http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010092701?OpenDocument

This was an eye opener as to where consumers in the U.S. have the best and worst average credit scores (and for once Detroit did not make the bottom 10 list. Finally, congrats Detroit!).

Even cooler is the interactive site (link included on the release above and below) showing Experian’s summary statistics on US cities, including items such as the area unemployment rate, average debt, number of foreclosures and number of open credit cards.

Worth the read and few minutes on the interactive site. (Bet you did not know that the average debt in Fairbanks Alaska is $29,424 and the average consumer has 1.85 open credit cards.) Take a look at your city.

http://www.experian.com/live-credit-smart/live-credit-smart.html

Ted

Ted C. Jones, PhD

Senior Vice President-Chief Economist, Stewart Title Guaranty Company

Director of Investor Relations, Stewart Information Services Corporation

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

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Simplified Mortgage Disclosures is Warren’s Goal

September 24, 2010 admin

Simplifying mortgage disclosure forms so that borrowers get a clearer picture of the costs and obligations involved will be a primary goal of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Elizabeth Warren, the consumer advocate appointed to oversee its creation.

Warren, a Harvard law professor appointed by President Obama, has been a vocal critic of what she calls “tricks and traps” in mortgage contracts and other credit agreements that bury the essential details of a loan or credit card agreement in mountains of text.

Obscured by fine print

“Fine print obscures the cost of credit and makes it impossible for families to compare products,” Warren said, opening a forum on simplifying mortgage forms. “Too often, families come to understand the legalese only when they get bitten by it. Streamlined disclosure can level the playing field and give families better tools to make better choices.”

Warren said this was particularly true with mortgages, where “borrowers receive stacks of incomprehensible paperwork when they’re looking for a loan.”

The forum, held Tuesday in Washington, D.C., was designed to seek imput on how mortgage disclosure forms might be simplified. Participants included consumer advocacy groups, housing counselors, financial literacy experts, mortgage companies, and other stakeholders. Future stakeholder meetings are planned to help refine the document design.

Combining two mortgage disclosures into one

via mortgageloan.com

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(ALTA) announces second-quarter Market Share Analysis

September 23, 2010 admin

Washington, D.C., Sept. 23, 2010 — The American Land Title Association (ALTA) announces that its second-quarter Market Share Analysis is now final. ALTA released preliminary results on Sept. 2.

The second quarter of 2010 proved to be profitable for the industry. Operating Income was down 9 percent from the second quarter of 2009 and Loss Expense was up by 12.7 percent, but these were offset by a decrease in Operating Expense of $248 million (10.6 percent), leaving Operating Loss at the same level as 2009. Net Investment Gain was 45 percent less than 2009, leaving Net Income 56 percent lower than the second quarter of 2009, but still positive at $48.3 million.

Consequently, the industry remains in a strong financial position at June 30, with Admitted Assets of over $8.5 billion, including over $7.4 billion in Cash and Invested Assets. Also, Statutory Reserves were almost $5 billion and Statutory Surplus exceeded $2.4 billion.

The second quarter of 2010 ends a string of three consecutive quarters in which Title Premiums Written increased over the prior year’s equivalent quarter, reporting a decline of 8.5 percent compared to the second quarter of 2009. Notable in the second quarter are changes in title insurance underwriter family market share. The Fidelity Family leads the industry with 38.4 percent of the national market, up 1.4 percent from the first quarter. Meanwhile, First American declined 1.7 percent to 26.6 percent, Stewart increased 1 percent to 14.7 percent. Old Republic decreased .1 percent to 10.4 percent and regional companies decreased by .8 percent to 9.9 percent.

ALTA expects to release preliminary third-quarter Market Share Analysis around Dec. 1.

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