In a previous blog post, I discussed the FTC cracking down on those that were making “robocalls” to consumers. These were calls where a computerized message was placed to consumers about things such as car warranties. Well now it is official- The FTC (Fair Trade Commission) has enacted new rules forbidding the prerecorded commercial telemarketing calls to consumers without written permission from the consumer. These calls being eliminated has created a lot more buzz for internet generated leads, because now businesses need to get the most targeted people they can for their buck. A perfect example of this is the car warranty leads. The car warranty industry was very much involved in having these pre recorded calls placed to consumers to drum up business. Now that this is illegal, many advertisers are reaching out to companies like Leadpile for the targeted car warranty leads where the consumer physically opted in for information about a car warranty. Other verticals like debt and repairing your credit are services that were using robo type of calls and will be counting more on people like us to get these targeted consumers.
The ironic thing that just happened to me. I just received a robocall from a lender wanting to try and modify my home loan. Unfortunately, I tried to get a live person on the phone and was unsuccessful. I guess these new FTC rules didn’t scare everyone.

Companies working with consumers to modify their mortgages has been going on for almost a year now. However, Ocwen Financial Corp (a servicer of sub-prime mortgage) is one of the first mortgage servicers to begin modifying mortgages under the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program. The new government program was rolled out in an effort to help mortgage holders who are potentially going to fall behind on their mortgages.
According to Business Journal,”For a loan modification, lenders would have to reduce the mortgage payments to no more than 38 percent of the borrower’s income. The Treasury Department would share the cost for lenders to cut that debt-to-income ratio to 31 percent.
Loans could be extended to up to 40 years. Those lenders who do participate would have to modify all loans, not just the worst ones. Loans originated before Jan. 1 are eligible for the program, which runs through 2012. Homeowners who have an unpaid principal balance of as much as $729,750 can participate. There are also incentives for firms such as Ocwen (NYSE: OCN) that service these loans.
They will receive an upfront fee of $1,000 for each eligible modification meeting guidelines established created by the initiative. They will also receive “pay for success” monthly fees – as long as the borrower stays current on the loan – of up to $1,000 a year for three years.”
Leadpile Lead Exchange has seen the loan modification lead type go through periods of high demand to not much demand. Maybe this lead type has some more life in itself in our marketplace. There still seems to be consumers that will want to be a part of this new government plan. We shall see…..

The economy is bad, and consumers are needing help with their mortgages and debt. Leadpile realizes this, and so does our advertisers/lead buyers. There are loan modification and debt companies out there looking to help more consumers. Leadpile is looking for those people to be matched up with our advertisers to provide these services.

Leadpile Lead Exchange makes it quick and easy for lead publishers.  Here are the offers you can get up and going in minutes.  This is a great way for these consumers to fill out the required information, and be matched up with those that can provide the service to them!

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.

It is official…

Leadpile Lead Exchange is officially generating the lead type of Loan Modification.  There are so many consumers out there wanting help with the mortgages they are in, and we are now connecting those consumers with companies providing the service.

The sad part about this lead type is that the some lenders that actually issued the loans are the ones now trying to offer loan modification options.  I know this is happening because I received a letter from my original lender, however I am not delinquent on my mortgage or not about to experience any “life changing” experience to cause me to need a loan modification.  My guess is they are just sending out notifications to everyone, in hopes that there are some that took out a loan with them that are falling behind at this point. Why were things like this not offered to the consumers at the time they got the original mortgage?  We all know there are some consumers who just could not wait to get that cash out on their refinance, however there are a lot of consumers that were maybe put in loans they had no business being put in.  Our lead marketplace is here to try and match up consumers with service providers, no matter what the circumstances were.

The information we are capturing for the loan modification lead type:

1.  Full contact information

2.  Monthly Income

3.  Credit rating

4.  Home value

5.  Mortgage balance, interest rate, and adjustable, fixed, or interest only interest rate

6.  Consumers monthly obligations

7.  Have bankruptcy filings been started already

Sad days for those in AZ and OH with regards to payday loans.  Many are not sure how these initiatives lost in the voting, however they did.  This is going to affect a lot of brick and mortar stores located in these states.  This is a very large deal, because there are quit a few stores located in these states. Where do we go form here?

According to PDL blog, image might have had something to do with being able to get legislation passed on the payday loan industry. Did the misconception of a payday loan really have that much affect on those that were voting on these propositions, or did voting consumers really not want to have payday loans around any longer?  Now some lenders in these states and going to be closing down some of their stores. So how will this affect the internet payday loan industry? Will it be affected?
The good news is that some of these lenders that will be closing down locations, will now be looking at alternative options to offer the consumers. One of the alternatives is a short term unsecured loan.  This type of alternative will then be able to still provide some assistance to those that are in a temporary situation, but do not have the ability to get a payday loan or any other “bank” loan.

Time will tell.  I am sure all eyes will be on this industry to see if this recent legislation will affect what direction other states pursue……. or if there is a way to “try again” to get this legistration overturned.  Leadpile Lead Exchange realizes that there are consumers that really need assistance with their unforseen debt/bills.  We will continue to try and match up those consumers with the lender that can help them take care of this issue.  Loan modification, tax debt relief, debt consolidation, debt settlement, credit repair and others are lead types where we are trying to get the necessary help to the consumers.

Recently, while researching the loan modification lead type, I came across some very interesting (and helpful) information about loan modification. This is something that Leadpile Lead Exchange currently is not generating, however we are currently doing the much needed research to roll out this new lead type.
After speaking with a representative (Souban Houn) who is working in the industry, here is what she informed me that are some “events” that would make a consumer potentially eligible for loan modification.
Generally, loan modifications are considered by the lenders under the premise that the borrowers experiences some sort of hardship that resulted in their falling behind on payments. For instance:

Adjustable Rate Mortgage Reset- Payment (uncommon, but we will see more lenders accept this in the future)
Illness
Loss of Job
Reduced Income
Failed Business
Job Relocation
Death of Spouse or Co-Borrower
Death
Incarceration
Divorce
Marital Separation
Military Duty
Reduced Income
Medical Bills
Damage to Property (natural disaster or unnatural)
Overall, these are “events” that could happen to anyone unexpectedly. Therefore, this seems like a good alternative to going into foreclosure. The unfortunate thing is, some went into these mortgages already in a very tight situation financially, and nothing major has happened to them. However, now the rate is about to adjust and that just makes the difference between paycheck to paycheck TO falling months behind on the mortgage. Tough situation for both lenders and consumers.
Stay tuned for this lead type to be rolled out in our marketplace. There are a lot of consumers needing this assistance, and a lot of people like Ms. Houn looking to assist these customers (if they can).

In a continuing effort to research all the options consumers have available to them, I came across a type of loan that I have never seen before. The newest and latest way for consumers to get cash is by taking out a cash advance from their home. Currently, consumers that are age 65 and older have often looked at the option of doing a reverse mortgage. This is basically the consumer taking out a loan on their home, but the loan not being paid back till after they pass away. However, it appears there might be another option available to them.
Something new that lenders are looking at is offering consumers cash advances on their home. According to The New York Times, “Owners 65 to 85 with good credit who live in homes valued above $400,000 (above $500,000 in New York and California) can receive a payment of up to 15 percent of a home’s equity.” Something like this costs the consumer no closing costs unlike a reverse mortgage. There are certain stipulations the consumer has regarding the sale of the home, however the simplicity seems to be there compared to doing a reverse mortgage or other lending options. Yet is this a logical choice for consumers? Not everyone has a home valued above $400,000 either.

The options that homeowners now have are:
1. Refinancing
2. 2nd mortgage or lines of credit
3. Reverse mortgage
4. Home cash advance
5. Loan modification

and what’s next?…………………………….

Consumers are looking for anything and everything they can do to survive. Does this mean a potential new lead type for Leadpile Lead Exchange? Let’s wait and learn some more about this new option available.