Leadpile's Blog» lenders

Arizona Payday Loan Bill Delayed

Natasha Aronov — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:09:51 +0000

As a follow up to our past entries regarding the payday loan industry in Arizona, the bill that would allow lenders to continue offering payday loans has been delayed.

According the azcentral.com the bill was pulled out of a hearing agenda recently. Republican Rep. Andy Tobin supporting the bill said that currently it does not have enough support, but vowed that more support would be gathered and the bill would be brought back.

Currently payday lenders are operating under a temporary exemption from Arizona’s 36% cap on annual interest rates. This exemption is set to expire on June 30th.

Good News For The Arizona Economy

Natasha Aronov — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:42:42 +0000

House prices have not been on the rise for six straight months in a row. Fourteen out of twenty metro areas saw an increase in homes from the month before. As of November, 2009 was up 3.4 percent from its lowest back in May, 2009. Phoenix (Arizona) and San Francisco (California) have had the highest month over month increase in their housing markets. Both New York and Chicago had the largest declines in the nation. One of the largest reasons for the increase was the first time home buyer tax credit. With the original end date for the tax credit being in November of 2009, there was a rush to purchase a new home (the tax credit ended up being extended to the spring of 2010). The tax credit was a huge incentive to purchase a home, and with the home prices in Arizona being so low, it makes sense that Arizona saw one of the highest increases in their housing markets.
One of the big questions is if the trend is going to continue to increase? Some economists believe that there is going to be another dip in the housing market because of the the high rate of unemployment and foreclosures. It is expected that we will see these results in the beginning of this year. It goes without saying that now is the time to buy. Depending on the area, people are seeing move in ready houses for as low as $50,000. That is less than a college education!
If you find that you are one of the many who are having trouble keeping your home you may want to consider a loan modification or debt consolidation. Leadpile is trying to do it’s part by matching up the consumers with lenders on a daily basis! Heck, we want the economy to be better too!

Kentucky Puts A Cap On Payday Loan Interest Rates

Natasha Aronov — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:10:40 +0000

Steve Beshear, Governor of Kentucky, has renewed his efforts for putting an interest cap on payday loans. The new limit that Steve Beshear would want in place is 36% for every $100.00 lent. This is the same cap that people in the military have on their payday loans. The main reason for the cap is because of the hard times that residents in Kentucky are having just to put food on their tables.
Currently, no new payday lenders are even allowed to open in Kentucky (the state has 743 lenders at the moment). Some believe that such a restricted cap will cause lenders to go out of business. What do you think?

Wisconsin And Payday Loans

Natasha Aronov — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:09:30 +0000

Payday loan providers know that this the big season is just around the corner for them and they are willing to put in a fight to make sure that no one interferes with that. Every state has their own rules and regulations when it comes to getting a payday loans. One thing that they all have in common is that they all have interest rate caps, all except for Wisconsin that is. Currently, “Wisconsin remains the only state in the nation that doesn’t regulate an industry that lends money for two weeks at a time, frequently extends balances for big fees, and winds up getting as much as 520 percent interest on its loans.”
Payday loans are meant to provide individuals with fast cash and it is expected to be paid back fast as well. They are not meant to be used time and time again, but rather as a one time quick fix. There only becomes an issue when the consumer takes out loan after loan that they know that they will not be able to pay back in a timely manner.
So would a interest cap rate hurt or help the payday loan industry of Wisconsin? In most cases it would probably stay neutral. Many lenders believe that it would create more bounced checks where in fact, if they were to just look at statistical data from other state lenders, they would see how there was not an increase in bounced checks.

Leadpile: Official Sponsor At OLA Conference

Mari Holt — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:00:18 +0000

OLA (Online Lenders Alliance) is an organization that has been around since 2005 representing the online lending industry. Leadpile is a proud sponsor at this year’s fall conference in Colorado Springs, CO. Attending and sponsoring such an event, allows us to be amongst others that are working on initiatives to help build the payday loan industry in a positive manner. This upcoming conference will be a great opportunity for Leadpile to meet with those that we are working with now, and those that we can potentially team up with in the near future. We look forward to meeting everyone at the conference!

Is It Time To Refinance?

Mari Holt — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:30:41 +0000

Interest rates have gone down, and now many are wondering if it is really that time to refinance their home. The answer is YES. Not all situations are ideal to do a refinance, however there are things to look at with regards to entertaining the idea of refinancing your home right now.

According to ABC news, here are some common questions consumers might want to know before trying to refinance their home.

1. How much will a refinance cost?
2. Will a refinance save you money?
3. What kinds of loans are out there?
4. What are some common pitfalls?
5. What is the difference between a loan modification and a refinance?
6. If I have a prepayment penalty, should I still refinance?
7. If everyone wants to refinance, is the lending industry able to handle this rush?

Leadpile Lead Exchange generates a large volume of refinance (homeowner), loan modification, debt and home purchase leads. These are all consumers that are in this process of trying to determine what their best option is. No matter what the decision is, asking questions is key to knowing what is the best option for you and YOUR situation.

Santa Needs A Bailout?

Mari Holt — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:24:14 +0000

In light of the bailouts going on with different industries, I had to point out a very funny YouTube video I found while reading over the paydaypundit. Our nation’s auto industry, banks and mortgage lenders are wanting to get money to help bail themselves out of a financial hardship they are going through. NOW Santa needs some help too!
Leadpile Lead Exchange would like to offer any help we can to Santa, but I don’t think Santa really needs any help with delivering Christmas gifts. If he is looking for some leads, we can certainly help him out with that!

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Citigroup Extending A Helping Hand

Mari Holt — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:29:19 +0000

Citigroup announced it is going to be helping some of it’s mortgage customers from going into foreclosure. According to NPR News, Citi will be lowering mortgage payments on more than 100,000 people who have not yet fallen behind. They said they are looking at getting some sort of similar assistance to those people whose loan they service, but do not own. Other major lenders are also rolling out assistance programs to it’s customers to help try and help control more foreclosures from happening. Some mortgage customers who are paying their mortgage on time, say what can Citi do for them for being a “good” paying customer? This is a legitimate question, however at this point if Citi lets more people go in foreclosure, then this will hurt our home values and economy EVEN MORE! We don’t want that.

My question is why did it take this long to roll something out like this? Shouldn’t this have been something the major lenders offered before we got to this point? Some are still asking who is to blame for all this hardship in our economy and mortgage industry, however at this point it might be best to just get the economy headed in the right direction first. Wasting time on trying to place blame is something that Americans need to avoid, and instead focus on how we can get the economy headed in the right direction. Citi and these other mortgage companies, I do commend for helping to start getting the ball rolling!

Leadpile Lead Exchange comes across all sorts of consumers is all sorts of financial situations every day. However, the number of people submitting requests for foreclosure, loan modification, debt consolidation are increasing dramatically. These consumers need help and we are going to help in any way we can, just like Citi and these other mortgage companies are trying to do. Everyone contributing to this resolution, will help us ALL get headed in the right direction.

Fees Associated With Payday Loans

Mari Holt — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:10:28 +0000

Time is running out for consumers to read up on all the popositions being presented to them on the November 4th ballet. One thing that is being voted on in the states of Ohio and Arizona, is in regards to payday loans. How much does everyone really understand about payday loans? One myth I thought very important to point out:

Myth: Payday lenders hide fees and mislead consumers.

Fact: Just like any other service or loan you obtain, there is a cost to do get that loan or service. In addition, any payday loan you take out there will be a cost to taking out the loan. According to the CFSA website, “The cost of a payday advance is fully disclosed to customers on signs in the stores and in disclosure agreements. Moreover, in accordance with the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the terms of the loan are clearly outlined in the lending agreement. Payday advances involve single, flat fees and there are no hidden charges, balloon payments or accruing interest. CFSA members also provide an educational brochure emphasizing responsible use of the product and offer a free right of rescission should the customer change their mind.”

CFSA also went on to say that in a recent survey 96% of the people were aware of the fees associated with taking out the payday loan. Just like with any other loan, there are documents presented to the consumer with all the fees of doing the loan in black and white. Are people sometimes just so anxious to get a loan, that they do not take the time to read the documents they are signing?

Leadpile Lead Exchange wants consumers to read everything before agreeing to take out a payday loan, or any other loan. Knowledge is power!

FACT or FICTION: Regulating The Payday Industry

Mari Holt — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:16:14 +0000

The payday loan industry is getting a lot of attention, especially in the states of Ohio and Arizona. Those on the outside possibly do not fully understand the payday loan industry and there are some misconceptions about the short term loans.

Myth: Payday loan lenders do not want to be regulated.
FACT: According to CFSA, this is quit the contrary. Most payday lenders do want to be regulated and have certain industry guidelines. However, there are those that are trying to eliminate the industry as a whole, and not deal with keeping the “good guys” in business.
Currently, there are 37 states + the District of Columbia that have payday regulations. CFSA is working on trying to get regulations implemented on the remaining states, however they are not wanting to see the industry go extinct. Therefore, the question is… why is the payday loan industry going through such tough scrutiny, when in comparison with credit cards and other financial services there are similar costs/fees associated with them?
Leadpile Lead Exchange understands there are a lot of myths about payday loans, however the key is for those that are not fully educated on the industry, to read up to fully understand all aspects of this financial product compared to others. There is good to these types of loans, and they are sometimes very much needed.