Daily Reckoning Rants - Ameriquest's Sleazy Loans ... ... ... .
From today's edition
*** One of the major sponsors of the Super Bowl is lender, Ameriquest. Our Pittsburgh correspondent comments:
"And as to Ameriquest, don't get me started on that bunch of thieving bastards. Okay, you got me started. Their lending practices are so aggressive as to be deplorable. They prey on a combination of peoples' ignorance and shortsighted greed. They say things like, 'no one holds a gun to anyone's head to make them take out a loan.' Yes, but... They focus on people who live at the economic margins. Working poor and lower middle class... They offer the prospect of prompt cash, but are pretty short on the financial education that a consumer ought to have before going into debt, particularly on his house.
"Ameriquest has almost single-handedly corrupted the 'appraisal' market nationwide, by pressuring appraisers to 'challenge the market' with elevated estimates of value. Then, they loan ungodly amounts against these inflated appraisals (like, 100% against an inflated estimate of value), with the borrowers' payment-to-income ratios commonly in excess of 50%. Thus, there is no margin for error or financial setback. They tack on hefty fees up-front, to make for 110-115% loans to (inflated) value. They are brutal with their prepayment penalties, usually for the first three years of a 'loan,' so it is a disincentive to refinance at a lower rate. Their variable rates are geared to increase with a trajectory that makes the space shuttle look like a static display. And then they sell the paper into the secondary markets, which eliminates the 'friendly banker' concept if someone is having trouble with payments.
"This system is completely geared to prompt payment ('capital discipline,' or 'the discipline of debt,' are common euphemisms), and it almost never allows for partial payments after late or missed payments. There are small armies of lawyers in most major cities who do nothing but run lawsuit-mills to sue in foreclosure when people miss payments. Talk with any U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee, and ask about Ameriquest, and you will see a scowl on the Trustee's face. That says it all."
[ WHEW ! ] |
