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Mortgage Refinancing Help: Financial Abuse
“If you have equity built up in your home, and you need cash, you have two choices: get a home equity loan or utilize cash-out refinancing. Each has its pros and cons, so be sure to evaluate your situation carefully prior to making a decision.
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Mortgage Refinancing Help
: Society: Issues: Violence and Abuse: Elder
: Financial Abuse (14)
 Start with your current lender. If you're a good customer-you hold a sizable mortgage, pay on time, and maintain good credit-your existing lender will probably do everything in its power to keep your business. The company may cut you a break on fees for things like appraisals, surveys, and inspections if the information is current and you meet other requirements.
 See also:
 Telemarketing Fraud - PhoneBusters »
PhoneBusters
- Offers fraud prevention advice and collects telemarketing complaints throughout Canada working in partnership with other law enforcement agencies.
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 Bennett Blum, M.D. »
Offers information for cases involving undue influence, coercion, mental capacity and competency, dementia, elder or financial abuse. Includes forensic and geriatric psychiatry models.
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 National Association of Bunco Investigators (NABI) »
Non-profit organization of law enforcement and security investigators focusing on transient criminal groups and elderly victims.
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 Protecting Senior Texans from Financial Exploitation »
The Texas Attorney General offers this online training tool using video clips to illustrate various financial abuse scenarios in a bank setting and provides illustrations of appropriate interventions.
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 California Community Partnership for the Prevention of Financial Abuse »
CCPPFA guidelines for preventing and reporting financial elder abuse, resources for financial institutions, posters and brochures.
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 Fighting Fraud Against Older Consumers »
Explains how seniors can protect themselves by knowing how to identify fraudulent sales pitches.
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 Financial Crimes Against the Elderly »
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, offers this comprehensive 88-page problem-oriented guide in PDF format.
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 SCAMNOT »
Describes ongoing scams against seniors and includes an email alert feature.
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 Challenges in Combating Predatory Lending »
This 2004 report from the U.S. General Accounting Office highlights that the elderly are disproportionately victims of predatory lending.
[PDF]
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 Elder Abuse - California, Los Angeles District Attorney's Office »
California, Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
- Features the Elder Abuse Unit. How to recognize and prevent elder abuse. Warning signs, avoiding false friends, secret loan, caretaker fraud, telemarketing fraud, fraudulent charities, real estate fraud and other types of fraud.
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 If you know that you will be moving in 3 to 5 years, you might want to consider refinancing to a 3 or 5 year ARM (adjustable rate mortgage). These loans typically have a much lower rate that a traditional fixed rate loan such as a 30 year fixed, but they do have a fixed rate for the first 3 or 5 years of the loan. This will enable you to benefit from the lower rate, but you won't ever have to worry about the risk of a rate adjustment because you will be selling the home before the fixed-rate period ends.
When it comes to lowering your rates you will need to weight the benefits of having a lower rate vs. paying points up front. You may end up paying a lot more depending on your choice and how long you plan on keeping your mortgage.
These days most people request a Good Faith Estimate (GFE), but have no clue what to look for on the GFE. Make sure you request a GFE that has ALL fees estimated and disclosed. This includes: origination points, processing, lender, appraisal, title, escrow... ALL FEES... especially the Yield Spread Premium or YSP.
If you are making payments on a long term loan, say, 30 year mortgage for the past 10 to 20 years, then refinancing to another 30 year loan will not be a good option as it may increase your overall payment.
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