ARE YOU THE VICTIM OF PREDATORY LENDING?
Your loan is probably unlawful, and you may be entitled to substantial damages whether or not you're currently in foreclosure.
Everyone has heard the term Predatory Lending, but what does it really mean? Who has been exposed to Predatory Lending? And how does a homeowner determine that he was the victim of Predatory Lending?
Predatory Lending is a term used to describe practices whereby certain borrowers are subjected to loans and loan terms that are not beneficial to the homeowner, or the homeowner is subject to certain abusive practices during the loan process. These practices are illegal under the Truth In Lending Act .
The penalties for failure to comply with the Truth In Lending Act can be substantial. A creditor who violates the disclosure requirements may be sued for twice the amount of the total finance charge on the loan. In the case of a home mortgage, this can be a very significant amount. Costs and attorney's fees may also be awarded to the consumer. A lawsuit must be begun by the consumer within a year of the violation, but certain tolling provisions apply giving the consumer more time and up to 3 years to file suit.
These laws are in place to protect you, the homeowner, the American people, but yet some mortgage brokers and lenders act as if it's the wild, wild west. You need to become educated and take the law into your own hands or hire a lawyer.
If you are in foreclosure, the Truth In Lending Act can stop the foreclosure process immediately. If you are a victim then don't be a victim twice and let them take your home. Fight for your rights.
Predatory Lending is a hot topic in the news and there is a good reason why. Lenders and brokers have spent the last few years taking advantage of home owners by providing teaser rates and pay option loans. The lenders and brokers knew these loans were deceptive, yet the borrowers weren't told the truth.
This term can apply to all aspects of the mortgage industry and refers to the practice whereby a creditor put a borrower into a loan that the borrower will probably not be able to repay. Federal laws like the Truth In Lending Act ("TILA") and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), as well as many state laws, require that creditors disclose certain terms of loans to borrowers, and when those terms are not disclosed or are inaccurately disclosed these laws provide severe monetary penalties against these creditors.
The Truth In Lending Act ("TILA"), and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA") are violated daily by lenders and predatory lending victims are everywhere. These laws are in place to protect you, the homeowner, but yet are often completely disregarded.
Predatory Lending can be difficult to determine without a full analysis of the loan and the circumstances of the loan process, but there are certain characteristics that are usually prevalent in the process. These are just a few of the more usual tactics and characteristics. More often that not, there will be a combination of these characteristics and many others not mentioned here.
Bait & Switch
You're sold on the phone by a smooth talking loan officer who pitches you a great rate. Things move quickly and when you go to sign your loan documents with a notary, that great rate isn't so great anymore.
Excessive Fee's.
This is very common. Homeowners being charged fees when are above and beyond the normal costs. This may involve large junk fees or other costs that most lenders do not charge.
Elder Abuse
Elder abuse is really common because retirees often have a large amount of equity in their homes, they are prime targets for greedy and crooked creditors. We have seen mortgage sellers cold call elderly homeowners and then scam them into a loan which they do not need, can not afford, and which provides the seller with an incredibly large commission.
Loan Flipping.
This is the process whereby a homeowner is convinced to refinance soon after doing a previous loan. There is seldom benefit to the homeowner, with the financial benefit primarily being to the loan officer and lender.
Steering and Targeting
Steering and Targeting is the practice of putting homeowners into loan products that beneficial for the lender but not for the borrower. This usually involved putting the homeowner into a subprime loan when they could have qualified for an A paper loan.
Non English Speaking Borrowers
Doing loans for homeowners where English was not a native language and unable to be read or spoken, but the loan docs were in English is against the law.
Both federal and state law prohibit the mortgage industry from providing different loan terms to people based on race, sex, ethnicity, or other protected class. Such a transaction may be subject to a cause of action under the Unruh Civil Rights Act or other law. Equity theft also called equity skimming, refers to the situation whereby the same creditor refinances the same property with the same borrower multiple times and uses the equity in the borrower's property.
What we do:
INVESTIGATE POTENTIAL STATUTORY VIOLATIONS:
Truth-In-Lending Act ("TILA"), Home Ownership Equity Protection Act ("HOEPA"), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), Regulation Z, or State Law
We review your loan documents (the papers you signed when you applied for the loan and the papers you signed when you closed the loan). We investigate whether the information and calculations provided in those documents was accurate, truthful, and met the requirements of the applicable federal and state statutes.
We look to what the lender, broker, and agent told you about the loan. We focus on whether the loan you were told you were getting was actually the loan you received.
We determine whether there were predatory lending violations of federal law which give rise to the right to rescind or cancel. If you are successful in rescinding the loan, you may be entitled to receive back all of the interest paid on the loan, all of the points and fees paid to get the loan, all fees paid by you to the lender in connection with the loan, and statutory penalties. This allows you to get a new loan with a smaller principle, meaning that your mortgage can be affordable.
