The President offers aid to subprime borrowers through government programs and new legislation.
President Bush outlined his plan Friday for helping troubled subprime borrowers keep their homes. The initiatives target hundred of thousands of distressed homeowners.

Speaking in the Rose Garden, the president, after highlighting some of the recent stronger economic trends, pointed out the weaknesses in the mortgage market as an area of concern, particularly in the subprime sector.

Although he labeled the problem “modest in the overall scheme of things,” he said, “It’s anything but modest if you’re one of the families affected.”

Foreclosure rates have soared over the past year as homeowners struggle to pay off loans that have become more expensive as they mature. Many are hybrid adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), the so-called toxic ARMs, that carried very low initial interest rates (“teaser rates”) for the first two or three years of their term but then reset to much higher rates after that.

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Q. What are points?

A. Points are costs that need to be paid to a lender in order to receive mortgage financing under specified terms. A point is a percentage of the loan amount (one point = one percent of the loan). One point on a $100,000 loan would be $1,000. Discount points are fees that are used to lower the interest rate on a mortgage loan (you are discounting the interest rate by paying some of this interest up-front). Lenders may express other loan-related fees in terms of points. Some lenders may express their costs in terms of basis points (hundredths of a percent). 100 basis points = 1 point (or 1 percent of the loan amount). Refinance Loan Rates

Q. Should I try to pay as many discount points as possible to lower my home loan’s interest rate?

A. If you plan on staying in the property for at least a few years, paying discount points to lower the loan’s interest rate can be a good way to lower your required monthly loan payment (and possibly increase the loan amount that you can afford to borrow). If you only plan to stay in the property for a year or two, your monthly savings may not be enough to recoup the cost of the discount points that you paid up-front. Ask your lender how long it would take for your monthly savings to recoup the costs of the discount points.
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JEFFERSON CITY | Dealing with everything from guns and hunting to health care and marriage, more than 100 new laws took effect Tuesday in Missouri.

Among the new laws:

•GUN RIGHTS (S.B. 62): Missouri residents no longer have a duty to retreat before using deadly force against a person who illegally enters a vehicle, a home or any structure designed for overnight occupancy. Missourians also no longer must obtain permits from their sheriffs before buying concealable handguns, although permits still will be required to carry guns.

•MEDICAID OVERHAUL (S.B. 577): Missouri’s revamped Medicaid program now emphasizes primary care. A pilot program subsidizes health insurance for low-income workers without medical coverage. Women’s health services will be expanded to add 90,000 low- and moderate-income residents, Medicaid coverage is restored to about 3,200 disabled workers, and former foster children can keep Medicaid coverage until they turn 21. More than 20,000 additional children are eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

•HIGHER EDUCATION (S.B. 389): New limits are imposed on university tuition, need-based scholarships are expanded, and the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority is authorized to transfer $350 million to the state over the next 6 1/2 years. The money is earmarked for construction projects at state universities, community colleges and agriculture extension stations.

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Many people borrow money when they are in need. The terms and conditions are fixed at the time of borrowing. If after continuing a loan for two or three years you find that there is some better option available in the market, you may like to opt for it. In such a situation, refinancing your loan can help. But, the question arises whether refinancing should be resorted to or should it be avoided? Well, it depends on the circumstances. Sometimes, it makes sense to take out a refinance loan while in other circumstances you should desist from it.

Let us take a case of refinancing a car loan. There are many lenders in the UK financial market who provide various types of loan products. Refinancing is just one of them. If you are one of those borrowers who are still paying a high rate of interest on your existing car loan while the market has come down, refinancing is a good option for you.

The main reason for refinancing is to avail better loan conditions as available in the market. Refinancing is usually done to avoid high interest rates that you might be paying while there are many lenders in the market that are offering loans at very less rates. You can refinance your loan with the existing lender or a new lender. Refinancing allows you to shift money lender for better rate of interest and effective loan management.

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The state insurance superintendent is reviewing Allstate and Liberty Mutual insurance companies’ practice of taking into account a policyholder’s choice of auto insurance when deciding whether to renew homeowner policies, state officials said.

Since March 2006, thousands of Long Islanders – more than 9,000 homeowners in Suffolk County and more than 6,500 in Nassau – have received letters stating that their homeowner’s insurance policy wasn’t being renewed.

“We are very concerned about insurers seeming to tie homeowners and auto or life insurance policies,” said Eric R. Dinallo, superintendent of the Insurance Department. “We are thoroughly reviewing this matter and will have a clear opinion shortly.”

The Insurance Department’s review of companies’ possible use of auto insurance coverage as a condition for renewing other types of policies has another component as well.

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If the deepening lending crisis is an imminent threat, borrowers have options to improve their standing

You’re reading stories every day about people losing their homes and life savings. You’re wondering whether you could be the next casualty. Stop wondering. Do something. Right now.

It’s impossible to know just how ugly things could become. But one thing is clear: The mortgage mess and market turmoil are signaling that you should prepare for the worst, while hoping for much better. This Five for the Money features ways you can do that.

1. Boost Your Credit Rating

The standards for loans and mortgages are getting tougher. Last year, consumers with a credit score of 650 points out of a possible 850 could expect lower interest rates. Now, the bar is up to 680. To avoid sky-high rates or outright rejection, start by going online to grab your free yearly credit report at annualcreditreport.com. The site, which provides results from all three credit reporting agencies, will let you know if you’re being penalized for late payments or if you may have missed other credit problems.

Next, check out the most widely used credit score—the FICO score provided by Fair Isaac (FIC)—by going to myfico.com. For $15.95, you can learn how you rank compared with other would-be borrowers. If your ratings are below par, the best way to boost your borrowing profile is to make on-time payments and to keep the balances on your credit cards below 35% of their limits. Don’t open new cards or rush out to close a bunch of them, either. Both actions will set off alarm bells.

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Last week, Adam Scales had so many bad things to say about the Washington Supreme Court’s July 27 insurance law decision in Woo v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance, he required a two-part series of columns (appearing August 14 and August 15) to air his grievances, most of which were directed toward the Court’s holding that an over-the-top practical joke fell within the scope of a malpractice policy.

In this column, I’ll explain why, as a fellow insurance law expert, I find at least one part of Woo – its ruling on general liability insurance coverage – worthy of celebration.

Background: The Facts of the Woo Case

As FindLaw readers may recall, Dr. Robert Woo is not the famous physician for the lovelorn of the Steely Dan song, but rather a Seattle area oral surgeon who played an outrageous, ill-considered prank on his former assistant Tina Alberts.

Alberts had arranged to have two teeth pulled and replaced by implants, a procedure that required her to go under general anesthesia. Woo, as part of his long-running attempts to poke fun at Alberts because her family raised potbellied pigs, temporarily installed fabricated fangs in lieu of the customary temporary spacers that are used until permanent implants can be installed. While the boar-tusk-like fangs were in Albert’s mouth, Woo and other employees propped open Alberts’s eyes, took pictures, and then replaced the tusks with normal spacers.

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WASHINGTON – In contrast to housing market turmoil, an index of future commercial real estate activity posted its ninth consecutive quarter of improvement, a trade group said Tuesday.

The National Association of Realtors’ Commercial Leading Indicator for Brokerage Activity rose to 120.7 in the second quarter, up from 119.7 in last year’s second quarter and 120.1 in the first quarter this year.

The reading suggests industrial and office sectors likely will expand use of commercial office space the next six to nine months, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s senior economist.

The index tracks 13 variables to gauge future commercial real estate activity, including real estate investment trust prices, industrial production and employment in several sectors.

Found here.

Although lowering your monthly mortgage payment is always attractive, don’t let a slightly lower mortgage rate fool you. If you’re not careful when thinking about a mortgage refinance, you could cost yourself more in expenses than what you save in monthly payments — and not even know it. (Even with so-called “no cost” mortgage loans.) Refinancing a home loan has more to it than appears on the surface. Be sure to consult with a mortgage professional before getting yourself into something you can’t reverse.

Mistake #1: Waiting for lower interest rates.

Mortgage rates are notoriously unpredictable. No one can speculate on mortgage rates with enough accuracy to win every time. If rates are attractive, consider refinancing. If you do it right, and rates go down again later, you can always refinance again. If trates go down substantially before you finalize the loan, you can always change mortgage brokers. If rates go up, you’ll be glad you locked that initial rate in!

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Lawmakers are being bombarded with demands from healthcare providers and others to fix the state’s no-fault auto law before it expires.

As the expiration of Florida’s controversial no-fault auto insurance law nears and no acceptable replacement has been put forth, a new coalition of 37 healthcare providers, first-responders, health insurers and some auto insurers is urging lawmakers to take action.

The group, called the Coalition to Protect Florida’s Drivers, is petitioning Gov. Charlie Crist, Senate President Ken Pruitt and House Speaker Marco Rubio to address the auto insurance problem during the legislative special session on the budget next month.

Now, Florida drivers are required to buy at least $10,000 in coverage for personal injury protection, which pays medical bills from an auto accident, and $10,000 in property damage protection.

The coalition members as well as some state officials, including Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles believe that drivers won’t be required to carry any form of insurance to register a car in Florida once the no-fault law expires Oct. 1.

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