Credit Card Offers

You get a mortgage, and you get a mortgage and you get a mortgage! With credit scores on the rise and plucky consumers learning how to get ahead, there are signs that mortgages are closer than they appear. We also have stories about how cash is out of style and some good ol’ fashioned thievery. As always, if you enjoy any of our favorite bloggers, we encourage you to follow them on Twitter for regular updates. And don’t forget to follow Credit.com at @CreditExperts.

Best Consumer Credit Since ’06 Reveals Rebound Across U.S. Lenders are loosening the reigns more now than in the past few years, in part because they’re being presented with higher credit scores. Consume

Read full post…

The government’s newest consumer watchdog says it will pay special attention to financial crimes committed against members of the military and their families. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the judge advocate generals of all five military branches announced Wednesday that they will work together to spot and prosecute financial scams targeted at military families.

“Servicemembers and their families sacrifice a great deal for our country and they deserve advocates who will use every available resource to protect them from financial threats,” Holly Petraeus, director of servicemember affairs for the bureau, said in a press release.

The two agencies said they will work closely to track allegations of illegal financial practices, including predatory mortgages. The b

Read full post…

Today’s top news headlines feature new rules that may require employees who smoke to pay higher health insurance premiums and the details of new legislation that will allow some borrowers to receive their credit score for free. Plus, find out why college graduates who cohabitate may be at an advantage.

Smoking Employees May Shoulder More Health Insurance Costs The Huffington Post Some top U.S. corporations have announced a new policy that will push higher health insurance costs onto employees who smoke. A

Read full post…

Tune in to this week’s installment of The Credit Line, hosted by Credit.com’s chairman and co-founder Adam Levin on Los Angeles’ KFWB 980 AM this Saturday, July 9, at 9 a.m. PST/Noon EST.

The show is co-hosted by L.A. radio personality Jeff Levy.

Trapped in an Underwater Mortgage?  There is a Way Out.

In the first quarter of 2011, 23% of all residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity, a.k.a. “underwater,” by an average of $65,000. Across the

Read full post…

Customer run on IndyMac Bank in 2008

Even when he knew the economy was headed for the abyss, former CEO of IndyMac Bank Michael Perry “negligently” directed his company to sell $10 billion worth of risky mortgages that drove his company into bankruptcy, according to a lawsuit filed last week by the FDIC.

IndyMac was one of the largest mortgage lenders during the housing boom. Its bankruptcy in 2008 was the third-biggest banking failure in U.S. his

Read full post…

The Federal Housing Administration recently told lenders who controlled mortgages it backed that they must offer 12 months of forbearance to qualified borrowers who are currently unemployed, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. A similar rule may also be applied to those institutions participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program in the near future, but there could be some regulatory and contractual roadblocks involved.

“We’ve had to revamp our housing program several times to try to help people stay in their homes and try to start lifting home values up,” President Barack Obama said at a town hall event earlier this week.

It’s expected that the policy changes will affect as many as tens of thousands of borrowers currently struggling with unemployment, the report said. In a re

Read full post…