Sometimes when you’re trying to get a borrower approved for a mortgage the system will tell you something stupid like “this person is not qualified.” Luckily, this internal document from Chase shows a few tips and tricks you can use to tweak a borrower’s profile so they can get a stated-income asset loan (which recently has received the unfair pejorative of a “liar’s loan” by the sensationalist media apparatchik) a piece of The American Dream. It’s specific to Chase’s internal loan approval system. Irregardless, many of the principles have universal application, no matter what level of the fast-paced exciting field of sub-prime mortgages you work. Highlights:
BLOGS
T-Mobile C And D's Blog For Using Magenta
By 3.31.08
Citing trademark infringement concern, T-mobile is demanding that gadget blog site Engadget Mobile stop using magenta in its logo. In a letter posted sent to Engadget, T-Mobile pronounced, “Based on the different character of the goods and services offered by the Deusche Telekom Group and Weblogs, we assume that it is in the best interest of both of our entities to ensure that the particular services can be clearly separated and that consumers are not confused…” And it’s not an early April Fool’s joke, they say. It’s not totally unreasonable, there is precedent for this sort of thing. Like the time T-Mobile sued a small a book-on-demand-publisher for having magenta in its logo.
TSA Freaks Over Speakers, Lets Knife Pass Through. Twice.
By 3.31.08
TSA throws away passenger’s toothpaste, freaks out over his JBL On Tour speaker system, and lets him pass through with a lock-knife keychain, twice. Couple this with that story a few weeks ago about the Apple Air trying to go through security (it doesn’t have a hard drive! there’s no ports!) and it seems that the TSA’s main concern is that the next terroristic attack will have incredibly attractive design.
Recover Lost Money
By 3.30.08
Frugal For Life points us to four sites that can help provide a lucrative reunion with long-lost cash with only a few minutes of work. We once found our parents several thousand dollars using New York’s unclaimed funds page. Hit the jump for other sources of surprise cash.
Credit Card Expert Disputes Erroneous Charge, Frustration Ensues
By 3.29.08
Georgetown law professor and Credit Slips blogger Adam Levitin is having trouble disputing an erroneous $176.96 charge on his Citibank Amex card from PACER, the federal court’s online docket system, which he accesses for free. The professor is a consumer credit expert and should have no problem understanding and fixing the error, right? Fat chance.
By 3.28.08
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Buy It Later is a cool Firefox extension that monitors specific products for you for price drops or for them to come back in stock. [BuyLater via Lifehacker]
Cablevision Tries To Sell You Phone Service During Funeral
By 3.28.08
Cablevision tried to telemarket Greg Scoblete phone service during a funeral:
Two days ago I attended a wake. During the wake my cellphone rang…I couldn’t answer the first call, but shortly thereafter it rang again. “Must be important,” I thought, ducking out of the room.
It turned out to be a Cablevision telemarketer trying to rope me into the triple play. Fair enough. I told the rep that I wasn’t interested in the triple play and in any event, I was at a wake.
“I understand that,” he said, “but I’ll have you off the phone in five minutes saving money on your long-distance bills.”
Congratulations, Cablevision, you’ve taken the definition of shameless marketing to a whole new level.
By 3.27.08
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The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force has given up on investigating mortgage fraud. “We don’t have the staff or funding to address it,” said Mike Siitari, Edina police chief and oversight council chairman. “We have hundreds of cases of backlog.” [Pioneer Press via Caveat Emptor]
By 3.26.08
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Yahoo’s “Unlimited” email, isn’t. [WSJ]
By 3.26.08
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The TSA is expanding it’s skiing-themed “self-selection” security lanes beyond Denver and into Orlando, Boston, and Spokane [TSA via Gridskipper]
By 3.25.08
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Research shows that, despite charging high interest rates, payday lenders don’t make much money than typical businesses. [Credit Slips]
By 3.19.08
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How hiring a consumer lawyer is different from hiring a regular lawyer, and potentially much less costly. [Caveat Emptor]
Credit Card Victims Muzzled, Ordered To Release Financial Histories Before Sharing Their Experiences
By 3.16.08
Four credit card victims were ordered to sign waivers allowing their creditors to release their private financial records to the public before they could testify before the House Financial Services Committee. The consumers had flown in from across the country to share their stories at a hearing on the Credit Card Bill of Rights, but credit card companies insisted—and Republicans and Democrats agreed—that it would only be fair to release documents like credit scores and a list of recent purchases in order to rebut the consumer’s claims. “Fair is fair,” Congressman Spencer Bauchus (R-AL) barked, as he defended the absurd request. Ultimately, the consumers didn’t testify, but one invitee, Steven Autrey, released his prepared statement, which slams creditors for their abusive and predatory business practices.
By 3.14.08
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Kohl’s has signed musician Avril Lavigne to be the face of Abbey Dawn, a juniors lifestyle brand. A perfect synergy, one is just as much “punk” as the other. [NYmag via Don’t Believe The Hypebeast]
By 3.14.08
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Heavens, another Macbook has exploded. Apple is sending him a new one. [Appeltell]
Break The PayDay Loan Death Cycle
By 3.12.08
Are you trapped in a payday loan death cycle, or have a friend or family member who is? See, the problem with a payday loan is that some people aren’t able to pay the first one off (if you don’t have money in the first place, you’re not going to be any better off two weeks later!), and then have to take out more and more loans to cover each loan they couldn’t pay off. Not only is there high interest, there’s fees. A former PayDay loan lender on personalbudgettraining.com shares his advice for breaking out of the debt trap.
If you can’t get out of this right now, start by advancing $50 less per pay period. Take the difference of what you were paying us in fees and start paying it into an emergency fund. Grab a job delivering pizzas, babysitting, whatever, and pay it into an emergency fund. Borrow less and less from us. Use the EF for actual emergencies. Once you are out of this, don’t get back into it.
Earn more, borrow less, and pay off more.
By 3.10.08
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A traveler reports that the TSA freaked out over his new Macbook Air when he brought it through security. Apparently the guy manning the x-ray was alarmed at the alleged laptop’s lack of a hard-drive and ports on the back. [Engadget]
3 Questions To Ask Before Checking Into Your Hotel Room
By 3.9.08
Travel guru Peter Greenberg shares three useful and unexpected questions that can make a huge difference when booking a hotel room. Inside, learn how to avoid digs next to the inevitable construction and instead score the room with a shower strong enough to clean a stinky elephant.
