A Key To WealthBuilding

Predatory Lending is the equity killer. Consumers can lose equity in their homes by being placed in higher rates than they qualify for, by paying junk fees that are financed in the loan, by being placed in bad loan programs, etc. Predatory Lending, simply stated, is the practice of unfair lending. Predatory Lending victimizes hundreds of thousands of families every year. For the past 3 years Fair Community Lending Services has worked to protect consumers against predatory lending through education, access and accountability.

So what is Equity?

Equity is your ownership in the property you own also known as your asset position. A mortgage is your liability. So as shown in Example 1, if your home is worth $300,000 and you owe $200,000 to the bank, the equity remaining in your home is $100,000. Your equity is available for you to turn to cash by either selling your home or refinancing your home.

Credit is the key to wealth building. Before you embark on any financial transaction you must understand your credit. Do you have good credit, ok credit, at risk credit?

A credit report is a snapshot of one's payment history. It is used by lenders, insurance companies, landlords, and employers to determine a consumer's willingness to pay and demonstrate their credit worthiness. One's credit report and their FICO score (ranging from 300-850) will help financial institutions decide if one is eligible for a loan and if so what type of interest rate they can obtain. As consumers, we must use our credit reports to prove to others that we are a good risk when they consider us as a potential borrower, employees, tenants, etc.

The guidance below is applicable to homeowners with FHA Insured loans. While a good deal of this information may apply to all homeowners in danger of losing their homes, not all of the foreclosure avoidance tools mentioned may be available to you if you have a VA or conventional loan. Additionally, HUD/FHA does not have any Loss Mitigation oversight over VA or conventional loans. Please contact your lender or a housing counseling agency.

Q: What Happens When I Miss My Mortgage Payments?

Foreclosure may occur. This is the legal means that your lender can use to repossess (take over) your home. When this happens, you must move out of your house. If your property is worth less than the total amount you owe on your mortgage loan, a deficiency judgment could be pursued. If that happens, you not only lose your home, you also would owe HUD an additional amount.

Whether Wall Street likes it or not, Bank of America's Ken Lewis is getting a good deal, according to Shawn Tully's number-crunching.

By Shawn Tully, editor at large


(Fortune) -- Bank of America's $4 billion deal to rescue Countrywide Financial is getting decidedly mixed reviews from Wall Street. Investors fret that CEO Ken Lewis is overpaying for a ruined franchise to save face, following his ill-timed $2 billion investment in Countrywide late last year.

The markets are hardly cheering: B of A's stock has dropped as much as 2% today to $38.40, its price in early 2002. But the best guide to gauging the probable success or failure of this deal is studying the numbers: they show that, barring absolutely disastrous writedowns, this deal will prove a winner.