I am profoundly lucky in that I read “I Will Fear No Evil” in high school. Not an assignment, I just like to read, and Robert A. Heinlein has always been one of my favorite authors. A very few pages into the book, he has one of his characters toss off two fantastically good pieces …
Monthly Archives: August 2026
Debunking “Banks Give Better Deals Than Brokers”
Banker loans are better deals – for the bank. Ken Harney had an article Study Shows Loan Brokers’ Better Side But now a new, independent academic study has concluded the opposite: According to a team of researchers headed by Georgetown University’s Gregory Elliehausen, home mortgage applicants with less-than-perfect credit pay lower financing costs when they …
Continue reading “Debunking “Banks Give Better Deals Than Brokers””
Debt Consolidation Refinance – Doing it Wrong vs. Doing it Right
There’s a lot that gets written on this subject, mostly by loan officers looking for business. Well, don’t think I’m not looking for business, but not with this post. Or if anybody calls me because of this, at least I’ll know they understand how to do it right. The basic come-on is this: Your home …
Continue reading “Debt Consolidation Refinance – Doing it Wrong vs. Doing it Right”
Changes in Lender Attitudes: The Push Towards Bigger Loans
One of the consumer attitudes I encounter constantly is the feeling that if you cannot afford the loan, the lender will not loan you the money. This safety zone common sense sort of reliance upon lender policy as a backstop is not only false, but one of the best ways to get in trouble with …
Continue reading “Changes in Lender Attitudes: The Push Towards Bigger Loans”
Joint Loans for Couples: How Does the Qualification Process Work
First off, let me say that your site has been very informative and helpful. I stumbled across your blog looking for information on ARM vs. 30 year fixed loans and ended up reading every article. One issue I have never really seen addressed is joint loans. When a couple, married in this case, gets a …
Continue reading “Joint Loans for Couples: How Does the Qualification Process Work”
Getting a Loan Provider to Agree to be a Backup Loan
I have repeatedly advised my readers to sign up for a back-up loan if they can find somebody willing. So every once in a while, I get email like this: Hi! Would you be willing to do my backup loan? I’m already signed up with my brother-in-law but you tell people to get a backup …
Continue reading “Getting a Loan Provider to Agree to be a Backup Loan”
Games Lenders Play Part II More Misleading Advertising
(This was originally published September 29,2005) Here’s another advertisement that I got in the mail: “Pick a Pay, Any Pay!’ The Revolutionary Option ARM!” “Start rates as low as 1%!” Loan amount $100,000 Payment $321.64$200,000 $643.28$300,000 $964.92$400,000 $1286.56Could this help save you money? Let’s see, given the real rate on these, there is negative amortization …
Continue reading “Games Lenders Play Part II More Misleading Advertising”
Buyers Who Don’t Want A Buyer’s Agent
You see it all the time at open houses and elsewhere. People who desperately need buyer’s agents, but think of Buyer’s Agents in the same way they think of automobile sales folk, and that’s the complete opposite of the way it is. They don’t want to deal with an agent, because an agent will use …
Racial Gap In Home Loans
Racial Gap in Loans Is High in California. I can give a variety of reasons for this. First off, especially in Los Angeles but to a lesser extent throughout the state, there is a huge “Spanish speaking only” community. When you limit yourself to speakers of a language which isn’t the nation’s primary business tongue, …