Thomas: Study Alleges Mortgage Discrimination High in Greenville
Senator David Thomas of Greenville plans to propose a law to make lenders report more on the loans they grant. Said Thomas, “One of the things you additionally have to do is accumulate information with each of your clients that would categorize them racially and list their credit score.”
WSPA: Study Alleges Mortgage Discrimination High in Greenville
Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 - 04:37 PM
By Heather Sullivan
While foreclosures on homes continue to rise across the country, two State Senators plan to hold a hearing tomorrow on a startling report.
The National Community Reinvestment Coaltion says Greenville is the tenth worst city in the country for racial discrimination in home loans. It says Charleston tops the list. What does this mean? The report says black families often end up in more expensive home loans than similar white families.
But banking and mortgage associations say federal regulation prevent lenders from discriminating and the study’s numbers don’t reveal the whole picture.
As a real estate agent, Kerry Fair says he’s seen it happen, black families stuck in sub-prime home loans with skyrocketing interest rates they can’t afford, when they could have qualified for a lower-interest loan.
Said Fair, “I have seen the hardships. Sometimes it leads to a divorce, sometimes it leads to a loss of housing, just about everything they’ve worked for the last two years just gone, just gone away.”
A study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition says minorities often pay more for home loans than white families. Senator Ralph Anderson of Greenville says he’s hearing from them. Said Anderson, “Most of them have lost their homes, most of them have moved out because they could not afford to pay the difference.”
But the South Carolina Bankers Association says the study is flawed because it does not look at credit, employment history, or amount of debt, which may have caused some famlies to be rejected for conventional loans and turn to expensive sub-prime loans.
Senator David Thomas of Greenville plans to propose a law to make lenders report more on the loans they grant. Said Thomas, “One of the things you additionally have to do is accumulate information with each of your clients that would categorize them racially and list their credit score.”
Meantime, realtor Kerry Fair says families must take steps to protect themselves. Said Fair, “If they get their credit in good shape and their bank account in good shape then they can get a conventional mortgage and they don’t have to get a subprime mortgage.”
The hearing on this issue is Thursday 6 p-m at the County Square at 301 University Ridge, Greenville. You’re welcome to attend.
If you have a home loan you cannot afford, the Fed just announced it’s cutting the interest rate by half a point, which experts say means now may be a good time for you to refinance.
Plus, we found some good news that may surprise you. A report by Realty Trac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties, says South Carolina is one of the top states where foreclosures are declining. And it says Greenville had the lowest foreclosure rate in the country in the first half of this year. Senator Thomas believes that’s due to the state’s new predatory lending law, which requires consumers to go through counseling before signing a high-cost loan.
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