Scott Veerkamp Predatory Lending: This shows the financial impact Yield Spread Premium has on the homeowner.

Scott Veerkamp is the President of the Franklin Township School Board and a member of the National Association of Realtors. I have documentation of two loans initiated by Scott containing Yield Spread Premium...

Loan 1: Contains a $1,440 Yield Spread Premium on a $120,000 property.

Loan 2: Contains a $4,799 Yield Spread Premium on a $150,000 property.

(a) The following documentation is not an example of a loan initiated by Scott Veerkamp. I am merely providing this example to show the financial impact of YSP on the homeowner.

(b) On average, mortgage brokers receive 1% of the loan amount each time they raise the interest rate .25%. In other words, the lender pays the broker a "kickback" for increasing the interest rate on the loan.

(c) What is the difference in cost between a 6% rate and a 6.5% rate on a $200,000 loan over 30 years? Here is the answer according to bankrate mortgage calculator: -($23,414.40)

(d) On the mortgage above, the broker would receive a $4,000 kickback or (2% of the loan amount) for increasing the interest rate .5%. Therefore, a family would pay an extra -($23,414.40) over 30 years because they did not receive the interest rate they qualified for.

(e) I believe most families would prefer to invest the $23,414.40 in EDUCATION. Clearly, this makes more sense than "wasting it" with a predatory loan.

(f) Therefore, I am asking Scott Veerkamp to answer the following questions: 1. How does Predatory Lending "protect and promote the interest of the client"? 2. How does Yield Spread Premium "keep the interest of the client above all else"?

*You can find YSP on the settlement in your mortgage documents. It will be listed as POC or "paid outside of closing".

www.ftcsc: Scott Veerkamp / Predatory Broker

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."

YSP and Prepayment Penalties

Please review these two statements from the Center for Responsible Lending regarding YSP and prepayment penalties...

Yield Spread Premium:  1. "Many lenders pay this premium---essentially a kickback to brokers---only when the loan has a prepayment penalty that helps trap the borrower in the higher-cost loan long enough for the lender to recoup the cost of the payment to the broker."

2. "Because YSP's encourage prepayment penalties, these kickbacks not only make loans more expensive from the beginning, they also effectively penalize borrowers for developing good credit over time."

Obviously, this information makes it difficult for NAR to say Yield Spread Premium "protects and promotes the interest of the client."