The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Two mortgage companies that sent deceptive loan ads to servicemembers and veterans settle with CFPB

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consent order Friday against Sovereign Lending Group Inc., a mortgage lender in about 44 states and the District of Columbia.

Sovereign offers mortgage loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Sovereign’s main advertising is through direct-mail campaigns targeted mostly at U.S. military servicemembers and veterans.

Sovereign sent consumers hundreds of thousands of mailers for VA-guaranteed mortgages that contained false, misleading, and inaccurate statements or that lacked required disclosures in violation of federal laws and rules.

Cars, home improvement top the list of consumer complaints for 2019, survey shows

Problems with car sales and repairs and home improvement and construction once again topped the list of complaints reported to state and local consumer agencies across the country, according to an annual survey by the Consumer Federation of America.

“When the used car you just bought breaks down or your new roof leaks, who are you going to call? asked Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy for CFA. “It’s your state or local consumer agency.”

Grant conducted the survey, which included participation by 31 agencies from 19 states this year. It asked about the most common, the fastest-growing, and the worst complaints agencies received in 2019.

Top 10 complaints in 2019

These are the complaints most frequently cited as the top problems reported to state and local consumer agencies last year:

Baby boomers comment on covid-19 restrictions and other things going on in their lives

It’s week 18 of covid-19 restrictions for many of us. I dawned on me the second week in March that I should be staying home. I had been walking in the mall during the winter, but I thought heading there wouldn’t be wise. I’d ride my stationary bicycle for exercise instead until the weather warmed up.

Most of my baby boomer friends are still feeling the effects of about four months of restricted behavior.

They’re writing about:

Use Zillow for best realtor reviews, consumer group advises

A report comparing information about individual real estate agents provided by widely used online information sources – Zillow, Realtor.com, HomeLight, Yelp, Facebook, and the websites of the agents themselves – concludes that Zillow agent profiles are the most useful source of information.

The report – "Choosing a Real Estate Agent: An Evaluation of Information Sources About Quality of Service" by the Consumer Federation of America– says Zillow profiles cover a large majority of active agents and include current listings, past sales and their price history, customer reviews, and other information for most of these agents.

“A home represents the most expensive purchase consumers will ever make,” said Stephen Brobeck, a CFA senior fellow. “Consumer selection of an agent strongly influences whether they receive good value from the sale. Zillow agent profiles represent a valuable source of information for making this choice."

Baby boomers coping during weeks of staying at home due to the pandemic

Things are going well for me as I stay home under Washington state’s stay home order. I’m willing to do it for a long time more. I don’t think it’s worth it to get my hair cut or eat in a restaurant and get the coronavirus.

It’s so upsetting that protesters are risking the lives of others by coming out to state capitals, crowding together, and in some states, even carrying guns.

My yard is beautiful this time of year. I have 40 rhododendrons in many colors of pink plus red, yellow, orangey, and purple. I’m making a bouquet a day because the beautiful blossoms will soon be gone. Since my main interest in my yard is growing vegetables, I rely on all the rhododendrons, and about a dozen azaleas, planted by previous owners.

But the main thing I’m doing is working on the book about my journalism career called “Follow the Money: My Life as a Financial Journalist.” It’s a lot of work to go through the hundreds of print articles I’ve written, but it makes the time fly by. I’m almost finished with the print articles. Next, I’ll need to figure out a way to write about more than 6,000 blog articles.

Meanwhile, baby boomer bloggers are writing about:

New website offers details for consumers on mortgage and rent relief during the coronavirus pandemic

A consolidated website providing information for consumers on mortgage and rent relief during the COVID-19 pandemic is now available, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday. The consolidated site will make it easier for consumers to get current information about their options as Congress and the Trump administration consider additional measures during the national emergency.

“Getting the right information to consumers with a website that links to all of the federal government’s relief efforts is a good step forward,” said Barry Zigas, a senior fellow at the Consumer Federation of America. “It should help reduce confusion among consumers and make it easier for them to get reliable information about their options.”

The website is hosted by the CFPB and sponsored by the bureau, HUD-FHA, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank system. It provides links to specific areas of interest to consumers faced with challenges paying their mortgages or their rent.

Court orders mortgage relief fraudsters to pay $18.5 million

A federal court ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission Monday in a case against the operators of a scheme that deceived financially distressed homeowners by falsely promising to make their mortgages more affordable. The defendants also charged consumers illegal advance fees and unlawfully told consumers not to pay their mortgages to or communicate with their lenders.

The case was filed by the FTC in January 2018, and the court issued a temporary restraining order against the company then.

In granting the FTC’s motion for summary judgment, the court found that the defendants’ practices violated the FTC Act and the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule.

Errors on criminal background checks continue to keep consumers from getting jobs, housing, report shows

Passing a criminal background check is usually required to get a job or housing, however, employers and landlords are making decisions based on inaccurate reports. 

A report, “Broken Records Redux: How Errors by Criminal Background Check Companies Continue to Harm Consumers Seeking Jobs and Housing,” from the National Consumer Law Center, finds that problems with accuracy in criminal background check reports are still wide spread.

“Unfortunately, many background screening companies still seem to prioritize profit over accuracy, leading to reports that cost consumers’ jobs and housing,” said Ariel Nelson, center staff attorney and author of the report.

Number of retirees with mortgages increases dramatically

Retirement is different than it used to be. Many more retirees are still trying to pay off their homes.

One of four homeowners 30 years ago who were in their late 60s and 70s still had a mortgage. These days, nearly half have one. When people turned 80, mortgages used to be unusual, with just 3 percent being mortgage holders. These days, one in four of these older seniors have mortgages, according to “Housing America’s Older Adults 2019,” a report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. 

Seniors who have paid off their homes have more money to spend, which improves their standard of living in retirement.

Change the batteries on your smoke detector and CO alarm Sunday

Now that you've figured out Sunday is Daylight Saving Time and you'll be setting your clocks back one hour, it’s a good time to change the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

“Early warning is crucial to getting out of a house fire alive and for surviving CO poisoning,” Robert Adler, acting chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said in an agency blog article. “I encourage everyone to check and change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Doing this can save you and your family in a fire or CO emergency.”

The CPSC estimates that in 2016 nearly 352,000 residential structure fires resulted in about 2,410 deaths, 10,370 injuries, and $6.36 billion in property damage in the United States.