Impact University: Loans
Market for Fixer-Uppers Traps Low-Income Buyers >
Goldstein, M. and Stevenson, A. (2016-02-20, The New York Times): The mortgage industry has seen a rise in a new type of long-term loan, called a contract for deed, in which investors make deals with low-income home buyers unable to get traditional mortgages. But for buyers lured by the dream of homeownership, these seller-financed transactions can become a money trap that ends with a quick eviction by the seller, who can flip the home again.
Investment Riches Built on Subprime Auto Loans to Poor >
Corkery, M. and Silver-Greenberg, J. (2015-01-26, The New York Times): Michael Corkery and Jessica Silver-Greenberg examine the start of the predatory auto-lending trend: "With the once-enormous market in mortgage-backed securities largely frozen, investors looked for new opportunities. One bright spot was auto lending. Even in the depths of the recession, people needed cars and were willing to pay steep rates for a loan."
Rise in Loans Linked to Cars Is Hurting Poor >
Corkery, M. and Silver-Greenberg, J. (2014-12-25, The New York Times): Car title loans are being marketed as a quick cash fix with little risk, but borrowers have found that lenders use loopholes and disinformation to entice desperate car owners and eventually leave them with crippling debt.
Loan Fraud Inquiry Said to Focus on Used-Car Dealers >
Corkery, M. and Silver-Greenberg, J. (2014-10-01, The New York Times): As fraudulent auto loans become increasingly prevalent in the nation, lenders and law enforcement agencies say they are cracking down on automobile dealerships by setting up additional safeguards against predatory lending to subprime borrowers.
Miss a Payment? Good Luck Moving That Car >
Corkery, M. and Silver-Greenberg, J. (2014-09-24, The New York Times): Amidst the recent predatory lending trend in the used car business, almost 25% of new car loans made last year were to borrowers with poor credit. One increasingly popular method of enforcing car payments and punishing late payments is a technology that can remotely disable an automobile's starter, raising questions of safety hazards and privacy infringement.
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