In May, Alvin Clavon received a foreclosure notice on the simple, Spanish-style house in South Los Angeles that he shares with his wife and three boys.
They bought the place in 2003 with a fixed-rate loan. They painted the walls, fixed the yard and made friends with the neighbours, who let the Clavon boys pick their basil.
In 2005, Mr Clavon worked with a mortgage broker to refinance his home with another fixed-rate loan. But on the night before signing, the family was offered an interest-only, adjustable-rate mortgage.
Mr Clavon, a 35-year-old executive assistant at a bank, said he felt stuck. The ball was rolling, he trusted his broker and so the next day, he signed the loan.
Purchased with a fixed-rate loan. Wanted to re-fi with a fixed rate loan. Accepted, at the last minute, the "offer" of an ARM.
Works at a bank!
This is our fault, you know. We forced Mr. Clavon to fall for the ARM sales pitch.We forced him not to read the terms of the adjustable rate mortgage before signing the papers. We obviously used devious trickery to distract him from the fine print, then drugged him and faked his signature on the loan.
The good news is, that Mr. Clavon and his financially-naive ilk are getting their own bailout. ACORN has worked with lenders to assist those in danger of foreclosure. Hurray!
Check out the requirements for an ACORN loan!
No, this is not another zero down loan scam program... This is a legitimate government backed loan program designed to help California residents buy their first (or second) home. The ACORN loan can be used to purchase single family homes (SFR) and condos, as well as manufactured (mobile) homes on permanent land (not leased land). ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) loan program limits the purchase price of the home to $500,000 in Orange County, and the maximum income the buyer(s) can make is $109,620 in Orange County, CA. In Riverside county the maximum income limit is $80,500. The ACORN loan is similar to the CHFA loan, but has several advantages as outlined below:
* 100% Loan to Value, meaning Zero Down financing. * NO PMI is required (CalHFA requires PMI) * The ACORN loan in not based upon the buyers FICO credit score. There is no minimum FICO score required. * ACORN allows up to $1,200 per month in undocumented income. * Recent Bankruptcy is allowed if the borrower has re-establish credit. * 3 Months of mortgage payments in the bank at closing in not required. * The Seller can credit the home buyer up to 3% to 4% of the purchase price, or the Seller can pay for all of the Buyers actual closing costs. * A minimum of only $500 is required from the home purchasers own funds. * Ratios of income to debt can sometimes be as high as 60/60. * Public assistance and voluntary child support is counted as income. * There is no equity gain recapture clause as is the case with the CHFA loan.
This exciting home purchase mortgage program is not just limited to first time home buyers. As long as the potential buyer does not own another home at the time of the application, they can qualify for the ACORN loan.
It gets even better. This loan program is one single zero down loan and there is no second trust deed mortgage like many of the other 100% financing programs around today. The interest rate is very low for this ACORN loan. For example, at the time of the writing of this article rates were at 6.62% fixed interest for 30 years (rates are always subject to change on a day by day basis).
What's the catch you may ask ? Well there isn't one, except for the maximum income limits of the home buyer, plus the prospective home buyer must attend a mandatory 3 hour First Time Home Buyer education class.
I guess that whole working hard (documented income), saving money (payments in the bank @ closing), paying down my debt (60/60 income/debt ratio), being responsible for my own financial status was the wrong way to go.
