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  • Jim Cramer's Mad Money Lightning Round, 1/16/08: Countrywide Recession
    Then how do you say it - not just no but hell no ???

    The rich greedy will be in IRAQ to fight there war of LIES before this happens ...


    Administration Stimulus Plan Fails Tests for Effective Stimulus and Gives Less
    Favorable Treatment to Families Under $40,000

    news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/...;_ylt=An2QpCvumn.HgINf...
    Jan 17 22:40 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Jim Cramer's Mad Money Lightning Round, 1/16/08: Countrywide Recession
    What a homeowner can do is request in writing what is called a Qualified
    Written Request (QWR). There is a little know law that protects homeowners
    against questionable fees, entries, documentation and a life of loan history
    (all fees and payments ever made on your mortgage) from your lender. Under
    Section 6 of the Real Estate & Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), a borrower
    can request that the lender document all claims for fees.
    The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) is a consumer protection
    statute, first passed in 1974. The purposes of RESPA are to help consumers
    become better shoppers for settlement services and to eliminate kickbacks
    and referral fees that unnecessarily increase the costs of certain settlement
    services.

    Details about RESPA Corresponding with the above purposes:

    1. RESPA requires that borrowers receive disclosures at various times. Some
    disclosures spell out the costs associated with the settlement, outline lender
    servicing and escrow account practices and describe business relationships
    between settlement service providers.

    2. RESPA also prohibits certain practices that increase the cost of settlement
    services. Section 8 of RESPA prohibits a person from giving or accepting any
    thing of value for referrals of settlement service business related to a federally
    related mortgage loan. It also prohibits a person from giving or accepting any
    part of a charge for services that are not performed. Section 9 of RESPA prohibits
    home sellers from requiring home buyers to purchase title insurance from a
    particular company.

    RESPA in general
    RESPA covers loans secured with a mortgage placed on a one-to-four family residential
    property. These include most purchase loans, assumptions, refinances, property
    improvement loans, and equity lines of credit. HUD’s Office of RESPA and Interstate
    Land Sales is responsible for enforcing RESPA.

    If you have been charged questionable fees or even if you have not, isn’t it wise
    to make your lender prove to you every penny that you owe them? Please follow the
    below instructions to fight for your rights!

    An informed homeowner is a person that can fight back against questionable fees
    and use the law to save their home

    Loan servicing complaints - Section 6 provides borrowers with important consumer
    protections relating to the servicing of their loans.

    Under Section 6 of RESPA, borrowers who have a problem with the servicing of their
    loan (including escrow account questions), should contact their loan servicer in
    writing, outlining the nature of their complaint. The servicer must acknowledge the
    complaint in writing within 20 business days of receipt of the complaint. Within
    60 business days the servicer must resolve the complaint by correcting the account
    or giving a statement of the reasons for its position. Until the complaint is
    resolved, borrowers should continue to make the servicer’s required payment.

    A borrower may bring a private law suit, or a group of borrowers may bring a class
    action suit, within three years, against a servicer who fails to comply with Section
    6’s provisions. Borrowers may obtain actual damages, as well as additional damages
    if there is a pattern of noncompliance.

    Other enforcement actions

    Under Section 10, HUD has authority to impose a civil penalty on loan servicers who
    do not submit initial or annual escrow account statements to borrowers. Borrowers
    should contact HUD’s Office of RESPA and Interstate Land Sales to report servicers
    who fail to provide the required escrow account statements.

    Filing a RESPA complaint

    Persons who believe a settlement service provider has violated RESPA in an area in
    which the Department has enforcement authority (primarily sections 6, 8 and 9), may
    wish to file a complaint.

    The complaint should outline the violation and identify the violators by name,
    address and phone number. Complainants should also provide their own name and phone
    number for follow up questions from HUD. Requests for confidentiality will be honored.
    Complaints should be sent to:

    Director, Office of RESPA and Interstate Land Sales
    US Department of Housing and Urban Development
    Room 9154
    451 7th Street, SW
    Washington, DC 20410
    Jan 17 11:15 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article

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