Hillary Clinton Trying To Catch Predatory Lenders?

Predatory Lenders have been around since the early days of trade. The saying; “you sure drive a hard bargain” is television speak for “you’re a loan shark”.

Over Millennium, the Predatory Lender has evolved to a leaner, meaner and more elusive species.

Today Predatory Lenders call themselves Auto Dealers, Bankers, Capital Managers, Refinance Companies Wealth Planners, Investment Portfolio Managers and any other flavor of the minute name. But they are Predatory Lenders.

Predatory Lenders Get You Coming and Going.

Before I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, I held a checking and savings account with Washington Mutual ("WaMu") I would not recommend doing business with WaMu.
See “Did WaMu Screw You Too?” to catch up on the Predatory Lending Practices of WaMU and "eAppraise It!" In New York in 2007.

Does Mortgage Debt Make You Dizzy Too?

The term Mortgage literally means “Dead Pledge”. Robert Kiyosaki broke it down for me in The “Cash Flow Quadrant”- brilliant book by the way. Anyway...

I went to WaMu’s website to look at their Home Equity Line of Credit Loan Options and got dizzy trying to do the math in my head…OMGoodness! In Florida, WaMu can charge a maximum of 18% interest for Mortgage Loans!

According to CNN.com, Median Home Prices in Orlando, FL are $312,000. So much for the myth that “land is cheaper in Florida”, that saying is now a full blown lie.

For a Mortgage Loan in Florida at 18% Interest, a consumer will likely have to pay $7,000 per month just to meet the minimum monthly payments.

The total payout for a median priced home in Orlando, would be 940,000!

WaMus’ Web Site offers a bunch of confusingly slippery loan options. The WaMu disclosure statement speaks like someone in a mental ward. It’s – brilliant! To me, WaMus’ disclosure makes perfect sense looking at it from WaMu's perspective.

I’m not a mortgage expert. But I know mortgage debt land mines when I see them.

Terms And Conditions Cause Debt Land Mines to Explode.

WaMu has terms and conditions disclosures listed in no logical order. Connecting the dots was a battle for us. But since We Are Debt Warriors, we don’t give up - we follow-up. So here’s what I found.

1. Fees, fees, fees: You'll need to bank with WaMu to qualify. This means you'll need some kind of account with WaMu before they will even consider giving you a Home Equity line of credit. As you know, with Bank Accounts come fees.

There are also 2 to 4 percent transaction fees hidden throughout WaMu's Disclosure Statement. A 2 percent transaction fee can cost $25,000 depending on what the fee is apllied to.

2. WamU reserves the right to raise your rate at will: MaMu has the right to raise your Loan Rate from 2 to 5 percent every year. WaMu listed no specific reasons why your rate may be raised. They just state they have the right to raise your rate.

3. You have to pay to change your rate: With WaMu, if you want to change from an Adjustable Rate Mortgage to a Fixed Rate Mortgage you’ll be charged fees ranging from $50 - $250 dollars.

4. The Big Balloon Payment: At the end of your loan WaMu states that if you make interest only payments you will have a Balloon Payment due before the end of the loan term.

This means paying the minimum monthly mortgage payment on your loan will give you a nice going away party complete with stress, thousands of dollars of debt, and a big balloon payment due.

WaMu deceives people in their commercials. I’ve been watching the guy in the WaMu shirt on television positioning WaMu as a no fee bank. But WaMu only has no “Checking Account Fees”. But you are still charged Interest. Flame me if I’m wrong.

Add all these with Predatory Lending and fraudulent appraisal schemes and the result will be the Dead Pledge of your finances.

Hillary Clinton is the only candidate so far whom has offered sound Mortgage Reform Steps. The most important is her proposed Moratorium on Foreclosures. This step will help Americans until we can get our minds around solving the Credit Crunch Crisis.

I'm an Independent Voter. This post is not endorsing Hillary Clinton, but I applaud her leadership on this issue!

What do you think? Speak out! Send us your comments, or questions. Send Link Trade and Media inquires to: Jford@debtwarriors.com.

Wishing you Financial Security!
We are Debt Warriors!