Posted by J.J. Andrews on Jan 30 2007 05:33:33 PST  

Automotive marketing company BlueSky Marketing Group Inc. has launched an online consumer finance center that will enable consumers to complete online applications and show up at franchise auto dealerships with preapproved financing, according to a company statement  

The web site, www.blueSkyautofinance.com, is a partnership with online company myAutoloan.com. Consumers will be able to receive as many as four auto loan offers online and then use the financing choice at participating dealerships.  

In addition to the new online financing center, the San Ramon, Calif.-based BlueSky Group provides lead generations for franchise auto dealers and is part of BlueSky Financial Services Inc., a nationally licensed sales and finance company.  

Irving, Texas-based myAutoloan.com is a nationally licensed direct-to-consumer, internet-based auto lender and a subsidiary of Horizon Digital Finance LLC.

Source : http://www.banknet360.com/news/NewsAbstract.do?na_id=7258&service_id=1&bi_id=

The number of seniors facing credit card debt has been growing. The average credit-card debt for consumers over 65 more than doubled from 1992 to 2004, to $4,907. Credit card debt can be especially problematic for seniors, who typically have a fixed income. If you or someone you love is having trouble making credit card payments, there are several options: 

· Try negotiating. A credit counseling agency or attorney may be able to negotiate with the credit card company for lower fees or interest rates. If the debtor is relying solely on Social Security for income, it may even be possible to have the debt forgiven. Note, however, that if the debt is forgiven it can count as income, which may create tax consequences or affect Social Security payments. 

· Reverse mortgage. If the debtor owns a house and is over 62 years old, a reverse mortgage may provide enough money to pay off debt. With a reverse mortgage, instead of paying the bank money to build up equity, homeowners use the equity in their homes to take out loans. The loan does not have to be paid back until the house is sold or the homeowner dies. While reverse mortgages may look like no-lose propositions on the surface, they also have some significant downsides. For more information on reverse mortgages, click here. 

· Tap into life insurance. Permanent life insurance policies build a cash value, which can be used as collateral for a loan or withdrawn from the account. This money can be used for any purpose, including paying down credit card debt. Keep in mind, however, that loans or withdrawals will reduce the death benefit. 

· Bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy is not an easy solution. In 2005, a tough bankruptcy law went in to effect, making it much more difficult to get bankruptcy protection. For example, bankruptcy is available only to individuals whose income is below a certain level, and the homestead exemption, which allows you to protect all or some of the equity in your home, is stricter. Before filing for bankruptcy be sure to discuss your options with an attorney. 

· Do nothing. It may sound crazy, but one option is to do nothing and let the credit card companies sue the debtor. If the debtor owns a house, the court may put a lien on it. If not, the debt may be written off or reduced. An attorney can tell you if this is the right step for you take. 

Regardless of what steps the debtor takes, debtors have the right not to be harassed by credit card companies. The Fair Debt Collection Act prohibits certain conduct by credit agencies attempting to collect debts. For example, creditors may contact debtors only between the hours of 8am and 9pm, may not use abusive or profane language, and must stop contacting debtors if the debtors request it in writing.  

 Source : http://www.elderlawanswers.com/resources/article.asp?id=5965&section=4&state=

RISMEDIA, Jan. 31, 2007-A wave of consolidation currently sweeping the mortgage industry was thrust into high gear when speculation arose last week about an acquisition involving the biggest U.S. residential lender, according to coverage from MortgageDaily.com. 

The past week saw more consolidation in real estate finance. EquiBanc Mortgage Corp., a nonprime wholesale lender owned by Wachovia Corp., shut down last week, the company said on its Web site. Mandalay Mortgage notified its brokers that it has exited the nonprime wholesale mortgage business. A message on its Web site said no new loans will be funded after Jan. 31. 

Credit Suisse said it is negotiating a deal to buy subprime wholesaler ResMAE Mortgage Corp.Millennium Bankshares Corp. announced it would wind down its mortgage operating subsidiaries. The chief executive said the company was concerned about earnings volatility in the mortgage sector. 

Citigroup will acquire ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, the companies announced. That deal will leave Citigroup with a residential servicing portfolio of more than a half trillion dollars and put it on track to originate around $45 billion per quarter — placing it among the top three U.S. residential originators. 

Bank of America and Countrywide Financial Corp. are reportedly in negotiations over a merger or alliance. Citing people close to the matter, the Financial Times reported Friday the two giants have held discussions. Countrywide reported $462.5 billion in residential originations last year — more than any other U.S. lender. The combination of the two companies’ residential servicing portfolios — at more than $1.6 trillion — would create the largest U.S. servicer. 

Such a deal might be one reason Countrywide CEO and Chairman Angelo Mozilo delayed his retirement last year. 

“If there is to be an acquisition or a merger or an alliance with Bank of America, he would want to still be CEO when a deal is completed,” an industry official told MortgageDaily.com. 

For more information, visit www.MortgageDaily.com. 

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments.

Send your e-mail to:  realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Source : http://www.rismedia.com/wp/2007-01-30/mortgage-consolidation-gains-steam-speculations-rise-about-acquisition-involving-biggest-us-residential-lender/

By CATHY BENSON 

“I didn’t count it ours until we signed the papers,” said Nina Wells seriously. 

Those papers were the ones she and her daughter Susan signed that made them first-time homeowners-fulfilling one version of the American Dream. 

 The purchase came thanks to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development program. 

 Susan Wells, who is legally blind, is going to hit the Big 5-0 this year, she says with a laugh, and she and her 72-year-old mother do feel like they have found the American Dream come true. They smile frequently during an interview when they talk about the home they were able to buy in Buchanan. The pair moved in on December 16. 

 The idea that a family would struggle to buy a home seems almost out of character in Botetourt where new homes pop up like mushrooms after a summer rain-where 88 percent of families live in a home they own. 

Still, both had thought homeownership might elude them, but Susan felt good about applying for this home loan. “I really thought we could get this house,” she said enthusiastically. The mother-daughter team can name almost every event by date in their pursuit of homeownership. The dates start with April 19, 2006 and go through the closing date on December 5. 

 Son-in-law Mark Lovern and wife Julie, another of Nina’s daughters, found the home. Timmy Noblett, who works with Mark, lost his mother last winter. It was her home and after some months of getting the estate settled, the mother-daughter duo were ready for homeownership. 

It worked out well because the Wellses knew they were going have to move from their rental. 

According to another sister and daughter, Iva Wells Tolley, the pair had lived a barebones, rustic existence for the past 21 years. 

Susan Wells said they had to get up in a cold house and fire up a wood stove in winter to warm their former rental property, and had only a window air conditioning unit for the very hottest days in summer. 

American Dream becomes a reality 

By CATHY BENSON 

She is even clearer about the past. “We lived there 21 years, 11 months and 1 day,” she told a reporter. 

Susan has asthma and her doctor would tell her that the wood stove aggravated her condition. Now, she doesn’t have to worry. They have a heat pump. 

Their new home is bright, warm and comfortable. The fenced yard allows Susan to roam without fear as well as providing a place for a pet hound who barks occasionally. They also own two cats who yowl from the basement door, ever hopeful to greet the guests in the living room. 

Before the Wellses moved in, the house was painted, new carpet and vinyl flooring laid, plumbing repaired, the back yard fenced and other necessary repairs made so the home would be in good condition when they settled in. 

All of this came in the loan, says Anne Herring, who works with the USDA Rural Development office in Lexington. 

That office serves Botetourt, Rockbridge, Bath and Alleghany Counties. In 2006, the office received recognition for the affordable housing opportunities it provided in the four counties it covers. 

USDA Rural Development provides low-cost direct loans and grants for single-family homes. The program is designed to help lower income individuals and families who live in rural counties, cities and towns buy a home. 

Loans are made to families with incomes below 80 percent of the median income level in the communities in which they live. In Botetourt County, a family of four qualifies for the lowest interest rates with an income up to $29,000. A family of four also qualifies in the low category with an income of $46,500. 

The family receives a direct loan based on what it can afford to pay, which amounts to 22-25 percent of their monthly income. Some loan interest rates are as low as one percent, said Herring. 

The house has to qualify as well. It has to be a modest home of solid construction that is verified by a third party inspection, not an income-producing property and carry a maximum loan amount of $172,000 in Botetourt County 

Last fiscal year, the office helped provide 140 homes in its four-county area. Between 25 and 50 percent were in Botetourt. 

Herring advises people who haven’t qualified for a home due to income constraints to contact her. Potential homeowners make an application, which has a $40 fee for a credit report. They also are encouraged to try to pay closing costs of approximately $2,500 when they are ready to move into the home. 

The Wellses now live in a two-bedroom house with a living room, den (the third bedroom), eat-in kitchen and a bath. They have a washer and dryer and an unfinished basement. It is the first dryer Nina Wells has ever owned, according to Tolley. 

“They were the perfect fit for the USDA Rural Development and to see them become homeowners has been a wonderful experience,” Herring said of the Wellses, 

By the smiles all around, it certainly seems a good fit. 

For more information about the home loan program, Herring can be reached at 540-463-7124.

Source : ttp://mainstreetnewspapers.com/articles/2007/01/30/fincastle/news/news01.txt

BRIAN NEILL  

Herald Staff Writer  

MANATEE - Was it merely a builder getting into financial trouble, or something much worse?   It depends on whom you ask about the $110 million residential loan dilemma facing Coast Bank and Construction Compliance Inc.   A Sarasota attorney, representing a number of investors who lost money in the deal, says the way investors were approached to buy homes constitutes investment fraud.   Alan Tannenbaum says the company promised investors deals that were too good to be true. He is representing clients in a potential class action suit against Seashore Resorts LLC, a real estate investment company that worked with American Mortgage Link on investor packages.   Some of those investors should never have been considered financially capable of risking their money on a speculative real estate deal, Tannenbaum said.   “A single mom with two kids and no job and they qualified her for this mortgage and put her in this deal,” he said.   Tannenbaum has been contacted by about 100 potential clients and anticipates representing at least 50 to 75, many of them part of a Long Island investment club approached by Seashore Resorts in 2004 and 2005.   At least two other attorneys are representing groups of investors whose homes were being built by CCI.   Some investors said they were offered a deal in which their credit scores were used to get construction loans for the homes being built by St. Petersburg-based CCI Homes.   In exchange, those investors were promised a return equal to roughly 10 percent of the sale price of homes once they were completed, without having to actually own the homes.   Coast Bank made loans totaling $110 million to 482 borrowers whose homes were being built by CCI. About half of those “homes” still amount to empty lots, bank officials said last week in an SEC filing.   Officials with Seashore, CCI and American Mortgage Link have not returned repeated calls for comment.   “The representations that were made in order to induce people into those deals included promising people that you couldn’t lose and promising a certain amount of return and certainly not disclosing any downside,” Tannenbaum said.   Tannenbaum said American Mortgage Link helped write loan applications that would qualify investors for loans, regardless of their financial means.  

Some have questioned Coast Bank’s role in the deals.   “I have heard that Coast Bank actually turned people down,” Tannenbaum said. “If there was part of due diligence that they did, it might have been on the underwriting side. But that doesn’t mean they looked very carefully.”   Coast Bank officials did not return calls seeking comment Monday.   Some have also asked why Coast Bank officials didn’t seem aware that construction was not progressing on lots that had received construction draws.   Kenneth “K.C.” Corigliano, owner of Bradenton-based Briarcliff Construction and Inspection, said problems with the homes linked to the 482 borrowers shouldn’t have been hard to spot.   “We can always tell when there are problems coming up,” Corigliano said. “If a lender sends me out to go look at a builder’s home and it continues to get 1 percent or 2 percent of completion (on a checklist), you know there’s a problem or upcoming problem. To me, there was nobody guarding the hen house.”   The lots involved are in the same area where General Development Corp. owned property it was developing before it got into trouble in the early 1990s. The company declared bankruptcy after it was hit with class action lawsuits stemming from the marketing of lots in the Port Charlotte and North Port areas, mostly to Northern investors.   Two General Development executives spent two years in prison after they were found guilty of inflating values of homes sold to investors.  

In another case that surfaced in December, five people were charged with defrauding investors in a house-flipping operation in Cape Coral. The Social Security numbers of investors with credit scores higher than 650 were used to obtain 100 percent financing on homes. Investors were told that after six months, the homes would be sold and they would get a portion of the profit.   Like many investors whose homes were arranged through Seashore and American Mortgage Link, those who purchased the Cape Coral properties never saw their homes materialize and now are on the hook for the mortgages.   Since Coast Bank announced in a Jan. 19 filing with the SEC that it had run into trouble with the developer of the homes, the company’s stock has fallen roughly 50 percent.   On Monday, the stock closed up 5 percent, at $8.75 a share.

Source : http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/16576645.htm

Daily Herald   

A bill that would impose additional regulation on payday lenders is headed for Gov. Huntsman’s desk.   Payday lenders are those outfits that hand out cash for anticipated paychecks — checks that a person has not yet received from an employer but expects to get soon. “Loan sharks” may be too harsh a term to apply to these lenders, but not by very far. Too many of these fly under the state’s regulatory radar.   Payday loans are generally sought by people on the knife edge of financial survival, people who need cash now and who are forced to pay exorbitantly high fees for the privilege of getting it.   To protect them from usury, two bills have been introduced in the Legislature:   Senate Bill 16, sponsored by Assistant Senate Minority Whip Ed Mayne, was approved by the House this past week 71-0. The West Valley City Democrat’s bill (which also passed the Senate unanimously) would levy fines of up to $500 against payday lenders who fail to register with the state. And it would bar lenders from using the state’s bad-check law to collect on payday debts.  

The second bill, House Bill 329, is awaiting committee assignment. That one, sponsored by Rep. LaWanna Shurtliff, D-Ogden, would require greater disclosure from payday lenders about actual fees and penalties. It also would bar lenders from extending loans to people who are already paying off another payday loan.   Mayne’s and Shurtliff’s efforts are commendable, but they do not tackle the real problem — interest rates so high they make the moon dizzy. An interest rate cap is needed.   Twelve states — Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia — currently bar payday lenders from charging exorbitant interest rates. Utah does not have a usury law, and interest rates can exceed 500 percent annually, a rate beyond what some criminal loan sharks would charge.   Unfortunately, too many people who seek payday loans don’t realize this until it’s too late. From their perspective, they seem to be paying 20 percent on a loan until payday. It’s a bit stiff, but not entirely unreasonable, especially for an emergency loan that is going to be paid off quickly. But when you annualize the rate, you get a real shock: true rates can be upward of 500 percent.  

A further problem arises when a debtor can’t pay the money back on payday. Then that interest starts compounding and a rapid spiral into bankruptcy begins.   An effort to cap interest rates in Utah failed last year. Lenders convinced legislators that a cap would make it difficult for them to operate and to provide what they say is a valuable service to Utah’s poor. They say that high interest rates are justifiable because their clients often have bad credit and are more likely to default on the loans.   We are not persuaded. This particular “service” to the poor only seems to make the poor even poorer.   Annual percentage rates of 500 percent or more go beyond protecting the lender and step into outright exploitation of people who have no other place to go for help. A 36-percent interest cap would allow payday lenders to protect their financial interests without forcing someone into bankruptcy.   Until the Legislature caps interest rates, Utah’s needy will continue to be at risk of exploitation by predatory lenders.   This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5. Source : http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/208452/3/

Opens Dealer Network to Financing Options for Non-Traditional Consumers   BATON ROUGE, La.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AppOne, a provider of Internet-based risk mitigation and financial technology to banks, auto finance companies, credit unions and independent auto dealers throughout the continental United States, announced an alliance with Virginia Beach, Va.-based Tidewater Motor Credit, a subprime lender that specializes in purchasing and servicing auto loans for non-traditional consumers. 

  The partnership allows Tidewater Motor Credit, which is licensed in 29 states, the capacity to obtain credit applications from more than 850 independent auto dealers within AppOne’s nationwide dealer network. Connecting these dealers to Tidewater Motor Credit is the AppOne platform, a scalable and seamless solution to process loan applications.  

   Among the specialty products Tidewater Motor Credit offers is its Chapter 7 Program, which allows dealers to deliver vehicles to customers while Chapter 7 bankruptcy is still open.       

  “We are excited about our new connection with AppOne because it enables us to create strategic and profitable relationships with a wider variety of independent auto dealers,” says Nathan Benson, CEO of Tidewater Motor Credit. “It also permits us to more effectively manage the risk associated with underwriting subprime loans.”  

    AppOne’s services are accessed through its Web-based loan origination platform for independent auto dealers. Elements of the AppOne portal include DealerOne, a dealer underwriting system; RECON, a dealer scoring system; and DMSOne, a software management system for independent auto dealers.  

   “This alliance enables our dealers to provide Tidewater Motor Credit’s non-traditional customers with additional financing options,” said Lee Domingue, CEO of AppOne. “This collaborative effort helps dealers sell more cars and service more consumers, which increases their own profitability and boosts their competitiveness.”  

By STEVE BUCCI
bankrate.com  

Dear Debt Adviser,
I have $35,000 worth of credit-card debt. I used the debt calculator to get on a plan to be debt-free in 4.5 years. I always make more than the minimum and have never missed or been late on a payment. I’ve been trying to apply for new credit cards to do a balance transfer and get better interest rates, but am always rejected due to my large balance. My balance is high compared to my income, which is $45,000 a year. How much debt do I have to pay off before I will be able to get a better deal? I hate paying this much interest and would like to see the numbers go down more quickly. What should be my next step?
_ Louise
Dear Louise,
In New England, we have a saying: “You can’t get theah from heah.” You are looking for a shortcut that doesn’t exist, and every time you try, you are setting yourself back further.
When you apply for and are rejected for new cards, you create inquiries on your credit report, which result in lowering your overall score. This, in combination with your debt-to-income ratio, makes you stand out as a credit risk to potential lenders. You also may be pushing yourself off a cliff unknowingly. If you lower your score sufficiently, your existing cards may notice and reset your already unattractive rates to what is called the penalty rate. Even if you don’t miss a payment, a change in risk profile (that is, your credit score) can cause a universal default provision to be applied, resulting in a 30-percent-or-so interest rate.
So what can you do to keep from paying so much interest and see your balances reduce more quickly? First, stop applying for new credit. Then target the card with the highest interest rate and aggressively pay this account down. You may have to reduce or cut out altogether the amount over the minimum payment you are making on other cards. Be sure you continue to make at least the minimums on your other cards on time, every time. Once this account is paid off or at least close to being paid off, you can begin paying over the minimum on the card with the next-highest interest rate. This plan will result in the greatest interest-rate savings.
Your other option would be to pay off the card with the lowest balance, using the same formula. Again, once the first card is paid off, move on to the next one with the smallest balance and tackle it. You won’t save as much in interest payments with this plan, but the satisfaction of seeing those cards drop off may be worth it so that you feel like you are moving closer to the finish line. One note: Don’t cancel the cards as you pay them off, as doing so can lower your credit score, especially if you have had a card for a long time. They have their own saying in the credit business: “Old credit is the best credit.”
Another way to see your balances shrink is to apply any “new” money to your debt. This is money that you get from pay raises, three pay periods in a month, income tax refunds, bonuses, overtime, the sale of property or any other unexpected cash that comes your way. Put this money in a separate account just for debt reduction so you won’t be as tempted to spend it. This should be fairly painless, since it’s money you haven’t counted on to make your budget. If you don’t want to go all the way with this plan, target half of this money for your debt.
For now, shred those offers for better rates and keep doing what you’ve been doing. You can get where you want to go from there.
Good luck!  

(Steve Bucci is president of CCCS Credit Advisors. Visit www.creditcounseling.org or call 877-311-2227 for additional debt advice. The Debt Adviser is a weekly feature of bankrate.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)  

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NHB Holdings, Inc., a Florida-based Bank Holding Company, announced today that it has received regulatory approval for its de novo bank, Proficio Bank, to market specialized banking and mortgage services to the relocation, homebuilding and real estate brokerage industries.

The Company was formed when executives from the relocation, homebuilding, and real estate brokerage industries perceived an opportunity to create a new specialty bank that would serve the specific needs of industries whose business involves the purchase, sale, or financing of a home. “Proficio addresses unique market, product and service needs in these industries and provides these companies the opportunity to work with a financial institution that specializes in their industry,” said William G. Slagle, founder and Chairman of NHB Holdings and Chairman of Proficio Bank. “Proficio has already entered into relationships with many firms because of its ability to address these unique commercial, consumer and mortgage lending needs.”

Proficio Bank’s services include relocation equity transactions, relocation home purchase financing, homebuilder land acquisition, development, construction lending, commercial mortgages, operating lines of credit, and other specialized commercial lending programs. In addition, through Proficio Mortgage, unique real estate-related credit programs for mortgages, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit are marketed to the customers of these firms through joint ventures and joint marketing partnerships.

Brad D. Hardy, former CFO and GC of First Security Corporation is the CEO of Proficio Bank, and Michael A. Johnston, former Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch Credit Corp. is the President of Proficio Mortgage. NHB Holdings Inc.’s Board of Directors includes such influential investors as Utah Senator Al Mansell, former President of the National Association of Realtors^®; Lock W. Ireland, former CEO of 1^st Performance Bank; John W. Westman, former CFO of Banc One Corporation; Morgan J. Evans, former President of First Security; Richard H. Mansfield of Mansfield & Associates; Richard D. Danford, Ph.D., President of the Jacksonville Urban League; Roswell S. Bowers, former E.V.P. with Bank of America and T. Stephen Johnson of T. Stephen Johnson & Associates, a de novo bank entrepreneur and consultant.

About NHB Holdings

NHB Holdings was founded by a group of bank entrepreneurs, business executives, and business executives from the corporate relocation, homebuilder and real estate brokerage industries. NHB Holdings recently completed a $43.8 million private stock offering. Proficio Bank’s national headquarters are in Salt Lake City, Utah and the company operates its national mortgage subsidiary, Proficio Mortgage, out of Jacksonville, Florida. Proficio Bank and Proficio Mortgage market specialized banking and mortgage services to the corporate relocation, homebuilding and real estate brokerage industries. For more information, visit www.nhbholdings.com, www.proficiobank.com, and www.proficiomortgage.com.

Source : http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070129006299&newsLang=en

N.C. Treasurer Richard Moore was in Charlotte this morning to help cut the ribbon today on the 500th home bought under a unique program for state employees.

Karmen Mills, 29, helped Moore cut the ribbon of a home she bought with a low-interest loan under the “500 Project”, a joint effort by the treasurer and N.C. Housing Finance Agency aimed at helping first-time home-buyers.

“It made it possible for me to afford a home I loved at a rate that was really great,” said Mills, a school psychologist for Cabarrus County schools.

The “500 Project” was designed to highlight a program available to qualified state and local government employees in North Carolina. Participants must be first-time home buyers with low- to moderate incomes — up to $63,500 for a one-person household in the Charlotte area.

Moore, who called home ownership a great generator of individual wealth, said more state employees can still take advantage.

“This may be the end of the 500 Project,” he said, “but it’s not the end of our efforts to provide affordable housing.”

JIM MORRILL

jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com

Source : http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/politics/16573015.htm