Borrowers

Wells Fargo borrowers potentially eligible for mortgage rate reductions under the national settlement with big banks are being notified this month, Maryland's attorney general said Friday. The lender is mailing out rate-reduction offers in waves, meaning that some borrowers already might have received their letter, said the office of Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler. In a statement, Gansler urged homeowners to "respond as soon as possible. " Those who don't get an offer in the mail by the end of May but think they're eligible should call the bank at 800-288-3212, he added.

Good news, bad news: New mortgage-delinquency problems are back to normal levels in Maryland , but the older cases -- borrowers seriously behind on their loans -- aren't receding. Worse news: The state has the nation's 15th highest share of borrowers in the foreclosure process, awaiting auction, and second-highest percentage of borrowers not yet in foreclosure but at least 90 days behind on payments. That's as of March, the newest figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Borrowers struggling to save their homes from foreclosure desperately need legal help, but that's often when they're least able to afford it. In Maryland, though, nearly 1,000 attorneys are ready to assist for free. Lawyers began signing up to volunteer a year and a half ago, when Maryland's chief judge - alarmed at skyrocketing foreclosures - urged the bar to join the new Foreclosure Prevention Pro Bono Project. Organizers, who had been hoping to recruit as many as 500, have trained 981 attorneys so far in the finer points of foreclosure law and hooked up them up with borrowers or groups helping borrowers.

The share of Maryland homeowners newly behind on mortgage payments fell to the lowest level for March in four years — an important milestone because the state's new-delinquency figure is now better than its pre-crisis average. Just under 3 percent of Maryland homeowners with a mortgage were one payment behind at the end of March, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. The average was just over 3 percent between 1979, when the trade group's quarterly survey began, and 2006, before the mortgage and financial meltdowns that pushed the country into recession.

IF YOU'RE ONE of the millions of American homeowners with an active credit line tied to the equity in your house, the odds are strong that you're not using the money to fix up your property, pay for college tuitions or invest in a business venture.A new national study of home-equity borrowers reveals that, while home improvement used to be the main reason people took out home equity loans, borrowers now tap their real estate equity primarily to pay off high-cost credit cards, charge account and personal loan balances with lower-cost, tax-deductible home equity dollars.

IF YOU'RE ONE OF THE hundreds of thousands of American homebuyers or refinancers who took out a popular, cut-rate mortgage earlier in the 1990s, carrying the name "balloon reset" or "two-step," get ready to make a key financial decision.The first wave of an estimated 800,000-plus Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae five-year and seven-year mortgages originated nationwide from 1991 onward is hitting its rate-adjustment or payoff points. And in some cases, say mortgage industry experts, borrowers are unaware of the special mechanics of their loans.

A recent survey for the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that almost half of borrowers think the information they receive from lenders is too much to comprehend.The survey, done by Yankelovich Partners during a three-week period that ended in mid-February, showed that 44 percent of borrowers felt that the settlement cost information was too much to understand all at once. Also, 31 percent of those surveyed said the biggest hurdle was understanding and completing the paperwork, while 17 percent had difficulty determining how much their loan would cost.

A transformation has been under way here that is changing the homeownership prospects - and choices - of thousands of first-time, moderate-income and minority families. It's also keeping more owners in their houses instead of facing foreclosure when they fall behind on payments. The Federal Housing Administration, long derided as the lending choice of last resort, has turned itself into what is arguably the consumer-protection leader in the mortgage industry, both for buyers and owners.

New York -- Having trouble paying bills? Falling behind on your payments to a bank or mortgage company? Every lending institution in America has some kind of policy in place for negotiating with borrowers who are financially strapped.The problem is, the lenders moan, that you don't use this service early enough. You should come clean with your creditors before black marks stipple your credit record.When you sit down to talk about your problems, they say, you'll probably be offered a temporary reduction in payments that might get you over the hump.

Washington -- The federal government has just put the finishing touches on rules that spell out key rights you have as a borrower once your mortgage loan has been closed.Though the regulations focus primarily on the servicing of your loan -- the collection of monthly principal, interest and escrow payments by your original lender or another firm -- they also govern how questions or disputes should be handled on your mortgage account.Issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Wells Fargo borrowers potentially eligible for mortgage rate reductions under the national settlement with big banks are being notified this month, Maryland's attorney general said Friday. The lender is mailing out rate-reduction offers in waves, meaning that some borrowers already might have received their letter, said the office of Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler. In a statement, Gansler urged homeowners to "respond as soon as possible. " Those who don't get an offer in the mail by the end of May but think they're eligible should call the bank at 800-288-3212, he added.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it now wants to hear from borrowers who have had problems with their private student loans. The CFPB has oversight on these loans and even has a ombudsman who is supposed to help borrowers and review complaints. Students typically take out private loans once they have exhausted their federal loan options. Federal loans - which should be a student's first choice if they need to borrow - offer some friendly terms, particularly if a new grad can't land a job. In fact, you can have your federal debt wiped out if you work in certain fields after graduation.

Once again, the responsible borrowers who didn't gamble on real estate values, who acted responsibly, who didn't speculate get the shaft, and the irresponsible, the speculators and the greedy get rewarded ("Md. joins national mortgage settlement," Feb. 9). And how are the banks going to recover this money? They will pass the cost onto the responsible customers and borrowers. The furor about robo-signing is a joke. Has anyone said that the "victims" did not owe the money? How is it that someone who owes money all of a sudden doesn't owe it because of paperwork irregularities?

Baltimore City's schools chief told state legislators Tuesday that he hopes to borrow $1.2 billion— six times more than the school system's current bonding authority — to pay for a massive and rapid overhaul of the city's crumbling public school buildings. "What is unique is the extent of the need in Baltimore City," said Andrés Alonso, the school system's CEO, ticking off a list of problems from faulty heating systems to broken windows. "This will allow us to really target, in a short period of time, huge systemic needs.

Gov. Martin O'Malley wants to spend nearly $23 million to improve Maryland's often-maligned state parks, proposing widespread renovations for a system that critics say has been deteriorating for more than a decade. The money would go toward highly visible projects at some of the state's most visited public spaces. Among other improvements, it would renovate shabby bathhouses at Assateague State Park near Ocean City , repair the lighthouse complex and parking lots at Point Lookout in Southern Maryland, and replace a fishing pier at North Point State Park that was severely damaged by Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003.

Under an agreement announced Thursday by the Maryland attorney general's office, Wells Fargo has agreed to make loan modifications and pay nearly $1 million in restitution to customers of two lenders acquired by the bank. The office's Consumer Protection Division, which reached the agreement with Wells Fargo, said lenders Wachovia and Golden West Financial used deceptive marketing in offering consumers adjustable-rate home loans. Wells Fargo will pay $940,056 to borrowers with "Pick-a-Payment" mortgages written by Wachovia and Golden West who lost their homes in foreclosure, the agreement says.

NEW YORK -- Financial reporters learn to believe in reincarnation. No idea truly dies. All things come back in another form. Following that rule, some of the big banks and S&Ls have reinvented the mortgage prepayment penalty.Many years ago, these penalties tied up almost every mortgage loan. You were charged a fee for repaying the loan before a certain number of years had passed.Consumers revolted against the practice. About 14 states banned prepayment penalties, in whole or in part; another 13 put limits on them.

For four months this year, while Congress was overhauling student loan laws, I traveled the country in a beat-up RV meeting with citizens and legislators. My mission was simple: Persuade Congress to restore consumer protections to student loan borrowers. After 22,000 miles, 42 states and five flat tires, I can't help but feel that my efforts were a waste of time. And gas. Sure, the House and Senate passed the College Cost Reduction Act. The bill includes some attractive provisions for those headed back to campus this fall, including interest rate reductions, loan forgiveness for public service, Pell grant increases and income-contingent repayment plans for future graduates.

Recently, The Sun challenged my decision to vote against a proposal to raise the State of Maryland's debt ceiling from $925 million to $1.075 billion in the upcoming fiscal year ("Franchot drifts right," Dec. 26). While I appreciate that others may not share my point of view, I was surprised that The Sun would resort to name calling in expressing its disagreement. The accusation that I had "gone over to the side of anti-government activism" was simply outrageous, as was the suggestion that I was now in philosophical alignment with the tea party.