Consumer Law

Times Articles on Foreclosure Issues, Mortgage Fees, and College Loans

By Jeff Sovern

Here are links to a few articles from the Times on consumer law issues from June that I've been stockpiling:

From June 22, Bob Tedeschi's Mortgages Column, "A Close Look at All Those Fees," is about how little consumers know about the fees charged in obtaining mortgages, and which fees can be negotiated.  An excerpt:

A recent survey, done by the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy, a Washington-based research center, asked 1,000 people in April to choose the four most relevant factors in obtaining a mortgage. Nearly 70 percent did not identify their credit score, which chiefly determines the borrower?s loan eligibility and interest rate.

* * *

Another recent study . . . by the Urban Institute, also based in Washington, found that borrowers living in an area full of college-educated homeowners paid about $1,100 less in mortgage fees than those in areas where few people attended college. The study noted racial differences as well: on average, African-American borrowers paid $415 more for their loans than white counterparts did, while Latinos paid $365 more.

I wonder if there's an ECOA violation in the different fees charged different groups.

Some New York news: On June 19, the Times ran a piece, "Court Offers Homeowners Help Avoiding Foreclosure," on a program announced by New York's Chief Judge Kaye about a new court section that will help "borrowers and lenders reach speedy settlements."  New York's legislature also just enacted a statute to help homeowners.  Back on June 1, Tedeschi did another piece, "Legal Help in Face of Foreclosure," about local efforts to establish a Nassau County program under which lawyers will be trained and provide help to consumers facing foreclosure on a pro bono basis.

On June 18, the Times published "Bill Promotes Universal College Loans."  An excerpt:

Under the proposal, lenders that participate in the federal loan program would have to extend credit to any eligible student, regardless of such things as income or the number of years of education, as long as the college is part of the program.

Perhaps the refusal to lend to students at particular schools would create ECOA issues, depending on the demographics of the student body.  In any event, it's not clear to me what effect such a bill, if enacted, would have on higher education.  If lenders would rather not lend to students at certain schools because, for example, students at those schools are unable to get jobs and so default on their loans, would forcing the lenders to continue making such loans keep the schools afloat and students attending them--only to discover that they can't get jobs later?  Or is the refusal of lenders to make loans not because of higher default rates?  Would such a law increase student loan rates generally?  Or does the federal loan program guarantee keep rates low regardless of the default rate?   

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on July 03, 2008 (boomark / email).