19 minute read
Lifestyle
Your home is out there. A down payment as low as 3% on a fixed-rate loan could help you finance it.
Each day, the sun rises on streets of houses. Neighbors wave to each other, people head off to work and school, new owners pull up to the home they’ve worked hard to buy. More than just buildings, homes are at the heart of a community. With Wells Fargo, you may be eligible for a range of home financing options, including low down payment loans, to help you reach your homeownership goals. Talk with a home mortgage consultant about loan amount, type of loan, property type, income, first-time homebuyer programs, and homebuyer education requirements to ensure eligibility. Having low down payment options does require mortgage insurance — an option that increases the cost of the loan and monthly payment. We’ll work together to find the loan that’s right for you. To learn more, call 1-877-937-9357 or visit www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage.
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. © 2021 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. NMLSR ID 399801.
My COVID Mortgage Forbearance Is Ending Soon…Now What?
Ewunike N Brady Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Diverse Segments
For many homeowners, the option to suspend their mortgage payments during the pandemic offered a great option for temporarily cutting their expenses until they could get to a firmer spot financially.
As of mid-summer, more than 1.75 million homeowners across the country remained in a COVID-19 related forbearance plan, according to Black Knight’s July 2021 Mortgage Monitor. However, the report says many of those active forbearance plans are expected to come to an end before the end of the year, potentially impacting an estimated 1 million homeowners.
This is especially significant for the Black community, which was hit hard financially as a result of COVID. A recent Pew Center Research report indicated that fourin-10 Black adults live in households that have lost jobs or wages since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
So – if you’re a homeowner whose forbearance plan is coming to an end – what now?
While the answer may differ based on individual circumstances, one thing is clear: homeowners in this situation need to take immediate action to find out what options might be available in their unique situation. Here are some tips to consider as you look at the path ahead: services your loan so you can take action. As you may know, the company to whom you send your home loan payments is called your mortgage servicer. Your servicer is responsible for collecting and applying payments to your loan, handling escrow accounts (if applicable), communicating loan information to you, and assisting you when you are facing financial difficulty. If you don’t already know who services your home loan, you should be able to find the name and contact information for your servicer by simply looking at your bill.
STEP TWO: Contact your servicer to discuss the timing around when you need to plan to start making payments again and what your options for resolving the missed payments. Because servicers are required to apply investor or insurer rules when servicing your home loan and determining the options available to resolve missed payments, it’s important to know who owns or backs your loan. It could be a government sponsored entity like Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac, a government agency such, FHA, VA or USDA, or a bank or private company.
STEP THREE: The specific steps you will go through with your servicer depend on who owns or backs your loan, whether you were current on your payments when you entered forbearance and if you can resume your previous payments. In some cases, it
STEP ONE: Understand who
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Maintaining A Healthy Credit Score Can Help You Achieve Your Future Financial Goals
Heather Philp
Head of Cross Product and New Product Development Strategies
Wells Fargo Cards and Merchant Services
A credit score can be thought of like a grade that’s given to your credit report. It helps lenders understand your ability to repay your debt, which helps them understand whether you are a good candidate for a loan. Basically, if you have a history of repaying your loans in a timely fashion, that generally means your credit score will be higher. And, a strong credit score gives you access to more borrowing options for the things you want and need, such as buying your dream home or small business expenditures, at the best possible interest rate or terms. In other words, a credit score is part of your financial power and it can be a valuable tool to help you achieve your future financial goals.
There are many benefits to having good credit. In fact, lenders aren’t the only ones who look at your credit score. Insurance companies, landlords, utility providers and cell phone providers may check your credit score or credit history before they determine your financial qualification and eligibility. Here are five tips to help you build and maintain a healthy credit profile:
4 KNOW YOUR CREDIT SCORE AND MONITOR YOUR CREDIT REPORTS REGULARLY
Monitor your credit score monthly and review your credit reports at least once a year. Doing this can ensure you have the opportunity to catch any errors or fraud and correct them before they impact your credit score negatively. There are many ways you can monitor your credit score for free, including if you have a loan with Wells Fargo. And, remember, you shouldn’t have to pay to see your credit report, either. 4ALWAYS PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME AND PAY NO LESS THAN THE MINIMUM PAYMENT
Your payment history makes up approximately 35% of your credit score, so making timely payments is one of the biggest factors in building a good credit score. Be sure to prioritize and schedule your monthly payments on time on all your accounts.
4KEEP YOUR CREDIT BALANCES LOW AND AVOID MAXING OUT YOUR CREDIT CARDS
How much credit you have available is another critical factor, which makes up roughly 30% of your credit score. Financial experts recommend staying below 30% of your credit utilization ratio while still actively using your credit. To help keep your balance low and manageable, make sure you maintain a realistic budget and only spend what you can afford to repay in full each month. Consider setting balance alerts to help you stay on top of your spending.
4ENSURE YOUR CREDIT CARD FITS YOUR LIFESTYLE
Using credit responsibly can be a great way to build and maintain a healthy credit score, but it’s important that the card fits your lifestyle and spending habits. This is particularly true today because many consumers’ spending and buying behaviors changed in response to the pandemic. Make sure your card is relevant to your lifestyle and can help you make the most of everyday spending. For example, visit wellsfargo.com to see various credit card options that fit your lifestyle, from the new Active CashSM Card, which offers 2% cash rewards on purchases without revolving categories or rewards caps, to the recently launched ReflectSM Card that gives consumers an extended introductory APR when they make on-time payments.
4THINK BEFORE CLOSING ACCOUNTS AND DIVERSIFY YOUR CREDIT HISTORY
The length of your credit history accounts for 15% of your credit score and recent credit activities, such as opening or closing accounts, make up 10% of your score. Closing credit accounts may actually lower your available credit and hurt your credit score in the short term, so if you’re in the process of applying for a new card, consider keeping your existing accounts open to maintain the length of your credit history. The last 10% of your score is based on the types of credit you currently have. It can help your score to show that you have had experience handling several different kinds of credit accounts, such as installment loans and revolving credit accounts.
Building a healthy credit history is a financial journey that takes time and effort, but will most certainly payoff in the long-term.
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may be as simple as restarting the payments you were making prior to the forbearance and deferring your missed payments to the end of your loan term. However, depending on the investor or insurer for your loan and/or if you were already delinquent when you went on forbearance, your situation could be more complex. Options might include a loan modification program, which involves changing certain terms of the loan – such as the interest rate or time allowed for repayment – to make payments more affordable.
At Wells Fargo, we are committed to working with homeowners to find options – with the goal of keeping homeowners in their homes. However, it is important for homeowners to contact us right away, so that we help you understand your situation and begin exploring options. It’s also important for homeowners to keep engaged as we work through the process.
If you need help dealing with broader financial challenges, you can also reach out to a local HUD-approved, non-profit housing counseling agency for financial education, mortgage help services, and other free assistance. Information is available at HUD.gov or you can call 1-800-569-4287 (TDD 1-800-877-8339).
We also advise homeowners avoid anyone who asks for a fee for counseling or a loan modification, asks you to sign over the deed to your home, or asks you to make your mortgage payments to anyone other than Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Fraudsters may be working to take advantage of you, so it’s important that you work directly with us or with a trusted adviser, such as a HUD-certified counseling agency.
With so many homeowners coming out of forbearance plans right now, it’s really important that homeowners don’t delay in understanding their situation and working with their servicer about options. We want to start today in doing everything we can to help get back on track with your home loan.
By Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Staff Writer
Payday loans have become a way for some people to secure cash when they need it fast, but it can come with a heavy cost and quickly recreate a “quicksand” effect where borrowers take out additional loans to cover overdue current loans. While demand for small-dollar loans fell 67 percent during the COVID-19 lockdown, the trade group Online Lenders Alliance believes recovery to pre-Covid levels may not come for some time. Here are a few facts about payday loans:
12 million Americans use payday loans each year
As of 2017, there were 14,348 payday loan storefronts in the United States (there were only 14,027 McDonalds locations).
The typical payday borrower is in debt five months out of the year and the average income of payday loan borrowers is $30,000 annually.
7 in 10 of those who take out payday loans use them for regular recurring expenses such as utility bills and rent payments and averages $375.
Every year, $9 billion is paid in payday loan fees, with only 14 percent of borrowers able to afford repayment of their loans
The average annual percentage interest rate (APR) for payday loans is 396 percent. Monthly borrowers are disproportionately likely to stay in debt for 11 months or longer.
Total outstanding personal loan debt in the United States is $143 billion.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report states that more than 80 percent of payday loans are converted into new loans before they are fully repaid.
Payday loans are used by all generations, but predominantly Millennials and Gen-Xers. Millennials’ use of payday loans (Earnin, Dave, and Chime) has led to a rise in online payday loans and cash advance apps.
There are 21.1 million outstanding personal loans in the U.S.
The average interest rates for personal loans vary between 10 percent and 28 percent.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have banned payday lending or set interest rate caps. Many payday loans have maturities of just a few weeks and carry an astonishing annual interest rate up to 300 percent.
MORTGAGE LOANS
WE WERE THERE WHEN THE OLD HOUSE GOT TOO SMALL. WE’LL BE THERE WHEN THIS ONE GETS TOO BIG.
Let’s talk about your options. Call us at 800.399.5919 or visit sandyspringbank.com/mortgage.
Member FDIC. Sandy Spring Bank NMLS # 406382. Sandy Spring Bank and the SSB logo are registered trademarks of Sandy Spring Bank. © 2021 Sandy Spring Bank. All rights reserved.
Advance Payments of the 2021 Child Tax Credit THE BASICS Advance Payments of the 2021 Child Tax Credit THE BASICS
WHAT? WHAT? WHEN?WHEN?
For tax year 2021, families claiming the Child Tax For tax year 2021, families claiming the Child Tax Credit will receive: Credit will receive: ■ Up to $3,000 per qualifying child between the ■ Up to $3,000 per qualifying child between the ages of 6 and 17 at the end of 2021 ages of 6 and 17 at the end of 2021 ■ Up to $3,600 per qualifying child under age 6 at the end of 2021 ■ Up to $3,600 per qualifying child under age 6 at the end of 2021The total of the advance payments will be up to 50 percent of the Child Tax Credit. The total of the advance payments will be up to 50 percent of the Child Tax Credit. WHO?
Advance payments of the 2021 Child Tax Credit will Advance payments of the 2021 Child Tax Credit will be made monthly from July 15 through December be made monthly from July 15 through December 15 to eligible taxpayers who have a main home in 15 to eligible taxpayers who have a main home in the United States for more than half the year. the United States for more than half the year. HOW?
WHO? The maximum credit is available to taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income of: ■ $75,000 or less for single filers and married persons filing separate returns, ■ $112,500 or less for heads of household, and ■ $150,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return and qualifying widows and widowers. Eligible taxpayers don’t need to take any action now other than to file their 2020 tax return if they haven’t done so. Taxpayers can benefit from the credit even if they don’t have earned income or THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2021 FINANCIAL LITERACY SUPPLEMENT / don’t owe any income taxes. WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
HOW? ■ Advance payments will be calculated and paid automatically. The maximum credit is available to taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income of: ■ Eligible taxpayers who don’t want to receive ■ $75,000 or less for single filers and married advance payment of the 2021 Child Tax Credit persons filing separate returns, can unenroll from payments. ■ $112,500 or less for heads of household, and ■ Eligible taxpayers who don’t normally file a tax ■ $150,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return can register for the monthly advance return and qualifying widows and widowers. payments using the Non-filer Sign-up Tool. Eligible taxpayers don’t need to take any action now other than to file their 2020 tax return if they haven’t done so. Taxpayers can benefit from the Visit IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021 credit even if they don’t have earned income or don’t owe any income taxes. for more information and to access the online tools.
■ Advance payments will be calculated and paid automatically. ■ Eligible taxpayers who don’t want to receive advance payment of the 2021 Child Tax Credit can unenroll from payments. ■ Eligible taxpayers who don’t normally file a tax return can register for the monthly advance payments using the Non-filer Sign-up Tool.
By Sonsyrea Tate Washington Informer Contributor
If you’ve ever mistakenly clicked on a link that might have provided personal information or answered a call and became a victim of fraud, you’re not alone.
“The important thing to know is that fraud is real. If it hasn’t happened to you, it’s happened to someone you know,” said Jua Williams, Chase Skyland Branch Manager.
According to The Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker online fraud rose during the Pandemic. In 2020, more than 46,000 scams were published on the BBB Scam Tracker, a 24.9% increase over the number reported in 2019.
“We have to take the stigma out of fraud. People get so embarrassed that they allowed someone to gain their confidence and got them to part with their money. Don’t be embarrassed. Overcome that feeling. Report it. Speak up and speak out,” explained Williams, who has been in the banking industry for more than 20 years. “In times of crisis scammers tend to work double and triple-overtime.”
But there are ways to protect yourself.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO AVOID SCAMS:
4 Financial institutions will never ask for confidential information—such as your name, password, PIN or other account information—when they reach out to you. Nor will they ask you to send money via popular payment platforms, wire transfer or check. 4 Experts suggest triple-checking any social message, bank email or solicitation you receive, especially if it mentions COVID-19 and provides links. When in doubt do not click the link, go straight to the source. 4 Avoid emails or texts that have an urgent call to action or suspicious links. For example, the IRS recently issued an alert about an increase in scams involving stimulus checks. The IRS reports that scammers will send a text or email claiming the individual qualifies for a stimulus check and that they must click on the link provided immediately. This is a scam. 4 The government or your financial institution will never call out of the blue to ask for money or your personal information (Social Security number, bank account, or credit card numbers). 4 Financial institutions or businesses will never ask you to purchase gift cards to prevent or stop fraud. Gift card scams against the elderly are very popular but are severely underreported because most senior citizens don’t speak up or are embarrassed. Know that you’re not the only one. 4 Act quickly! As soon as you suspect you have been victim to fraud, contact your local police and bank to report it.
4 Visit trusted websites such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau for information and tips on avoiding the latest scams.
Brian Atkins (L) and Jua Williams ( R ) at the Chase Skyland Community Center Branch in Skyland Town Center. THINGS YOU CAN PROACTIVELY DO:
4 Keep your online banking profile contact information up to date. This way your bank can quickly notify you of suspected fraud. 4 If you participate in digital banking, sign up for account alerts. By quickly verifying transactions, it can help you spot suspicious charges.
4 Sign up for Chase Credit Journey, a free credit monitoring tool for all consumers that sends you email alerts about critical changes to your credit that can help identify fraud. 4 Contact the Social Security Administration to request notification anytime your social security number is used. 4Contact the major credit score agencies and put an alert on your name so that you are notified whenever an account is opened in your name.
Times of crisis – personal and public - render us more vulnerable to scams, experts say.
“They’re preying on residents at their lowest point,” said Brian Atkins, Chase Skyland Branch Community Manager. “When you’ve gone from underemployment to unemployment like many in Ward 7 and 8 have, you feel more desperate and might respond to a job inquiry that looks too good to be true, or click on a link that you shouldn’t have.”
Atkins says education is key to keeping yourself safe. Learn what scams are trending and stay aware.
For more information visit: https:// www.chase.com/personal/security-tips
Branded Content Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase
DCHFA Provides D.C. Government Employees With Down Payment Assistance
For many aspiring homeowners, saving up for a down payment is the biggest hurdle to purchasing a home. The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) works to provide affordable housing solutions and provide homeownership opportunities for residents of Washington, D.C. DCHFA created DC4ME to provide District government employees with the necessary mortgage and down payment assistance to become homeowners in the city where they work.
DC4ME is offered to current full-time D.C. government employees, including employees of District government-based instrumentalities, independent agencies, D.C. public charter schools and organizations, provided the borrower’s employer falls under the oversight of the Council of the District of Columbia. The inclusion of all District government employees sets DC4ME apart and will allow for more homeowners.
Many people who work in, and in this case for, the District government, cannot afford to live in the city. They have often been priced out of their city and forced to move to the suburbs and surrounding cities in Maryland and Virginia. More than 36,000 people work for the D.C. government, and it is DCHFA’s goal to make sure that any of them who want to live in this city have the means to do so.
“Homeownership is the foundation to wealth building. DCHFA is committed to making the dream of homeownership attainable to D.C.’s workforce, and that includes government employees,” said Christopher E. Donald, Executive Director/CEO, DCHFA. “Many of these workers fall into what we call the Missing Middle, and it is our job to make sure that they are not forgotten and continuously priced out of the city they give back to daily.”
The DC4ME program helped Folashade Oladipo, an employee of the Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning and Economic Development, achieve her goal of homeownership sooner than she thought possible. “DC4ME made it possible for me to purchase my dream home on a budget!” said Oladipo. “Most my best memories happened in D.C., and I look forward to making more awesome memories while giving back to a city that has given me so much.”
Eligible applicants receive a first trust mortgage at a reduced interest rate. The rate comes with or without the option of three percent down payment assistance with a zero prevent deferred subordinate loan.
An eligible applicant is someone who is a first-time homebuyer; a current full-time District government employee; has a maximum income less than 120 percent of the area median income; has a minimum 640 credit score; and has a debt-to-income ratio that does not exceed 50 percent.
Borrowers can combine DC4ME with various other financial assistance programs to make sure they are getting the best deal possible. DCHFA has another down payment assistance program, DC Open Doors, that is open to first-time and repeat homebuyers. DC4ME can be combined with DC Open Doors, as well as programs like the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) and the Employer Assisted Housing Program (EAHP).
Aspiring homeowners can find more information on DC4ME at www.dchfa.org/homeownership.
DC Open Doors Your Key to the City
DC Open Doors makes homeownership affordable in the District by offering qualified buyers home purchase loans, down payment and closing cost assistance.
• Open to first-time & repeat buyers • Open to all neighborhoods & wards • Open to both residents and non-residents of
Washington, D.C.
