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| Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers: An Industry Insider Explains How to Save Thousands on Your Mortgage or Re-Finance | 
 enlarge | Author: Carolyn Warren
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy New: $9.66
You Save: $8.29 (46%)
Buy New/Used from $9.44
Avg. Customer Rating:  (64 reviews)
Sales Rank: 31203
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0470097833
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.7220973
EAN: 9780470097830
ASIN: 0470097833
Publication Date: May 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
fantastic for first time buyers !!! March 29, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
this is a fantastic book!. im 28, and am looking to purchase my first home. this book allowed me to move on confidently through the toughest and most intimidating part of the home buying process: avoiding mortgage rip offs! i admit, i knew a few things on what markets are good for home purchases, but was clueless on how to finance the purchase.
if you are a skeptic of this shady, 'loan shark' infested business, pick up the book and get educated! Carolyn shares many personal and professional tips as well as a bunch or real-life stories. you will easily save hundreds and possibly thousands!
Best Mortgage "How To" Book...Ever March 27, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have been buying, selling and re-financing real estste, in Southern California, for the past 30+ years. After reading "Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers" by Carolyn Warren, I cringe at how I had been taken advantage of, over the years. I can never re-gain the money I lost in fees, overcharges etc. but with the information I learned from this book, it sure won't happen again. This should be required reading for every person buying a home or re-financing. It is easy to read, understand and apply. Unlike other books, on this subject, it doesn't give you just enough information to be dangerous. It is so practical that anyone can use it to defend themselves against mortgage brokers, banks and direct lenders that would take advantage of you just to line their pockets. Before you do anything related to a mortgage or re-finance,READ THIS BOOK!
 Very Pleased! March 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very responsive to my questions. I won't LEND this book to anyone----In fact I guard it with my life!
 Potential pitfalls to consider March 9, 2008
16 out of 21 found this review helpful
I have as much, if not more, experience in residential retail and wholesale mortgage lending as the author. There are more than enough (justified) positive reviews praising the information and advice presented in this book. However, most of these are homeowners not educated or experienced in mortgage lending and therefore do not have the full picture. In the interest of balance in these reviews, homeowners and potential homeowners reading this book should consider the following:
1. Be careful how much weight you give to the Good Faith Estimate and making a loan decision based on the "best" GFE that has been provided to you by mulitple lenders. A GFE is simply that - an estimate (aka "guess") of what your final settlement charges may be. It is by no means a written offer of credit or guarantee of those fees. While the lender is required to provide a second GFE if the loan terms change significantly, they are not bound to honor any of the terms quoted to you in your initial Good Faith Estimate. The reason for this is because the nature of mortgage lending means that it is impossible to guarantee or quote with 100% accuracy the exact rate and fees of any mortgage loan (even "locked" loans) until that loan has been completely processed, underwritten, and approved. The beginning stages of any loan process and the initial information you are provided about any mortgage loan is always going to be based off HUGE assumptions that may or may not be correct. This is especially true in today's marketplace. These days, its nearly impossible to predict what a particular home is going to appraise for (the most important aspect of any loan proposal) and loan products, guidelines, and interest rates are changing daily - sometimes hourly. The extreme instability in housing and mortgage markets right now makes it almost impossible for even well-intentioned and honest lenders and brokers to quote with any amount of certainity what your final loan terms and settlement charges are likely to be 30 days from now.
2. Be careful entering a race to the bottom regarding loan fees. The loan with the fewest fees or the lowest fees is not automatically the best. The term "junk fees" is subjective. Every single fee charged in any mortgage transaction could be classified as "junk" in one way or another. When you're the one paying them, all the fees seem like junk fees. What's important is to take the total cost of the loan (all fees combined) and compare it to the total benefit (all benefits combined) and, like anything, determine if the cost outweighs the benefit. Very rarely will 3 different Loan Officers working at 3 different companies structure the same indentical loan proposal for you. The cost vs. benefit of each should be judged on its individual merits.
3. Be extremely cautious with "Credit Repair" companies and people claiming they can fix your credit (i.e. remove collections, bankruptcies, judgements, etc.). In almost all cases, "credit repair" involves disputing legitmate debts and other information contained within your credit report. People who practice credit repair rely on a consumer protection law that forces creditors to prove the legitmacy of a negative item on your credit report within a certain timeframe or they are forced to remove it. All credit repair involves the practice of disputing every single negative item on your credit report and counting on the fact that the creditor will not produce the proof of the debt or negative pay history of the debt within the specificed timeframe and therefore be forced to remove it. The vast majority of negative items reporting on anyone's credit report are going to be legitmate debts. Therefore, the practice of credit repair involves disputing (claiming the debt isn't yours, or that you were never late on it, etc.) debts that are perfectly legimate and correct. This is called fraud and its illegal. Disputing a debt you know to be valid, or allowing someone to dispute it on your behalf is not only illegal, its unethical and dishonest.
Buy This Book Before Your Buy/Refinance a Home March 3, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I purchased four other books on mortgages and refinancing and none of them were as helpful, relevant or insightful as "Mortgage Ripoffs." What distinguishes this book is that Ms. Warren zones in on the areas where consumers get ripped off the most. The advice is concrete and practical - for example, she will show you various marked-up mortgage documents and highlight areas where the mortgage professionals who prepared them are being dishonest or deceitful.
Ms. Warren also gives many real-life examples from her experiences in the industry. Some of them are infuriating, some of them will make you gasp, and some are actually pretty funny. I liked this background information because it gave me a snapshot into the mortgage industry, but also provided "context" to my current situation. I instantly recognized some of the shady types I have dealt with in the past.
Although Ms. Warren places a fair share of the blame on the industry's deceit and avarice, she also advises consumers to take responsibility for their finances and protect their home and equity. Willful ignorance is not an excuse.
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