Jim Bernstein wrote:
High cost loans are not predatory loans; but, almost all predatory loans are high cost loans! A high interest rate is usually not the main issue in predatory loans if the borrower if understands what that rate is when the loan documents are signed. What turns the interest rate alone into a predatory loan is when the borrower is told one rate and it turns out to be higher, or the borrower is assured that it will be within a range but that the loan will be at the low end of that range (it never is), or if the quoted rate is dependent upon other or variables or conditions which may be either onerous or impossible to meet.
We did - and still do - need laws to outlaw predatory lending practices and schemes. Minneapolis and St. Paul continue to be ground zero for predatory lending in Minnesota.
AN: Thank you all for contributing to the Predatory Lending
discussion! I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread and have learned much
about the pros and cons of an anti-predatory lending ordnance. It seems
to me that fundamentally this issue is about personal responsibility and
mutual responsibility. It is a valid argument that one should be able
to make their own choices, even bad ones, when it comes to lending or
anything else for that matter (personal responsibility). It is also
valid that we need for some checks and balances on institutions that may
take advantage of vulnerable groups (mutual responsibility).
Home ownership is good for the economy, and more importantly, good for
the overall livability of neighborhoods. I believe that it is our aim
and responsibility to further advance ownership for all people of
Minneapolis, so that we create the most peaceful, just, and livable city
possible. An anti-predatory lending ordnance for Minneapolis will do
just that.
Aaron Neumann
Candidate for Minneapolis City Council Ward 3 (Green)
Neighbors for Neumann
1828 Marshall St. NE #18
Minneapolis, MN 55418-4211
612.788.1284
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://VoteNeumann.org
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