Please review this information from U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley regarding deceptive lending practices. Senator Merkley makes the following statement in his letter to the President:
"Steering payments were made to brokers who enticed unsuspecting homeowners into deceptive and expensive mortgages. These secret bonus payments, often called yield spread premiums, turned home mortgages into a SCAM."
In addition, Senator Merkley references an article in the New York Times entitled "Predatory Brokers." The article makes two important statements regarding predatory lending: 1. "The first step must be to outlaw the kickbacks that lenders pay brokers for steering clients into costlier loans." 2. "The most clearly unethical form of payment is the so-called yield spread premium."
NAR members are supposed to help their clients avoid predatory lending tactics. The code of ethics requires them to follow the "Golden Rule" in the representation of their clients.
If Scott Veerkamp was applying for a loan, would he select a mortgage that is loaded with yield spread premium and junk fees? The answer to this question is obvious. Unfortunately, Scott refuses to comply with the "do unto others" philosophy in the code of ethics. He uses NAR as a selling tool to build trust with his clients. After gaining trust, he "blindsides" his clients with YSP so he can receive a kickback on their loan.
This concept is called "steering" and it can be very costly for consumers. No one would agree to a higher interest rate if they understood the financial impact it was having on their loan. This is why Senator Merkley refers to yield spread premium as a "secret bonus payment."
Please take a moment to review two examples of predatory lending using YSP and junk fees:
Loan 1: (Property value $150, 000) A. $4, 799 yield spread premium B. $500 processing fee C. $250 document preparation fee D. $50 courier fee E. $35 electronic filing fee F. $425 administration fee (lender fee)
Loan 2: (Property value $120, 000) A. $1, 440 yield spread premium B. $960 application fee C. $1, 920 in "discount points" (paid to Scott Veerkamp) D. $409 administration fee (lender fee) E. $150 underwriting fee (lender fee)
I have provided documentation Scott collected nearly $10, 000 on two separate mortgages using YSP and junk fees. This is an average of $5, 000 per loan. This type of lending represents the extreme opposite of "protecting the interest of the client."
As I mentioned earlier, predatory lending can cause serious financial harm to the unsuspecting public. Therefore, I agree with Senator Merkley when he says yield spread premium has turned the home mortgage industry into a "SCAM."
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