or a browser with an RSS plug-in like Firefox. Subscribing to a Feed The Mortgage Mentor blog offers two subscription methods: Web-based news readers... more »

What is a Pay-Option Loan?

Everyday, I come across a new news article talking about the impacts of pay-option loans on home owners. These loans, also called negative amortization loans, provide home owners with a monthly payment option that is less than the amount of interest charged for borrowing the money each month. Because monthly payments are less than the total amount owed, the difference is added to the remaining loan balance. For example: If you have a pay-option loan and your minimum payment is $750 per month, but the interest owed on the loan each month is $1,000; you are adding $250 in unpaid... more »

Welcome to the Mortgage Mentor Blog

Our mission is to give you "The Truth About Loans." Clear-cut, simple, unadulterated truth. With every post, we bring you tools and advice that help you get the best possible mortgage loan. ... more »

Contributors

Alden Smith Alden Smith is an award winning author, expert researcher and avid blogger who has been writing for over 50 years. He now writes exclusively for the web and has been working online as an internet marketer for 8 years. In the pursuit of informing his reading public, Alden comes at consumer advocacy naturally. He takes great pride in thoroughly researching finance and real estate topics in order to educate consumers and empower them to begin researching independently. You’ll find Alden posting largely about current finance and real estate happenings. Alden is the CEO of Allnut Enterprises, LLC. ... more »