In an article in the Tuesday, October 6, edition of the San Francisco Chronicle entitled “Layer of credit checks surprises home buyers,” a woman named Kimberly Hayes explains that when she and her husband decided to bid on a bank-owned property, they were shocked to discover that the only way the bank would allow them to do it is if they could do their own credit check beforehand.
“This unnecessary credit pulling can potentially lower my credit score and widens the exposure of my sensitive financial information,” the article quotes her as saying. “I’m concerned about another set of eyes looking at my private information in a time of so much identity theft.”
And, apparently, they are not the first potential buyers to find themselves in this situation. Though not all lenders have this policy when it comes to their REOs, (Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and OneWest Bank are all quoted as saying they do not require their own credit checks of potential bidders) it appears that some of the banks who do also insist that the bidder apply for a mortgage with them.
I took a test once where I had to score 100% to pass. This was to become a licensed EMT, and there was a good reason for the 100% standard. Since I was being measured on my knowledge of lifesaving emergency medical care, they wanted to be sure I knew every subject on the syllabus perfectly.
There seems to be a lot of curiosity, myth, and maybe even ignorance when it comes to private lenders. So, hoping to shed some light on the subject, I had a candid conversation with a private lender with whom I’ve worked with, and respect. She did not want to have all of her information listed because she doesn’t want to get bombarded with phone calls. So, I will just refer to her as Patty. Patty does want to hear from good investors, however, and I’ll tell you how to get in touch with her later.
This post may sound like heresy to the died-in-the-wool debit card user. However, if you put the same overview on debit cards you do to other investments, you may agree with me. After all, it is YOUR money at risk.
An eye opening account in the 
Joshua Dorkin
Charles Feldman
Ted Karsch.
Our World Has Rolled Over
by Tom Koziol | September 11, 2009I realize I am not the only guy on this planet who reads the “news” as presented both in the newspapers and on the Internet. Even if I didn’t read the news, I’d get a good dose of what people are calling reality. That dose comes from the mix of clients our insurance agency serves. Lucky me…
Here are two sentences taken from two separate news stories:
Is it me or are these two sentences sending conflicting messages. If it is me, I apologize upfront. However, I don’t think it is me.
Failure Ahead
According to published reports, so far this year, 81 banks have failed. Last year only 25 went down the toilet while in 2007, if you’re counting, only three went south. These same sources project hundreds of more banks are expected to fall. The primary reason given is due to souring loans for commercial real estate.