Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: lender guide + refinance + refi  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)

How to Stop the Foreclosures Black Agenda Report, NJ - Aug 6, 2008 Mortgages on these houses are likely to be the ones that the lenders will voluntarily refinance, and any further losses would have be borne by the ... Facing foreclosure? Hound lender weekly Boston Globe, United States - Jul 31, 2008 He was ultimately able to refinance his home and work it out. The lender told him that the only reason he got the attention is that he was really on the ... A Qualified Mortgage Consultant Can Help Boost Credit Scores Western Edition, CA - Aug 1, 2008 In general terms, this means that if you sell your home or try to refinance before the pre-payment penalty period expires and you have not already paid off ... Take action quickly to avoid foreclosure, agency advises West County Journal, MO - Jul 30, 2008 Many homeowners who got adjustable rate mortgages had expected to refinance their homes before the lower rate expired by using their home's value as equity. ... My Mortgage PHD Offers Valuable Advice For Refinancing Arizona ... WebWire (press release), GA - Jul 23, 2008 Interest rates have dropped, the AZ home real estate market is now a "buyer?s market", and home mortgage holders are scrambling to refinance their home ... Pitfalls of buying foreclosures Boston Globe, United States - Jul 28, 2008 If you have enough equity in your current home, why not try to refinance that home and pull out enough money to assist in the purchase of the new one? ... Platinum Funding Offers Insider Tips for Navigating the ... PR Web (press release), WA - Jul 16, 2008 Platinum Funding, a California-based mortgage lender, offers these tips for any American looking to buy, sell, or refinance a home. ... Dallas Morning News 'Middlemen' lend expertise to those facing real estate financing ... Dallas Morning News, TX - Jul 8, 2008 ?Talk to your lender as soon as you know you're in trouble. The lender might be willing to restructure your payments or even refinance the loan. ... Seaside, California Mortgage Consultant Reveals Insider Loan ... SBWire (press release), WI - Jul 10, 2008 If you're planning to buy your next home, your first home, that dream home, a condo, vacation home, investment property or looking to refinance in ... Blackbelt Gazette Seven Home-Buying Traps Blackbelt Gazette, demopolis - Jul 8, 2008 ?If interest rates go up, your payment stays the same, and if they go down, you can refinance.? Before you decide on a mortgage, spend some time in MSN ...

Who offers good guide to refi lenders?

Q: We're thinking of refinancing our mortgage. Is there a reliable source of information about local and regional lenders that goes into depth and can help us determine which are the most reputable, financially solid and likely to keep their loans rather than resell them? Also, is there somewhere we can check for complaints against lenders?

A: A comprehensive, up-to-date lender-information resource would surely be welcomed by most borrowers. Alas, it doesn't exist, and creating it would be a formidable task, because no one really knows how many lenders are operating in this state. Chuck Cross, director of consumer services for the state's Department of Financial Institutions, estimates there could be more than 2,000, including large national banks, small credit unions, mortgage brokers, savings and loans and others. So why doesn't the state keep track? Because many lenders are legally exempt from state registration. For example, some big national banks and those whose approval comes from mortgage-backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren't required to register.

With no one-stop information source available, borrowers have their work cut out for them. Fortunately, there's a fair amount of general information and refinance tips available in books and online. The Department of Financial Institutions' Web site, www.dfi.wa.gov, includes a mortgage borrower's guide. Another site, www.bankrate.com, is rich with consumer-loan information, including a section on frequently asked refinance questions. Cross also suggests mortgage borrowers ask companies whether they're licensed and bonded with the state (and if not, why not) and whether there are any complaints or enforcement actions against them. In some cases, this information is also available on the department's Web site or by calling 360-902-8700.

Q: A friend is planning to relocate a wall and expand her master bathroom. Although this would look great, are there any rules on manufactured homes that you own on your own land (versus leased land) that would make it difficult to sell later?

A: As with site-built homes, changes to manufactured homes need to be approved by the appropriate agency, explains Joan Brown, executive director of the Washington Manufactured Housing Association. "If you're making a change to the structure, such as moving a wall, you do need an alteration permit, and in this case the governing agency is the state's Department of Labor and Industries. But if you're talking about adding an addition or a garage, the agency is the local building department."

L&I specifically regulates the modifications and installations to manufactured and mobile homes as well as recreational vehicles. Since it sounds like your friend is moving an interior wall, she'll need to go to L&I with her plan, get approval and a permit, then call the department for an inspection when the project is completed, Brown says. If your friend does the work according to the book, and the change indeed is attractive, it should prove no barrier to resale later.

For more information on L&I's process, go to www.LNI.wa.gov/tradeslicensing/fas or call 800-547-8367.

Q: I'm a real-estate agent. Recently I received an updated list of words that HUD (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) considers discriminatory. It includes "smoker" as a word not to be used "in advertising or marketing remarks." This runs counter to your recent column. What gives?

A: That column, which appeared Aug. 1, explained that smokers aren't considered a "protected class" under various "fair-housing" laws, therefore landlords can advertise for tenants who aren't smokers.

HUD spokesperson Pamela Negri says it's news to her that HUD thinks otherwise — and that there's a HUD list of banned words at all. She reviewed your 143-word list, which is titled "HUD Discrimination Word List," and contains such words as Hungarian, guy, drinkers, Polish and agile.

The bottom line: "We don't have a list of approved words or offensive words," Negri says. "Over the years, various Realtors associations have tried to put together lists and get us to sign off on them, but we never have."

Instead, HUD's fair-housing guidelines simply state that housing providers cannot discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or parental/family status. State and local governments' fair housing codes echo these and, in some cases, add to them.