Lending Lowdown Tip of the Day:

Refinancing Tip: Make Sure Your Lender Isn't a Felon

Florida mortgage lenders and brokers made the news last year when it became known that more than half of them never passed a criminal background check, and that thousands of them had been writing loans with felony convictions -- including for financial or violent crimes -- in their past. While the majority of mortgage lenders are honest, you'll want to make sure that yours didn't spend his last vacation making license plates. You don't want felonious financial fraudsters messing with your refinance mortgage or new home loan, do you? No worries -- just use these top tips to make sure that your refinance lenders are on the up-and-up.

Tip #1: Don't Be Paranoid

Even if you do nothing, the odds are good that you'll get an honest mortgage lender or broker. If you check out the FBI's Web site, you'll see that your lender has more reason to be afraid than you do--the vast majority of mortgage fraud at the federal level was committed by borrowers against lenders. Real estate experts concur: guru Robert Bruss and industry news site Realty Times both state that, while there are bad guys out there, in most cases you'll end up with an honest mortgage lender.

Tip #2: But Don't Be Stupid

Doing nothing is easy, but doing something isn't that hard. And identity theft is such a buzz kill. So smart shoppers (that's you, right?) take a little time and vet their lenders before they refinance a mortgage or buy a new home...
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