Top 10 Signs of a Predatory Lending
The questions below are a good
way for you to know if someone could be misleading you about a loan and its costs to you. Just because you answer "yes"
to these questions does not mean you are or have been a victim of predatory lending. Contact us to a) discuss your suspicions,
and b) possibly register a complaint.
1. If you have a balloon loan (one in which after a series of low pay-ments
the entire loan balance is due in a large lump sum),will you need to obtain another loan to finance that final lump-sum amount?
2. Were you required to buy credit insurance, insurance that will repay the debt if you die or become disabled?
(Note: Credit insurance is optional and will not affect your loan decision if you decline to buy it. It can, however, add
considerable cost to the loan transaction. You should decide whether you are going to pur-chase credit insurance carefully.)
3. Have you refinanced your loan several times, and in each instance increased either your monthly payment and/or
the total amount you owe on your home?
4. After settlement, were you surprised to find that the monthly payments
on your mortgage loan were higher than you anticipated based on the initial disclosures?
5. Did you incur any
unexpected costs at settlement that were not explained to you prior to the settlement?
6. Were you asked to leave
signature lines or any other important line-item of any form blank? Did the lender or broker alter any information you entered
on your loan application?
7. Check your loan file. Are any of the following disclosures missing?
Good Faith Estimate
Special Information Booklet
Truth in Lending
HUD-1 Settlement Statement
8. Do your documents reveal that your interest rate calculation will change to require you to pay "daily interest"
in instances when your payments are late?
9. Is your loan amount on the loan you obtained higher than the value
of the home?
10. Were you encouraged to include false information on your loan application?
Here
are some of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Law's Highlights:
Consumer Credit
Interest rates on credit card, auto loan, mortgage
and other kinds of debt can be cut to 6% if a military obligation creates a financial hardship. Contact the creditors and
be prepared to to furnish copies of military orders.
Leases
You can invoke the Law to break a lease on a dwelling, office, or even farm land if
the Contract was entered into before miitary activation.
Evictions
If you are about to be evicted from a dwellng whose rent is less than $1,200 per
month, you can apply to the Court for a postponement of three months, or whatever the Judge says is proper.
Installment Contracts & Auto Leases
If at least one payment was made toward such a debt, the service member or spouse can request relief. The service member
must show that the debt is a burden and a consequence of the new, presumably reduced, finacial situation. Also, generally,
the debt had to be incurred before active duty called. As for National Guard members, the law kicks in only when
members work in a Federal capacity, and does not apply when members are activated by a State Governor to protect airports,
for instance.
Contact
For answers
to specific questions, check with the Judge Advocate General at the nearest military base with such an office, or check: DEFENSE LINK
Victims' families get help
The federal government will open offices today in New York and Washington to begin
taking applications for the victims compensation fund.
Q. Who qualifies?
A. The families of people who died or those who were seriously injured
as a direct result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks either at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon or in western Pennsylvania.
Q. Is there a minimum award?
A. Yes. The families of married victims would get at least $500,000 and
the estates of single victims would get at least $300,000.
Q. Is there a maximum?
A. Technically, no. Though the rules do not increase awards above an income ceiling of $225,000, claimants
can argue for higher awards before the special master or his designate. The fund itself has no cap. It is expected to cost
a total of $6 billion.
Q.
Are the awards from the federal victims compensation fund taxable?
A. No. All awards are tax-exempt.
Q. Do all the benefits come from the federal government?
A. No. The award estimate issued yesterday will be reduced by the amount claimants receive from
"collateral source compensation," which includes money that victims' families receive from life insurance policies,
job-related death benefits, awards from other government programs or other sources.
Q. What about benefits that victims' families may have
received from charitable groups like the Red Cross or the Sept. 11 Fund?
A. Money received from charitable organizations will not be deducted from award totals.
Q. Who will decide who qualifies as the legal representative
of individual victims?
A. The special master
left such questions to state courts, which will decide thorny issues involving same-sex couples, illegitimate children and
disputes among surviving family members.
Q. Where and when can claimants file for benefits?
A. Claimants may call (888) 714-3385.
