Home Loan

Home Equity Scams: Borrowers Beware! Home Equity Loans : Borrowers Beware! D o you own your home? If so, it's likely to be your greatest single asset. Unfortunately, if you agree to a loan that's based on the equity you have in your home, you may be putting your most valuable asset at risk. Homeowners-particularly elderly, minority and those with low incomes or poor credit-should be careful when borrowing money based on their home equity. Why? Certain abusive or exploitative lenders target these borrowers, who unwittingly may be putting their home on the line. Abusive lending practices range from equity stripping and loan flipping to hiding loan terms and packing a loan with extra charges. The Federal Trade Commission urges you to be aware of these loan practices to avoid losing your home. The Practices Equity Stripping You need money. You don't have much income coming in each month. You have built up equity in your home. A lender tells you that you could get a loan, even though you know your income is just not enough to keep up with the monthly payments. The lender encourages you to "pad" your income on your application form to help get the loan approved. This lender may be out to steal the equity you have built up in your home. The lender doesn't care if you can't keep up with the monthly payments. As soon as you don't, the lender will foreclose-taking your home and stripping you of the equity you have spent years building. If you take out a loan but don't have enough income to make the monthly payments, you are being set up. You probably will lose your home. Hidden Loan Terms: The Balloon Payment You've fallen behind in your mortgage payments and may face foreclosure. Another lender offers to save you from foreclosure by refinancing your mortgage and lowering your monthly payments. Look carefully at the loan terms. The payments may be lower because the lender is offering a loan on which you repay only the interest each month. At the end of the loan term, the principal-that is, the entire amount that you borrowed-is due in one lump sum called a balloon payment. If you can't make the balloon payment or refinance, you face foreclosure and the loss of your home. Loan Flipping Suppose you've had your mortgage for years. The interest rate is low and the monthly payments fit nicely into your budget, but you could use some extra money. A lender calls to talk about refinancing, and using the availability of extra cash as bait, claims it's time the equity in your home started "working" for you. You agree to refinance your loan. After you've made a few payments on the loan, the lender calls to offer you a bigger loan for, say, a vacation. If you accept the offer, the lender refinances your original loan and then lends you additional money. In this practice-often called "flipping"-the lender charges you high points and fees each time you refinance, and may increase your interest rate as well. If the loan has a prepayment penalty, you will have to pay that penalty each time you take out a new loan. You now have some extra money and a lot more debt, stretched out over a longer time. The extra cash you receive may be less than the additional costs and fees you were charged for the refinancing. And what's worse, you are now paying interest on those extra fees charged in each refinancing. Long story short? With each refinancing, you've increased your debt and probably are paying a very high price for some extra cash. After a while, if you get in over your head and can't pay, you could lose your home. The "Home Improvement" Loan A contractor calls or knocks on your door and offers to install a new roof or remodel your kitchen at a price that sounds reasonable. You tell him you're interested, but can't afford it. He tells you it's no problem-he can arrange financing through a lender he knows. You agree to the project, and the contractor begins work. At some point after the contractor begins, you are asked to sign a lot of papers. The papers may be blank or the lender may rush you to sign before you have time to read what you've been given. The contractor threatens to leave the work on your house unfinished if you don't sign. You sign the papers. Only later, you realize that the papers you signed are a home equity loan. The interest rate, points and fees seem very high. To make matters worse, the work on your home isn't done right or hasn't been completed, and the contractor, who may have been paid by the lender, has little interest in completing the work to your satisfaction. Credit Insurance Packing You've just agreed to a mortgage on terms you think you can afford. At closing, the lender gives you papers to sign that include charges for credit insurance or other "benefits" that you did not ask for and do not want. The lender hopes you don't notice this, and that you just sign the loan papers where you are asked to sign. The lender doesn't explain exactly how much extra money this will cost you each month on your loan. If you do notice, you're afraid that if you ask questions or object, you might not get the loan. The lender may tell you that this insurance comes with the loan, making you think that it comes at no additional cost. Or, if you object, the lender may even tell you that if you want the loan without the insurance, the loan papers will have to be rewritten, that it could take several days, and that the manager may reconsider the loan altogether. If you agree to buy the insurance, you really are paying extra for the loan by buying a product you may not want or need. Mortgage Servicing Abuses After you get a mortgage, you receive a letter from your lender saying that your monthly payments will be higher than you expected. The lender says that your payments include escrow for taxes and insurance even though you arranged to pay those items yourself with the lender's okay. Later, a message from the lender says you are being charged late fees. But you know your payments were on time. Or, you may receive a message saying that you failed to maintain required property insurance and the lender is buying more costly insurance at your expense. Other charges that you don't understand-like legal fees-are added to the amount you owe, increasing your monthly payments or the amount you owe at the end of the loan term. The lender doesn't provide you with an accurate or complete account of these charges. You ask for a payoff statement to refinance with another lender and receive a statement that's inaccurate or incomplete. The lender's actions make it almost impossible to determine how much you've paid or how much you owe. You may pay more than you owe. Signing Over Your Deed If you are having trouble paying your mortgage and the lender has threatened to foreclose and take your home, you may feel desperate. Another "lender" may contact you with an offer to help you find new financing. Before he can help you, he asks you to deed your property to him, claiming that it's a temporary measure to prevent foreclosure. The promised refinancing that would let you save your home never comes through. Once the lender has the deed to your property, he starts to treat it as his own. He may borrow against it (for his benefit, not yours) or even sell it to someone else. Because you don't own the home any more, you won't get any money when the property is sold. The lender will treat you as a tenant and your mortgage payments as rent. If your "rent" payments are late, you can be evicted from your home. Protecting Yourself You can protect yourself against losing your home to inappropriate lending practices. Here's how: Don't: Agree to a home equity loan if you don't have enough income to make the monthly payments. Sign any document you haven't read or any document that has blank spaces to be filled in after you sign. Let anyone pressure you into signing any document. Agree to a loan that includes credit insurance or extra products you don't want. Let the promise of extra cash or lower monthly payments get in the way of your good judgment about whether the cost you will pay for the loan is really worth it. Deed your property to anyone. First consult an attorney, a knowledgeable family member, or someone else you trust. Do: Ask specifically if credit insurance is required as a condition of the loan. If it isn't, and a charge is included in your loan and you don't want the insurance, ask that the charge be removed from the loan documents. If you want the added security of credit insurance, shop around for the best rates. Keep careful records of what you've paid, including billing statements and canceled checks. Challenge any charge you think is inaccurate. Check contractors' references when it is time to have work done in your home. Get more than one estimate. Read all items carefully. If you need an explanation of any terms or conditions, talk to someone you can trust, such as a knowledgeable family member or an attorney. Consider all the costs of financing before you agree to a loan. For More Information The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues , visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel , a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION FOR THE CONSUMER 1-877-FTC-HELP www.ftc.gov April 1998

Real Estate Broker

Atlanta Real Estate: Metro Brokers/GMAC Atlanta real estate, Georgia, brokers, agent, buckhead, atlanta mortgage, cobb, midtown, homes for sale -- Atlanta Real Estate & Atlanta Homes for Sale Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate Community Search Builders/Developers New Home Services for Agents Order relocation kit Who's who in relocation GM Family First Quote Form Claims Dictionary FAQ's Privacy notice Services offered Businesses for sale Commercial division info Property search Agent roster Who wants to be a millionaire? Comprehensive sales training Broker support Coaching Agent Testimonials Contact us A little history Marketing Communications Technology Office locations/directions Market share comps Company News Premier Service Have a question? Ask your online guide. E-mail Metro Mike. Learn how to schedule appointments online to see properties. Order our FREE 250+ page home guide with thousands of area homes for sale. Click here to learn how to get a Georgia real estate license for free! Click here to view your shopping cart or create a new account. Metro Brokers Financial offers competitive rates on a variety of mortgage products. Click here to prequalify! Search the largest database of Atlanta homes for sale 72,310 HOMES more than any other website! Database last updated Dec 29 2005 6:58AM Market Share Comps Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate grew its Atlanta real estate market share by one percent in 2004, while every other local residential realty company with at least 2,000 closings lost market share – one company by 15 percent. Over the last four years, Metro Brokers has increased its metro area market share by 3.4 percent – far better than any other local company. In fact, Atlanta’s other top 10 residential real estate companies experienced market share declines over that same period by an average of 23.5 percent. Metro Brokers did even better in specific real estate submarkets of Atlanta. The company saw double-digit market share gains in Butts, Cherokee, Coweta, Dawson, Douglas, East Cobb, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gwinnett, Henry, Intown Atlanta, Newton, North Fulton, Paulding, Rockdale, Walton and West Cobb. The company remains the Atlanta market share leader south of I-20, with nearly 1 out of every 4 homebuyers represented by a Metro Brokers sales associate. According to Metro Brokers President and CEO Kevin Levent, the primary reason for the company's market-leading growth is the increased productivity of its sales associates. "Our associates sold more homes in Atlanta than any other year in the history of our company," Levent said. "Our training programs are invigorating experienced real estate sales associates and helping new real estate licensees hit the ground running." Metro Brokers is also the largest license holder in the state of Georgia. The market share study was completed by Smart Numbers, an independent, Atlanta-based company that provides residential real estate information. Smart Numbers used closing data from MLS and FMLS to compile its report. Company News ATLANTA - Once again, the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (HBA) has selected metrobrokers.com Best Realtor Website in the Atlanta area for the fourth consecutive year. MetroBrokers.com was chosen by HBA’s judges for its functionality, ease-of-use and overall design. The only organization recognizing Atlanta companies for excellence in website design, the HBA has been promoting, protecting and preserving homeownership in the greater area since its inception in 1945. HBA is an affiliate of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), headquartered in Washington, D.C. During the last year, Metro Brokers became the first local company to successfully launch an appointment setting tool that allows homebuyers to schedule a showing while viewing a listing online. As a result, Metro Brokers has generated more than 2,000 real estate showing requests – a figure that’s 30 percent higher than the national average of other metro realty companies. REALTORS RESPOND TO METRO BROKERS’ NEW BILLBOARDS Joyce Hay of the Gwinnett office: “Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! I love the billboards. My clients think the boards are cool, too. They say it’s better than any other billboard they’ve ever seen and that Metro Brokers is far and above any other company.” Salim Lokhandwalla of the Tucker office: “It’s very eye-catching. The locations are excellent especially the one on I-85 south. If my 11 year old daughter notices it, I’m sure others will too.“ Jamie Hook of the East Cobb office: “It’s really impressive, especially when you have clients in the car and drive by it.” Radley Reiff of the Buckhead office: “I love it. I think it’s great for brand recognition…A perfect ‘10’.” Serrie Fields of the Stone Mountain office: “The billboard can’t be beat. It’s bold, easy to read in traffic and very visible. It makes our name well known in the community and reinforces our large market presence. I envision the billboards helping me on listing presentations when I mention them to customers.” Bo Krejci of the North Fulton office: “I think the billboard is great. It really pops out at you when you drive down GA-400. I can only imagine the impact on morning commuters as the traffic crawls by the billboard.” Real Estate Atlanta, Georgia

Denver Real Estate

Denver Real Estate Agents Brokers, Boulder Relocation Services, Colorado Realtor, Homes For Sale, For Sale By Owner, FSBO, Help Buy or Sell Your Home. We'll Help You Buy Your Dream Home Housing Helpers puts years of experience behind every home purchase. Our Real Estate Brokers are area experts who truly love helping people buy the right home, condo, or investment property. Let us represent you through your home buying transaction! We can also help you sell your home . We specialize in Colorado (Boulder, Interlocken, Longmont, Denver, Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs) and in Las Vegas, Nevada. We offer home mortgage assistance and first-time homebuyer programs. We are accessible seven days a week. We’ll find your first home or condo renter for FREE when you purchase an investment property from us. Call 1.800.795.5937 now to find a home in Boulder, Interlocken, Longmont, Ft. Collins and surrounding suburbs Call 1.877.492.7368 for Denver Call 1.800.795.5937 for Colorado Springs Call 1.877.752.5452 for Las Vegas Let us sell your home Meet Our Realtors Email a Boulder, Fort Collins, Broomfield and Denver North Metro Realtor Email a Denver Central and South Metro Realtor Email a Colorado Springs Area Realtor Email a Las Vegas Area Realtor "If anyone asks us for a suggestion on getting real estate help, we know just who to recommend. You can't get better and more professional help than the aptly named Housing Helpers." – Ed Kendig Enter your search criteria to begin Locale: Colorado Las Vegas Cities: Akron Allenspark Alma Arvada Atwood Ault Aurora Bellvue Bennett Berthoud Black Hawk Boulder Briggsdale Brighton Broomfield Brush Burlington Byers Carr Castle Rock Central City Commerce City Conifer Crook Dacono Denver Downieville Drake Eaton Eldorado Springs EMPIRE Englewood Erie Estes Park Evans Evergreen Federal Heights Firestone Fleming Fort Collins Fort Lupton Fort Morgan Frederick Galeton Garden City Georgetown Gilcrest Gill Glen Haven Golden Grand Lake Greeley Grover Haxtun Henderson Highlands Ranch Hillrose Hudson Hugo Hygiene Idaho Springs Idalia Iliff Jamestown Jefferson Johnstown Keenesburg Kersey Kremmling Lafayette Lakewood Laporte LaSalle Littleton Livermore Lochbuie Log Lane Village Longmont Louisville Loveland Lucerne Lyons Masonville Mead Merino Milliken Nederland New Raymer Niwot Northglenn Nunn Orchard OTHER Ovid Parker Peetz Pierce Pine Pinecliffe Platteville Proctor Pueblo Raymer Red Feather Riverside Roggen Rollinsville Rye Sedgwick Severance Snyder Sterling Stoneham Strasburg Stratton Superior Thornton Timnath Walden Ward Weldona Wellington Westminster Wheat Ridge Wiggins Windsor Woodrow Yuma Property Type: any Residential Attached Dwelling Income Property Lease: Office/Industrial/Retail Sale: Commercial/Industrial Vacant Land/Lots Farm and Ranch Mobile/Manufactured w/o Land Price Range: to Bedrooms: any one two three four+ Baths: any one two three four+ Square Feet: to Garage Spaces: any one two three+ Sort Format: Price (1-9) Home | Rental Apartments in Boulder, Denver, Las Vegas | Buy or Sell a Home in Boulder, Denver, Las Vegas | Meet Our Realtors | Find a Roommate | Corporate Short Term Rentals | Rent Your Property | Colorado Information | Las Vegas Information | Privacy Policy | Legal Information | Contact | Site Map

New Home

NOAA Home Page Thu December 29 2005 Home Contacts Media Disclaimer Search People Locator Home Page Menu Air Quality Aviation Charts Climate Coasts Contacts Disclaimer Diving Drought Fire Weather Fisheries Floods Hurricanes Jobs Lightning Meet the Administrator Navigation Ocean NOAA Leadership Past Weather Podcast Privacy Policy Question of the Month Research RSS Satellites Search this site Site Map Solar and Space Storm Watch Tornadoes Tsunamis Turtles Volcanoes Weather Weather Data Whales Site Map (includes pull-down menu text) NOAA RSS Podcasts Taking the Pulse of the Planet Your Local Forecast by City, State (not ZIP code) STORM WATCH Current Watches/Warnings Graphical Weather Maps and Other Weather Information Image of the Day • Meet the NOAA Administrator • NOAA Administrator's Speeches • NOAA Leadership • About NOAA • NOAA Strategic Planning • Annual Guidance Memo • FOIA • NOAA History • NOAA Organization Chart • Information Quality • Privacy Policy • Department of Commerce Emergency Information for NOAA Employees • Contracting • Employment • Diversity • Grants • NOAA National Weather Service • NOAA Satellites and Information • NOAA Fisheries • NOAA Ocean Service • NOAA Research • NOAA Marine & Aviation Operations • CIO/HPCC • Education Resources • Education and Sustainable Development • NOAA Corporate Services • General Counsel • Program Planning and Integration • IT Security • Legislative Affairs • NOAA Library • NOAA in Your State • Science Advisory Board • Employee Worklife Center • Hydrographic Services Review Panel • Media Contacts • News Releases • NOAA Background Info • Public Affairs • External Affairs • Story Ideas for Reporters NOAA TEACHER AT SEA PROGRAM LAUNCHES NEW WEB SITE NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program launched a new Web site, better enabling teachers from kindergarten through college to find and apply for opportunities to get first-hand research experience aboard NOAA hydrographic, oceanographic and fisheries research vessels. Teachers who sail aboard NOAA ships write daily logs of their experiences and e-mail them to the NOAA program coordinator. The new Web site’s main feature allows access to these logs, which include information about sea temperatures and other data, research of the day, and interviews with scientists and crew. Full Story Inside NOAA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE UNVEILS NEW PRECIPITATION WEB PAGE — High-quality precipitation analyses used for flood forecasts, drought monitoring and climate trends are being made available on the NOAA National Weather Service Web site on a trial basis through June 2006. During this time, comments regarding the service will be collected to determine whether it effectively meets users' needs and whether the service should be continued after the trial period. News Story Archive - Home page stories 1999 - Present NOAA SATELLITES HELP KEEP COMPETITIVE SAILORS SAFE — The international Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System (COSPAS-SARSAT) is giving an extra measure of safety for sailors competing in the worldwide Volvo Ocean Race. The SARSAT program is providing life-saving, alert capabilities for 21 emergency beacons, which were purchased by race organizers to use in the race. NOAA Magazine - The stories behind the headlines. Ocean Etiquette: Promoting Responsible Encounters with Living and Submerged Cultural Resources NOAA REPORTS WARMER 2005 FOR THE UNITED STATES, NEAR-RECORD WARMTH GLOBALLY: HURRICANES, FLOODS, SNOW AND WILDFIRES ALL NOTABLE — After a record-breaking hurricane season, blistering heat waves, lingering drought and a crippling Northeast blizzard, 2005 is ending as a warm year in the United States. It will come close to the all-time high global annual average temperature, based on preliminary data gathered by scientists at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. AccessNOAA - NOAA Employees Make a Difference Hurricane Katrina Environmental Impacts NOAA Conducts Aerial Photography Missions over Regions Affected by Hurricane Wilma NOAA Performs Aerial Survey of Regions Affected by Hurricane Rita NOAA Hurricane Katrina Support Activities; Aerial Photography Flights Yield Thousands of Images NOAA Hurricane Hunter Pilot Captures Katrina at Her Meanest Weather Watches, warnings, floods, hurricanes, Weather Radio... Ocean Coral reefs, tides, currents, buoys, marine sanctuaries, estuaries, diving, spills Satellites Real-time imagery, environmental, geostationary and polar satellites Fisheries Protecting marine mammals, sea turtles, habitats, statistics, economics, enforcement Climate El Niño & La Niña, global warming, drought, climate prediction, archived weather data, paleoclimatology Research Environmental labs , air quality, atmospheric processes, climate and human interactions Coasts Coastal services, products, Great Lakes, coastal zone management Charting & Navigation Nautical & navigational charts, mapping, remote sensing, safe navigation Question of the Month What is the difference between "Tide Charts" and "Tide Tables"? NOAA Answers Your Questions A new Web site to help you find NOAA information. • NOAA David Johnson Award — Nomination Deadline Dec. 1, 2005 • FY 2008 Annual Guidance Memorandum (PDF) • Economic Statistics for NOAA (PDF) — Fourth Edition 2005 • Strategic Plan for the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System • NOAA 2006 Budget Request — "Blue Book" Online • Dept. Of Commerce Consistency Appeal of Islander East Pipeline Company (54-page PDF File) • NOAA Strategic Plan , 2005-2010 (PDF) • Coastal Zone Management Act Consistency Appeals • NOAA Cooperative Conservation • NOAA Climate Data at a Glance - Find 108 years of weather data for the U.S. • New England Red Tide Information Center • Search & Rescue Satellite-aided Tracking/Emergency Beacon registration - See how NOAA's SARSAT helps to save mariners, aviators and other people in distress. • NOAA and the Preserve America Initiative - Find out about the nation's oldest scientific agency. • NOAA Ocean Explorer - Ocean exploration without getting wet! • Beach Temperatures Drifting Iceberg Visit the NOAA Photo Library and view more than 40,000 images. Visit NOAA's Undersea Research Program, or NURP, where scientists investigate the undersea environment to put together the pieces of the ocean’s puzzle. Scientists use tools such as submersibles, remotely operated vehicles, mixed gas diving gear, underwater laboratories and observatories, and other cutting edge technologies to explore the undersea universe. The Emmy award-winning NOAA documentary, Saving Springer , is a remarkable and inspirational story about the work that NOAA does every day. Springer, a young abandoned killer whale, might have faced a solitary existence, left to make her way as best she could. Instead, the work and dedication of NOAA professionals gave Springer a new chance at life and helped her return to her family. Want to Know About NOAA? — You'll need RealPlayer to view this streaming video clip. Click here for video text. Presidential Visit to NOAA Wells Estuary in Wells, Maine. You'll need RealPlayer to view this streaming video. Click here for video text. NOAA Launches the First of Four Planned NOAA Fisheries Survey Vessels — You'll need RealPlayer to view this streaming video clip. Read the story . Publication of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce . Last Updated: December 28, 2005 1:12 PM http://www.noaa.gov

Land Loans Lending Area

Real Estate Loan main page Home | Search | Sitemap | Contact Us | Your Privacy | Reorder Checks Credit Cards | Account Aggregation | Mortgages | Buy Stocks | Online Banking About Us Join Us Save with Us Borrow from Us Invest/Insure with Us Your Rates Your Tools Your Business Borrow from Us Auto Loans Consumer Loans Credit Cards Real Estate Loans Apply now Rates 80/10/10 Mortgages Adjustable Rate Mortgages Construction Mortgages Fixed Rate Mortgages Flexible Mortgages Home Equity Line Of Credit Land Loans Lending Area Refinancing Zero Down Mortgages Payment Protection Whether you are buying a new home or you've decided to remodel, as a member of Redstone Federal Credit Union, you have access to many different low annual percentage rate loans and refinancing options. At RFCU, we provide you with the financial resources you'll need and the personal service you've come to expect. Take a look and please feel free to contact our Real Estate Department for more information. We'll be happy to help you decide what type of loan will work best for your particular needs. Real Estate Lending Area Click here to locate the geographic area that our real estate lending area covers. 80/10/10 Mortgages A great way to finance your new real estate purchase and have cash on hand to make improvements, renovations, or add that personal touch. Learn more.. Adjustable Rate Mortgages With our Adjustable Rate Mortgages, you can reap the benefits of our low interest rates. Learn more... Apply Now Construction Mortgages Ready to build on your dream property? Here's the best way to make it happen. Learn more... Fixed Rate Mortgages Sometimes change is good. When interest rates go up, well, let's just say you'll wish you had a Fixed Rate Mortgage with RFCU. Learn more... Apply Now Flexible Mortgages When a low down payment is what you need, we offer two types of Flexible Mortgages. Learn more... Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC) Hey, it's your money, put it to good use with a HELOC. Learn more... Land Loans It's a buyers market and we provide you with options of how to acquire the perfect land to call your very own. Learn more... Refinancing Are rates lower today than when you first purchased? If so, you may consider refinancing. Learn more... Apply Now Zero Down Payment Mortgages Need your cash for something other than a down payment? With our Zero Down Payment Mortgage, it's possible! Learn more..