Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers: An Industry Insider Explains How to Save Thousands on Your Mortgage or Re-Finance

Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers: An Industry Insider Explains How to Save Thousands on Your Mortgage or Re-Finance

Product Description

Carolyn Warren better get a bodyguard. Her new tell-all on the mortgage industry exposes so many of the lending industry's favorite frauds, every loan officer from Seattle to Miami is going to be gunning for her! Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers is like a map that guides you around the carefully camouflaged landmines laid by lenders. And it gives you simple, step-by-step directions for saving tens of thousands of dollars. If you're looking for ways to save a king's ransom on your mortgage and monthly payments, you simply must read this book. -- Clayton Makepeace, founder and president, The Profit Center

Topics include:
* Why calling around for the best interest rate is a BAD idea (and what to do instead).
* How to force lenders to disclose their hidden fees.
* The Dirty Dozen: Junk fees You should not pay.
* How to get the lowest possible rate.
* Uncover the best-kept secret of the mortgage industry.
* Avoid the five most common unpleasant closing surprises.
* Turning a denied loan into an approved loan.
* and much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13957 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
There are many excellent "how to get a mortgage" books, but this one is vastly different, because it reveals the insider secrets even many mortgage professionals don't know. Warren reveals what really goes on in the home-loan business to get mortgages approved, and dhow borrowers can avoid becoming victims of their lenders. On my scale of one to 10, this superb new book rates an off-the-chart 12. -- Robert J. Bruss, Inman News, July 10, 2007

From the Publisher
Mortgage Rip-offs and Money Savers reveals how the mortgage industry cheats borrowers out of billions in extra costs every year. Mortgage industry insider Carolyn Warren taps her decade of experience with lenders to expose the tricks, lies, and dirty little secrets they don't want you to know. With her expert guidance, borrowers will save tens of thousands when they avoid the traps so many consumers fall into. Having this inside information is the only way borrowers can truly get the best possible deal. This book presents that knowledge in an interesting and easy format that anyone can understand. Readers won't be victims of the mortgage industry with this invaluable resource in hand. Instead, they'll get the best possible rates, avoid bogus fees, and get the great deal they deserve.

From the Author
Thank you to the many readers who email me every day telling me how many thousands of dollars my book has saved them. You are the reason I wrote this.

Sad to say, the rip-offs are increasing! This week I received an email from a national mortgage trainer bragging how he was teaching loan officers to use deceptive pricing tactics and increase commissions on a per-loan basis.

What's happening right now is outrageous! The public has the right to know what's going on behind closed doors. So to those who have asked if I regret exposing the secrets, my answer is no, not at all. Keep your emails coming; I appreciate your response and heart-felt support.

Customer Reviews

Quick read, arm yourself before buying/refinancing
The most valuable contribution that this book has made is a good dissection of the mortgage or refinancing process. Carolyn Warren will educate you, giving you a reasonable "how to" guide for working with lenders when buying or refinancing property. For what should be a straight forward process, loan documents appear to be intentionally confusing. Some inside the lending business have learned how to capitalize upon the confusion and make you give away your money.

Everyone always wants to know what the closing costs will be, and this book reveals that the amount of closing costs should not be an uncertainty, and the loan officer should know a rough number up front. If the loan officer does not know, then somebody is padding somebody's wallet, and the book explains how. Warren also describes why knowing the rate isn't important. The rate itself is yet another way for a lender to potentially steal from you. "Buying down" the interest rate is just another way to put money in somebody's pocket (not yours). Quoting you one rate doesn't necessarily mean that it is the going rate for the day - it is the rate the lender thinks you'll take.

The book explains a number of ways how you can get robbed while buying house. In this market, however, a lot of the questionable practices identified in this book are either gone or reconfigured to look more reputable. You might look over your previous loan documents and find "junk" fees that, had you been better informed, you could have negotiated. Or not. It appears that finding a reputable lender is more than half the battle. Applying for a loan in person may give a person more security than a phone call or an online application. When buying a house, you should understand how interest works - if you don't, then you are in danger of not understanding when someone is hoodwinking you.

If the fees are in question, one thing to consider is that negotiating fees or rates is likely easier said than done. When it comes down to saying "I don't like this fee" it is a battle of the wills, just like it is at a car dealership or the poker table. The loan officer and his or her manager might just stare you down until you buckle or walk out. Warren's recommendation to bring several estimates to the table is likely a good one, because then you've got something to work with and walking away is a real threat. It also depends on whether or not the officer/company you are working with is based on a commission structure. It appears that the commissions are the source of predatory lending evils, which is no surprise. Direct greed is often the source of many problems.

The housing market looks much different than it did when this book was written just a year or two ago. Hopefully a lot of the scum involved in questionable lending practices have fallen away by now (good riddance). Over time this book may serve more value as a historical document explaining how bad it was. Future economists looking for the "why" behind this market slump might get a unique insider's peak from this book, but we can only hope that it gets better from here.

Great Book
I'm no expert when it comes to buying a home, especially the mortgage process. Being that my wife and I will be purchasing our first home in hopefully about six months or so, I decided to become a bit more educated on the subject. This book just happens to be one of four I selected, and it is the one I chose to read first. Simply put, this book is easy to read, entertaining, and gets right to the point. Warren really seems to have a passion for her chosen career. In my opinion, the vast majority of this book simply translates a lot of issues one may be faced with when securing a mortgage for a home purchase/refinance. Regardless of whether or not this advice is 'perfect' or not really doesn't matter much - I feel more confident and informed - able to make good choices in my financing decisions. I highly recommend this book.

If you're getting a mortgage or refi, get this book
She doesn't tell you everything there is to know, but she definitely alerts you to some of the most commonly used tricks. Would you pay an industry insider $15 to give you a thorough list of mortgage tricks that could cost you tens of thousand of dollars? That's a pretty smart investment.

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