News

2011

June

21

• Wall Street’s newest cop ready for duty. Even as Congress squabbles over who will lead the new consumer watchdog, the fledgling agency is gearing up to police Wall Street. Over the last several months, Republicans have scrutinized the early moves of the

• HUD program to aid distressed homeowners. The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the launch Monday of a $1 billion program to save delinquent homeowners in more than two dozen states from foreclosure. Unemployed homeowners or those underemployed because of economic

19

• Foreclosure backlog gives homeowners a reprieve. Millions of homeowners in distress are getting some unexpected breathing room — lots of it in some places. In New York State, it would take lenders 62 years at their current pace, the longest time frame in

18

• Debts that unsettle the score. Are medical-bill collection accounts buried away inside millions of consumers’ credit files — even bills that were fully paid or settled years ago — functioning as a drag on the housing market? That might sound far-fetched, yet

14

• Bank Of America 'significantly hindered' foreclosure investigation. Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank by assets, "significantly hindered" a federal investigation into the firm's faulty foreclosure practices on potentially billions of dollars worth of taxpayer-backed loans, a federal auditor told an

• More U.S. homes lease solar panels. Amid a booming U.S. solar market, more homeowners are able to lease rooftop panels — some with no upfront costs — and pay only for the power produced. A large provider, SolarCity, of San Mateo, Calif.,

• Deadline extended for mortgage servicers deal. Federal banking regulators have extended a deadline for the nation’s largest mortgage servicers to submit plans for revamping their business practices, in particular loan modifications and foreclosures. In April, 10 mortgage services agreed to deliver

12

• Changes in Refinancing. Refinancing your mortgage now is different from the last time you did it. Two-thirds of mortgages being written these days are refi’s, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Assuming your credit scores are strong,

07

• Couple threatens Bank of America with foreclosure. Months after Bank of America(BAC) wrongly foreclosed on a house Warren and Maureen Nyerges had already paid for, they were still fighting to get reimbursed for the court battle. So on Friday, their attorney

02

• Advocates and bankers join to fight loan rules. The weight of the mortgage crisis fell heavily on lower-income and minority communities, where first-time home buyers often fell victim to the predatory lending practices that resulted in an explosion of defaults and foreclosures. That

May

31

• Will your homeowners insurance cover you if disaster hits?. Most people don't give much thought to their homeowners insurance policy unless a tree punches a hole in their roof or they come home from vacation to find that the basement has been transformed into

29

• Consumer Action participated in the 'Chinatown Families Economic Resources Fair' (Chinese). 提供華人家庭理財須知，2011年華埠家庭經濟資源展昨天於三藩市金美倫堂舉行，主辦單位華埠家庭經濟自立聯盟依儲蓄理財、政府補助、就業培訓、房屋與家庭支援等主題展示實用資訊，同時以座談會的方式協助民眾在經濟大環境恢復遲緩的當下如何掌握經濟資源。

26

• Big battle brews for consumer protection agency. Didn’t we learn anything from the financial meltdown? Individual consumers cannot protect themselves from lenders that are willing to use predatory practices to boost profits. Reputable businesses cannot compete when competitors don’t play

• Banks team up for online payment system. Online and mobile customers of three major banks will be able to instantly zap funds from their accounts to other depositors at the banks under a program to be rolled out across the country over

• Mortgage servicers subpoenaed in foreclosure probes. Attorneys general in Illinois and California expanded their investigations into problems within the mortgage servicing industry Wednesday, issuing subpoenas to companies that help manage the flow of troubled loans. The move was the latest attempt

24

• Mortgage-only defaulters may be safe credit risks. People who default on their mortgages — but no other debts — are not as risky as expected, according to a new study from credit monitor TransUnion. TransUnion's research shows that those who only default on mortgages

• FHA down payments could go up. A Republican-led proposal circulated Monday would boost the down payment requirement for mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration, a move some industry experts said would shut potential home buyers out of the market. Borrowers

19

• New consumer bureau proposes simple mortgage forms. The blizzard of complex disclosure forms required in getting a mortgage soon could ease a bit as a new federal agency tries to streamline and simplify an important part of the process. In its first

17

• Renters beware: You need insurance too. Sometimes, mistaking a myth for a fact can be extremely costly. Take, for example, the myth that the only people who need to insure themselves against fires, floods or other disasters are homeowners. Everyone realizes

• N.Y. investigates banks’ role in fiscal crisis. The New York attorney general has requested information and documents in recent weeks from three major Wall Street banks about their mortgage securities operations during the credit boom, indicating the existence of a new investigation