Mortgage Info

Falling victim to a mortgage predator is very similar to falling victim to the playground bully. As you know from being a child once yourself, the school playground enforces Darwin’s Survival of the Fittest Theory. The playground bully scans the playground with a scowl on his face. When he spots the weakest and most vulnerable kid there, his eyes lock on his victim and he marches toward him.

The very same concept holds true with mortgage predators. You usually do not seek them out. They usually seek you out.

Typical Victims
Often time predatory lenders will try to find individuals that are heavily in debt, and/or have some amount of equity built up in their home, have a very high interest rate on their mortgage, or some other weakness. Just like the playground bully, predatory lenders also hone in on those borrowers who seem confused or who are only focused on one aspect of the mortgage, for example, the monthly mortgage payment. You will allow yourself to become a victim if you do not do what is necessary to understand the mortgage terms and conditions, especially by reading the documents presented to you.

You also can allow yourself to fall prey by being caught up solely in the monthly mortgage payment. If you focus on keeping your monthly payment at a certain level, but do not also consider the other costs of the mortgage, you may be opening yourself up to be taken advantage of. A lender may keep your monthly mortgage payment low, but inflate your upfront costs or fees in order to keep the payment at this level.

What You Can Do To Avoid Falling Prey

1. Take control of the situation. You should initiate contact with a lender for your needs. Don’t let bully you into or just talk you into refinancing, taking out an equity line of credit on your property or anything else
2. Don’t get tunnel vision. Look at the whole scenario when you are establishing a mortgage, home equity line of credit or other credit. If you only focus on one detail and are not paying attention to all of the details, then you may find yourself being burned
3. Educate yourself. Do not allow yourself to get confused by mortgage terms and conditions. Make sure that you fully understand and comprehend everything about the mortgage before you sign on the dotted line

Do not allow yourself to become another statistic. Do not let someone take advantage of you and your money. By taking control of the situation and by taking the time to educate yourself, you will save yourself a lot of pain and unnecessary financial blenders for the end.

Related websites

• Avoiding Mortgage Predators (mtgprofessor.com)
• HELOC Information and Tips (mortgageloan.com)