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Tag: Mortgages

  • Google Compare Gets Mortgage Tool In U.S.

    Google Compare Gets Mortgage Tool In U.S.

    A couple years ago, Google launched a tool for comparing car insurance in Europe, and finally launched it in the U.S. earlier this year. At an AdWords event in May, the company announced the expansion of this feature to mortgages in the U.S. under the Google Compare brand.

    Today, Google announced the introduction of this feature in California.

    “Buying a home is a major financial decision — so when it comes to getting a mortgage, people want an easy way to understand and compare their options online,” says Google Compare director of product management Nicolas Wk. “That’s why we added a mortgage calculator to organic search earlier this year. Yet nearly 1 in 2 borrowers still don’t shop around for their mortgage and often feel like they don’t have enough information to make an educated choice.1 To help them make confident, more informed financial decisions, we’re introducing the newest addition to our suite of Google Compare products: mortgages, which we announced earlier this year and is now available in California with more states to follow.”

    “Google Compare for mortgages provides a seamless, intuitive experience that connects lenders with borrowers online,” adds Wk. “Whether you’re a national lender or one local to California, people searching for mortgages on their smartphone or desktop computer can now find you, along with a real-time, apples-to-apples comparison of rate quotes from other lenders — all in as little as a minute. Borrowers can also see ratings and read helpful reviews, and enter relevant information — like loan amount, estimated credit score, or home value — to receive rate quotes that match their needs. They can then visit your website to apply directly online or over the phone through one of your agents or loan officers.”

    Google says participation in Google Compare is based on flexible cost-per-lead model, but payment isn’t a factor in ranking or eligibility.

    Image via Google

  • Occupy Wall Street Buys Debt at 50-1, Abolishes It

    Reuters and the Guardian both report one of Occupy Wall Street’s spinoff groups, the Rolling Jubilee Project, announcing this week that they have successfully bought $14.7 million in healthcare debt accumulated by Americans for roughly $400,000.

    Rolling Jubilee was set up by the OWS debt group Strike Debt! after the widespread financial protests in 2011. Andrew Ross, a member of Strike Debt! and a sociocultural analysis professor at New York University, said “We thought that the ratio would be about 20 to 1. In fact we’ve been able to buy debt a lot more cheaply than that.”

    Bigger lenders that deal with failed bills from loans, insurance, or credit cards often sell the debt at a loss to a third party for a fraction of the debt’s actual value. Debt-buying companies will pay pennies per dollar, then try to collect from the debtors for a profit. Strike Debt! has managed to relieve 2693 people of debts they owed for medical services that OWS believes should be universal. The remainder of their funds will likely go to relieving some student loan debt.

    Ross acknowledged the seemingly futile objectives of Strike Debt! when he said, “We’re under no illusions that $15m is just a tiny drop in the secondary debt market. It doesn’t make a dent in the amount of debt. Our purpose in doing this, aside from helping some people along the way – there’s certainly many, many people who are very thankful that their debts are abolished – our primary purpose was to spread information about the workings of this secondary debt market.”

    When the OWS offshoots purchase debt, they receive no information about the person who’s debt they are abolishing other than an address. They mail a letter to explain how the person’s debt was cancelled; that letter is the group’s only direct contact with debtors. However, Ross noted that “one person wrote back and said that he had gone through periods of being homeless and he was trying to get back on his feet.”

    If you want learn more about economic inequality in the United States, check out these enlightening charts from Business Insider.

    [Image via RollingJubilee.org]

  • 30-Year Mortgage Rates Continue To Hit New Lows, According To Freddie Mac

    30-year fixed-rate mortgages are averaging record-breaking lows, according to Freddie Mac. The company has released results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey showing that a streak of lows is continuing.

    According to the survey, the mortgages averaged 3.49%, which is over a full percentage point lower than a year ago, when it averaged 4.55%.

    Mortgage rates

    Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac said,”Market concerns over the strength of the economic recovery brought long-term Treasury yields to new lows this week allowing fixed mortgage rates to reach record levels.”

    “The Conference Board Leading Economic Index showed the largest monthly decline in June since September 2011,” he added. “Existing home sales fell to 4.36 million homes (annualized) in June and represented the slowest pace since October 2011. Similarly, new home sales fell in June to their lowest level since January of this year.”

    The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also set a record low, according to the survey, falling to 2.8%. A year ago, they averaged 3.66%.

    Meanwhile, 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) averaged 2.74% for the week, down from 3.25% last year. 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM rates averaged 2.71. A year ago, they were averaging 2.95%.

    You can get a closer look at the survey results here.