Some 3,162 Latino customers of a Bakersfield-based mortgage bank are getting refund checks for alleged overcharges, the Federal Trade Commission announced Monday.

The checks, sent out last Friday, total $1.5 million. The trade commission says Golden Empire Mortgage Inc., which also goes by GEM Mortgage, illegally charged Latino applicants higher prices for home loans than it charged whites.

“These disparities…are substantial, statistically significant, and cannot be explained by factors related to underwriting risk or credit characteristics of the applicants,” the trade commission alleged in a 2009 lawsuit.

Rick Roper, Golden Empire’s executive vice president, said the refund checks represent the suit’s final chapter.

A settlement agreement finalized last September called for comprehensive changes to Golden Empire’s policies and procedures within specified time frames.

“Those were completed as scheduled,” Roper said.

The company admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement agreement, and Roper said Golden Empire officials as well as the larger mortgage industry look at things differently than the FTC does.

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Mortgage lenders have continued to tighten consumer credit over the past year, although not as aggressively as in the past three years.

A survey of the nation’s largest banks, reported today by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, found that 40 percent of those reporting tightened their credit standards for mortgage loans over the past year. Eight percent said they loosened their mortgage credit standards, while the rest are unchanged.   That compares to over half of all banks that tightened their underwriting standards for mortgages in each of the previous three years, including nearly three-quarters in 2009. The survey covered the nation’s 54 largest banks, with 48 of them reporting on mortgage activity.   Tr Read full post…

Quite a few mistakes are made when a person looks into looking for a reverse mortgage. We will cover three of the major ones that will have a long term effect if you do not address them upfront.

Mistake 1: Not understanding them before going forward.

If you don’t fully understand the mortgage loan, how do you understand if it is right for you? If you can’t get a loan officer to explain it to you, in a way you understand, then find a new mortgage loan officer. Too many times a senior is a number of years into a reverse mortgage and all of a sudden they’ve got concerns that should have been gone over in the mortgage loan process.

Mistake 2: Moving too fast and not getting crucial specifics. Read full post…

Is it time to buy a property? Do you want to buy your dream house now? Is it time to apply for a mortgage? If so, you would like to read this newest post. Here we will take a look at some crucial data to remember, too as how you can uncover selections to get the most effective finance achievable! Discover mortgages, discover your dream house, read now!

There are plenty of different options in relation to home mortgages. There are plenty of lenders, in truth even more than may be counted, and you surely do not would like to call all these locations, but do you need the best one.

In terms of residence buying, countless many people will do this once in their lives, and countless many people will never do it. Read full post…

The housing market is in a very different state than it was several years ago. Many people are walking away from their mortgages due to unemployment and an inability to pay, while others are watching their home values drop and mortgages fall underwater.

It’s tough for many to keep up with the changes of the mortgage industry, let alone think about keeping the home long enough to pay it off. With so much going on, does it make sense for those still in good standing to work toward paying off mortgage loans?

The Mortgage Industry and Homeownership

It’s tough being a homeowner today. Aft

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