There’s an interesting article in the Star-Telegram about the increase in the number of peer-to-peer loans for college students.  The author cites a contraction of student loan lending and restrictions on credit card lending to students as a major factor contributing to the uptick in the number of peer-to-peer loans amongst college students.

The article said:

“As credit continues to …

Permalink: /loans-mortgages/peer-to-peer-lender-borrower-beware/

… information during a three-month trial period, with the modification becoming permanent if the borrower made three lowered payments and submitted the required paperwork…

Of course we know that never happened.  Many borrowers never even got the chance to participate in the trial modification process.  Despite their pending foreclosure, their HAMP paperwork was often lost and/or they found it difficult to receive a timely decision from lenders.  Many of those homeowners left waiting …

… lenders fail to respond to mortgage modification requests in a timely manner and even blame the borrower for their negligence.  Unfortunately, for many individual homeowners, they don’t have the a legal team on retainer to tackle their foreclosure issues and they are often struggling with other delinquent debts which are quickly sinking their financial ship.  But what ordinary homeowners do have, is the ability to use bankruptcy as a tool to stop foreclosure.  It is bankruptcy that is …

… to your list of problems.   But in bankruptcy even if a home is surrendered to the lender, the borrower does not owe the balance of the loan.  The bankruptcy court forgives the balance while discharging other debts.

… loans on people who can’t even afford the first one? Frankly, the law, which limits each borrower to one loan at a time but increases the maximum amount of a loan from $300 to $550, doesn’t go far enough to stop people from getting trapped in a cycle of debt.

The new law spoken of is a law implemented in South Carolina that would severely limit payday lenders’ ability to dump toxic short term loans onto debtors; but this move could have an impact on Texans.  All over the …

… premium of 2.25 percent of the total loan amount, up from the current level of 1.75 percent. A borrower taking out a $200,000 mortgage would pay a $4,500 fee, for example, rather than the current fee of $3,500. Borrowers will still be able to wrap these fees into the total amount borrowed. FHA officials also plan to ask Congress to increase the maximum annual premium that FHA can charge.

-Need a credit score of at least 580 to qualify. Many FHA lenders already require a higher score, …

… an item they charge to their credit card and repay over the years.

The payment amount the borrower needs to make if they want to pay off their credit card loan in 36 months.  This disclosure will definitely help millions of Americans come to terms with their credit card debt.  When debtors begin to realize that they need to pay $1,000 per month over the course of three years to pay off their maxed out credit cards they may seriously consider bankruptcy if …

… that cause many borrowers with smaller balances to get hit with a large late fee.

Before 2004, a borrower with a credit card balance of $1,000 would be hit with a $35 late fee while those with significantly lower balance would receive a lower late fee.  But recent changes in who is defined as having a high balance has caused a $250 balance credit card to receive the same late fee amount as a $1,000 balance credit card.  The change is policy has made such a huge impact on credit card …

… says Chase refused to re-activate the card, citing late payments.

Eventually, the credit card borrower was informed that his payment was deemed late because his due date fell on a Sunday and despite the fact that the borrower paid the bill on that Sunday, the credit card lender did not process it until that Monday making it late.  Campbell didn’t see it coming.  This credit card borrower paid faithfully; but was still exploited by his lender. Now the borrower possibly has two negative …

… amount of credit available and a finite time period to repay the loan. For example, you might borrower $15,000 to remodel your home using a personal loan.  That $15,000 is only available once and must be repaid over a set period of time which is determined before you borrow the money. On the other hand, credit cards are revolving credit lines. With a revolving line of credit the amount of the loan is available “indefinitely” as long as the card is paid in a timely matter and the …

… article in the Star-Telegram, some legislators are pushing mandatory mediation to resolve lender/borrower foreclosure disputes. Will it work in Dallas- Fort Worth ?

The article examined the case for it in Florida:

“Florida’s courts are currently trying to cope with more than 290,000 foreclosure cases… A majority on the high court’s Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosures recommended trying mediation on owner-occupied homes before cases go to court, with lenders …

… especially your bankruptcy option.  Bankruptcy stops foreclosure immediately, gives the borrower more leverage when negotiating with lenders; and it doesn’t increase the profits of mortgage lenders and servicers. So there isn’t much motivation for them to mention your bankruptcy options.