Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for May, 2019

Mortgage Originations Tumble to 5-Year Lows

Even though mortgage interest rates have remained near record lows, total new mortgage originations fell to a 5-year low during the first quarter of 2019, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Total originations dropped $60 billion from the previous quarter to $344 billion, the lowest level since the third quarter […]

25% of Debtors Benefit from a Personal Loan

A new study from TransUnion found that one in four people who take out a small personal loan after falling behind in their other debts are able to catch up and get current on all payments within a year. Of course, the flip side to that statistic is that the majority – 75% – of […]

99% of Student Loan Forgiveness Applicants Denied

Less than 1% of borrowers nationwide have been able to take advantage of federal public service loan forgiveness, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Education. As of the end of 2018, there have been 65,500 loan forgiveness applications filed by those with outstanding student debt. The Education Department has processed 58,000, so […]