Homebuyers Beware: Who’s Ripping You Off Now?–What You Must Know About the New Rules of Mortgage and Credit
Where to buy Homebuyers Beware: Who’s Ripping You Off Now?–What You Must Know About the New Rules of Mortgage and Credit books online?
- ISBN13: 9780137020164
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
“Carolyn Warren is my go-to practiced for mortgage industry information. She not only helps you avoid rip-offs, she helps you know what questions to question and how to question them. Full of tips, scripts, and sample letters, Homebuyers Beware is an extremely valuable book that I recommend to all my readers!” –Alison Rogers, “Question the Agent” columnist, CBS Moneywatch.com “In this fun-to-read volume, mortgage industry insider Carolyn Warren tells you what real estate cheats and mortgage scammers do NOT want you to know: the tricks, the deceptions, and the outright frauds that would otherwise add thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars to your mortgage. Get it. Read it. And take it to the mortgage broker with you. You’ll be glad you did!” –Clayton Makepeace, The Total Package, Makepeacetotalpackage.com “In Homebuyers Beware, Carolyn Warren directs her keen eye at the mortgage and credit markets in the wake of the housing bubble. With an insider’s knowledge, plenty of appealing anecdotes, and helpful reference information, Warren is a cheerful teacher leading readers down the path to homeownership and pointing out pitfalls along the way.” –Ben Meyer, InternetBrands.com Get the Best Mortgage Deal in Today’s Real Estate Markets–and Avoid a Whole New Generation of Scams! *Exposes new secrets, lies, and scams the mortgage industry doesn’t want you to know about*Reveals how to save thousands right now by finding the best rate and negotiating the best deal*Guides you step-by-step through improving your credit and preparing to buy, even if you’ve faced foreclosure Everything you thought you knew about financing a house has changed. Your future depends on knowing today’s mortgage and credit realities: Relying on older information could cost you a chance or keep you from buying a house altogether. In Homebuyers Beware, Carolyn Warren reveals the new realities of home financing and shows exactly how to take advantage of them, whether you’re buying your first home, refinancing, struggling with imperfect credit, or preparation to invest in real estate. Homebuyers Beware reveals new secrets homebuyers simply can’t afford to miss and exposes new scams that target today’s keen patrons–including new loans that look fantastic on paper but are every bit as treacherous as yesterday’s subprimes. Unlike additional mortgage guides, this book fully reflects today’s radically new mortgage supplies, in addition to the latest federal housing legislation and how to improve your credit rating. From its up-to-the-minute guidance on real estate negotiation to its powerful tips on getting lower interest excise and avoiding bogus junk fees, this may be the most valuable book you ever read! *Who’s ripping you off now High-tech “smoke and mirrors” that can trick you into overpaying*Quick, simple, powerful ways to fix your credit Innovative ways to raise your credit score or recover from a foreclosure or fleeting sale*Uncovering the costly secrets of the Yield Spread Premium Get past your banker’s lies, learn the truth, and save a chance*The latest laws and credit rules and what they mean to you So-called anti-predatory laws and codes of conduct really hurt homebuyers. Learn what you can do to protect yourself from huge corporation greed.*New plans for recovering from terrible credit, foreclosures, or fleeting sales Step-by-step techniques that erase terrible credit and raise your credit score quicker than you ever thought possible. Learn how to recover from a foreclosure
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You can’t go too long these days lacking hearing about the housing mess America is mired in today. The media is rife with an endless deluge of information (or perhaps more appropriately labeled infomercuials) tauting government and private programs to help people stay in their homes and lower their mortgage payments. So just how did we get into this quandary? Well according to Carolyn Warren, leader of Homebuyers Beware, a huge part of the blame can be attributed to unscrupulous loan agents. Warren is a mortgage industry veteran with over 20 years of experience – effective in retail and wholesale lending at large well known firms before apt an leader and adviser to the masses in need of help understanding the intricate process of financing a new home buy or refinancing their current mortgage.
Based on Warren’s telling, it seems that loan agent rip-offs are commonplace. Buyer beware. She tells tales of loan agents who brag about larceny tens of thousands of dollars on a single loan from unsuspecting (and sorry to say misinformed) victims. Only worse is the fact that many of these victims later find themselves anchored to a mortgae too heavy to lift because of they did not fully know all the terms of their loan when they originally clogged. In this book, Warren clarifies to the reader how to look for the signs of a scam or a loan agent who is more interest in his/her own interests and not effective as an advocate for your needs. She takes you through the loan process and clarifies the intricacies from different types of loans to credit scoring to how to make the best of and even recover from forclosure and fleeting sale situations. She really takes you from A through Z of all you could want or need to know about finding a loan for a new buy or refinancing your current mortage. Throughout the book, she also highlights best practices in each of the sections as well as poor practices which should be avoided.
Lacking doubt, many of the anecdotes were eye opening to say the least. For the first time home buyer, this book offers a helping hand to steer you clear of the many traps waiting to be sprung by the loan agents’ avarice and mis-guided moral compass. At last, all is not to despair as Warren assures that there are honest and commendable loan agents out there to be establish. And if all of her advice could be summed up in just one golden rule, it would be that the single most vital factor that determines success or failure is finding the this person, no matter how long it takes. Not unlike the effort you’ve made in finding just right home, you will not regret spending equal effort in finding the right loan agent for you. Not a tiny feat but one you will appreciate all the more with time, just like your dream home.
Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5
I got this book because we’re preparation on buying a house soon. The title is a bit sensationalized, and while this book was written honestly recent, it seems to contain a lot of common sense items.
There are some chapters that talk about fee’s and where to go to look for a mortgage, but unless you live in a crazy real estate area (reflect Southern California, Las Vegas, etc) your chance of a lender completely ripping you off is a lot lower. Granted you still want to be prepard, and know what you’re facing. She also offers excellent advice on how to get the loan, how to not pester your loan officer, etc.
Some of the things seem a bit smug. She details a tale where she goes and buys a car, and the lender offers her a high interest rate. She clarifies that her credit score is above 800, so she should get a better rate. He doesn’t repeat any numbers, and automatically knocks 2% off. She gives this tale as an illustration of why a high credit score is vital. But, that’s just a classic scam of lenders at a car dealership, more than likely they would have knocked the 2% off for anyone, plus she should have followed her own advice and shopped around, not going only with the lender at her dealership.
She also seems to promote her own websites, and own services a bit much, nearly once a chapter.
It’s still worth it to pick up a few nuggets of excellent information, but you could probably be better serviced by reading a excellent mortgage advice site/forum/etc.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
YOU’RE TO BE COMMENDED FOR KEEPING US AWARE OF WHAT GOES ON IN THE MORTGAGE
BUSINESS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.
ANYONE HEEDING THIS KNOWLEDGE IN YOUR BOOK WON’T BE CAUGHT UNAWARES
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
While this book is a fantastic “primer course” for the potential home buyer…buyer beware with the book itself. There is a plethora of information regarding the loans, fees, terms, etc. But, some of it is just unadorned incorrect.
For example:
1. Page 77, where the leader describes if you’re ready to buy a home. Point #5, explaining why it might not be a excellent time to buy a house: “The only zero-down loan is for U.S. Veterans. Everyone else will need at least 3.5 percent (of the buy fee) to place down.”
This is incorrect. There is no requirement that lenders have to abide by, telling them the minimum is 3.5%. That’s just for FHA loans anyway. In fact, there is a “rural” homebuyer program, called the USDA loan that features 0% down. And, if you take a look at credit unions, many of them do not require ANYTHING down. Of course, the interest rate will be privileged since it’s a privileged risk, but researching a local community credit union – they offer a 0% down that also does not require mortgage insurance. Is that the recommended way to go? It depends on your finances and scenario, but “the only zero-down loan is for U.S. Veterans” is absolutely incorrect.
2. Page 79, under the “Folly of Procrastination”: “Owning is better than renting in the long run. People who own their homes free and clear in their retirement years are taking Mediterranean cruises and enjoying life. By contract, people who are renting in their retirement years are paying more than ever and are taking supplemental jobs slinging hot fries and sweeping greasy floors to try to make ends meet.”
This may be tongue in cheek, but it’s also incorrect. Many elderly are choosing to rent – many for financial reasons. You never really “own” your house – you merely rent it from the government due to property taxes. And, with owning, you get all the pleasures of upkeep. There are copious reasons, personal and financial to rent rather than own. Here, the leader comes off as an over-zealous real estate agent. (You know, part of the National Association of Realtors, who, each quarter, tell us that “Housing prices are on the spring back.” It’s December 2009, and I’ve heard that for over a year now, folks. They’re still dropping.)
3. Page 82, “The Loan Process in Ten Simple Steps”: “Don’t make the colossal mistake of getting out on limb with a signed buy and sale agreement lacking having levelheaded financial backing to close the deal.”
Another blanket statement that could be entirely incorrect. Get your pre-qualification (your credit won’t be run), make an offer, have an inspection, and THEN go back for the preapproval. Why? If you’re really looking for “THE” house – a tidy 1800sqft house with man-cave sitting on 2 acres with a couple large bedrooms and the third one can be tiny since it’ll be an office, etc… The chances of you finding your perfect house are pretty narrow. And when you do find the house, if the home inspection turns up all kinds of stuff you’d rather not deal with (by renegotiating fee or fitting yourself)…then 3 months from then when you find the “replacement” perfect house, you can do the same steps. Otherwise, every 3 months that go by, you get your credit run…and your score drops each time. (On the additional hand, if you’re looking for “a box to call your own, something with 3 bedrooms, bathroom, and a kitchen,” then there are plenty out there – shouldn’t be too hard to find one in 3 months.)
4. Page 82: “Don’t even reflect about presenting an offer lacking having a preapproval letter to accompany it.”
I’ve done this 3 times. Each time, the offer was accepted. A excellent real estate agent knows that in the Buy & Sale, to place a “Contingent on Financing” clause. If somebody wants to sell their house, and you have a excellent offer, they can in the fleeting term approve the offer – stating that you have 5 days to produce a PreApproval letter. This isn’t 2003-2007 when people were lining up to bid on overpriced, cheaply built homes.
5. Page 83: “If you’re buying a bank-owned property, it takes longer because you’re dealing with a committee or bank negotiator who is busy with additional matters.”
Another glossy smooth-over by the leader. Just recently I made an offer on a bank-owned property. My real estate agent had the offer in at 7am on Monday. The offer was approved at 4pm…THE SAME DAY.
6. Page 100: “What about Credit Unions?”
Here, the leader basically says to use banks and not credit unions…but more directly, she states to choose your loan based on the individual loan officer rather than lending institution.
Well, first off, there are a nationwide survey of mortgages originated in the past couple years (I judge it was performed by BankRate.) Credit unions routinely not only had better excise, but their customers were more pleased with their service. But…the authors bit here is two-fold: dismissing credit unions and choosing a loan individual…
7. Page 106-108. “How to find a mortgage star.”
This part is just downright worthless. Basically, the leader says to pick a fantastic mortgage individual, do the following: (1) Pick somebody, anyone. (2) Call them up and question for a GFE (excellent faith estimate.) (3) If they want to run your credit, they’re terrible. If they say the GFE doesn’t mean much, they’re terrible. (4) “Then go one step further and question about their experience and ability to handle challenges, should something unexpected come up.”
Based off that, you’ve establish your mortgage star. Seems a small iffy to me…
8. Chapter 14. The leader continuously talks about the people who are “shoplifting” the knowledge of a loan officer. “It’s sad, but they [loan officers] get so many people asking for quotes and GFEs and asking ten stupid questions before they even have a loan approved that take up their whole day and then these rude time shoplifters never get back to them, disappearing into the silent void lacking so much as a thank you, so the loan officers end up effective hours and hours for free every week.”
Excuse me…but that’s called CUSTOMER SERVICE. Do you pay the dude at Best Buy (or Amazon) to question about the latest BluRay player? Are you shoplifting if you don’t buy one? No – if you were pleased with the experience (ie, the customer service), you get your questions answered, and when ready, you buy from them.
Overall, there’s a lot to both like and dislike about this book. The best thing about it: there’s a lot of excellent information all bound into a single source. The worst things: some things stated as facts that aren’t right, and, reasonably frankly, you could skip the narrative and get all the info for free online. Just do your own homework.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
(Note: the word ‘expose’ should have an acute accent mark placed on the last ‘e’ but I was unable to do so for this online review. )
The recent real-estate meltdown has lead to a lot of paper and ink being expended on guidance and how-to books with questionable value. In this case, with a title like “Homebuyers Beware — Who’s Ripping You Off Now?” one would expect some sort of juicy, juicy expose about the mortgage and real estate industries, and small in terms of factual or practical guidance.
Leader Carolyn Warren is an veteran insider, having worked in many roles in the home loan business, placing her in a position to offer a lot of excellent advice and insights. Fortunately, she all but ignores the title of her book— one is lead to marvel if some marketeer chose the title for her— and simply provides practical guidance for the home buyer seeking a loan on honest terms.
To be sure, the book discusses sharp and shady practices, many of which have been around for a long time, and few of which are new. No one who has ever applied for a mortgage loan will fail to find something familiar here in the form of an unpleasant memory. But the main point of the book isn’t merely to rip into mortgage brokers and bankers simply for the sake of getting attention.
As a replacement for, the book talks in unadorned language about credit and credit scores; how to determine where you stand in the credit market, and what to do if your credit rating isn’t the best. You’ll learn positive steps to take to repair marred credit, to recover from previous problems such as foreclosures, and to place yourself in the best possible position to get the best possible mortgage. Of course, miracles don’t take place, but the advice agreed seems reasonably actionable and sensible.
Then, you will learn all about mortgages and how they are place together. You’ll be told about how to shop for the best excise and terms, and the advice here is rather surprising: rather than shopping around endlessly and responding to misleading advertisements, find an honest broker or banker and work intensely with that person. This alone is worth the fee of the book.
The book continues to chat about the need for a excellent real estate agent (you snub this advice at your own financial peril), and the many aspects of refinancing an existing home.
The final part of the book is as close to an “expose” that the book gets: a long array of shady and dubious deals are described, but the all-purpose advice is simple enough— stay away.
The book is not perfect; some of the writing is a small obscure and would have benefited from more, and more careful editing. During tough times such as presently exist (late 2009), there is more emphasis on getting a book like this one onto the shelves for quick sale than there is on editorial quality. That’s too terrible, because a couple of more weeks of work would have improved the readability of the book substantially.
Still, I have no problem giving this book a high recommendation to prospective home buyers, regardless of experience level. I’ve myself done a long list of real estate deals, but I learned a fantastic deal of useful information from the book, information that I’ll surely place to use on my next deal. And if you’re a novice home buyer, the book can’t help but save you time, frustration, and money.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5