FAIR HOME LOAN PROCESS COMES TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., May 19, 2004 – Californians shopping for homes now have access to fair lending for the first time, according to Jeff Lazerson, president of Mortgage Grader®
“While fair housing practices have been in place for years, the Uniform Residential Loan Application asks for a person’s race,” Lazerson noted. “Lenders can, and do, decline loans, add unfair fees or slip in undisclosed pre-payment penalties to an applicant’s loan based on unfair practices, including racial, ethnic and neighborhood factors.”
“Today, we are launching a new product which pre-approves applicants for loans at a set rate, while lenders are blind to the applicant’s race, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other non-core factors. Instead, the loans approved through the new product, Mortgage Grader, are based solely on the financial information of the applicant,” Lazerson explained.

According to the government-sponsored lending arms, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, minorities and ethnic homebuyers often are given more expensive sub-prime loans when they could have qualified for prime loan status. The sub-prime loans also often carry pre-payment penalties rarely placed on the lower-cost prime loans.
“The identity of the person seeking the loan with Mortgage Grader® is simply not available to the prospective lender. No matter who you are, no matter what neighborhood you want to live in, Mortgage Grader®’s objective advice, coupled with flat pricing for every applicant, will facilitate the American dream of homeownership to many more families,” he pointed out.
People can apply in person or over the phone. An experienced mortgage counselor will talk with the applicant about his or her personal financial profile and the type of loan he or she would like. The counselor will then offer suggestions of the best type of mortgage for the prospect.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Mortgage Banker’s Association of America commissioned a report that provided insights into the minority home buying experience, and that report concluded that, “the average person needs trustworthy and expert assistance in watching out for their interests throughout the home buying and mortgage application process. Not everyone can easily find a trusted and knowledgeable advisor.”

“Mortgage Grader® provides information about loan programs and wholesale rates from a host of lenders. Based on the applicant’s needs, we’ll help select the program best tailored to his or her needs and establish pre-approval criteria. Our applicant’s information is kept private and there is only a single access to his or her credit history, even if the person gets rates and terms from multiple lenders,” Lazerson said.
Once the applicants have made their choice, Mortgage Grader® will submit their privatized file and loan application for approval. Their personal information is released to a lender only on their request. This protects applicants from being turned down because of race, ethnicity or age.
“While we cannot guarantee a loan will be approved, the pre-approval gives our applicants a sense of what to expect, how much they can afford, and the option to shop outside of the Mortgage Grader® network as well,” Lazerson said.
With Mortgage Grader®, applicants will pay a $99 fee. In return, they receive mortgage counseling and up to the moment mortgage pricing on as many as three separate occasions in a single year. If the applicant chooses to use one of the Mortgage Grader participating network lenders, they will receive a pre-negotiated flat transaction fee regardless of their credit quality. In addition, if they obtain a loan within the network, their $99 will be refunded in full when their loan closes.
“If applicants want to shop outside of the Mortgage Grader® network, they will have valuable information on wholesale prices to better negotiate with their preferred lender or mortgage broker,” Lazerson added.

Mortgage Grader® is a division of Portfolio Mortgage Corporation, a California corporation with a patent pending on its Mortgage Grader® technology. The firm is in the planning stages of a completely Web-based pricing and application process. Further information is available at www.MortgageGrader.com.