So, you’re stuck in credit card debt. And you’d like to eliminate this problem as quickly as possible. While we’ve discussed using your home equity to take care of this problem, another question often arises:

Can an interest-only Florida home loan help to consolidate debt?

Various ways to deal with credit card debt

Let’s say you possess $20,000 in outstanding credit card bills. Replacing this amount with $20,000 in mortgage debt isn’t exactly taking care of the problem - it’s just restructuring your debts. This is the typical consequence for those thtat consider an interest-only mortgage. It’s simply postponing different kinds of payments.

The monthly mortgage payment on a conventional fixed-rate mortgage is self-amortizing, meaning the monthly payment contains BOTH the monthly interest expense and a contribution to the principal that allows the mortgage to be paid off over the life of the loan.

However, an interest-only mortgage does NOT have the principal repayment component, at least not in the early years of the loan, so it allows you to minimize your monthly mortgage payment. This sort of package can help a homeowner qualify for a bigger house or free up funds for other purposes … but it could spell trouble down the line.

Details of an interest-only Florida home loan

Interest-only mortgages are commonly adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, but they can also have a fixed initial term. Restructuring your debt to interest-only debt can free up some financial slack in your monthly spending plan, but that slack comes at a pretty big price.

You’ll take on the interest rate risk of an adjustable-rate loan, the closing costs associated with a new first mortgage and stop paying down your loan balances. Initally, you may free up a few hundred dollars per month - and this cash could be used on your remaining credit card bills. But you’ll still have the balance of your Florida home loan to eventually pay off.

This approach is not recommended unless you were up against it in meeting your monthly bills. Even then, using a second mortgage can be an easier approach than totally restructuring your debts. Keep in mind you’ll pay a few thousand dollars in closing costs to get a new first mortgage and only a few hundred to get a new second mortgage.

In the end, don’t jump all over a Florida home loan simply because monthly payments will be low for the first couple years. If you know you’ll be coming into money down the line, then an interest-only package may be up your financial alley. But there are other ways to avoid debt that may not be as hazardous to the long-term health of your bank account.

After almost two decades as the point man for the world’s largest economy, the iconic Alan Greenspan will retire today after the Federal Reserve Chairman administers his last board meeting.

The 79-year-old Greenspan has often been called the most powerful man in the world. He will leave behind a legacy of tame inflation, low unemployment, strong economic growth and a record budget deficit. Analysts predice that his final act as the country’s leading economic guru is to raise interest rates, as the Fed has done during each of its last 13 meetings an an attempt to curb infliation.

It is only fitting, then, that he leave on such a note. Consumers expect minimal price increases at stores or markets these days, and thanks in part to Greenspan’s track record as an “inflation hawk” they largely get what they want. At his very first meeting as chairman, he instituted a half-point interest rate hike, aimed to tighten credit and keep prices down. After just two months on the job, the stock market crashed. It was Black Monday. October 19, 1987.

Greenspan was widely blamed, but the Fed stood tall and lent freely to distressed institutions, a continuing policy that has become a hallmark of the chairman’s tenure. As the market rose, during the 1990s, so did Greenspan’s popularity. Meanwhile, inflation was down to 3.4 percent last year, despite rising energy prices, having been as high as 13 percent in 1979. Greenspan will most likely be remembered foremost as the man who kept inflation in check.

”Greenspan’s legacy is that he was able to run with it,” said Pearl Kamer, chief economist for the Long Island Association, a large regional business group. “He made sure that the genie didn’t come out of the box.”

Greenspan’s influence can also be seen in nation’s low unemployment rate of 4.9 percent. He convinced skeptical Fed colleagues that rising productivity would allow jobless rates to fall without triggering inflation — an example of how Greenspan’s approach was an art as much as a science, relying on instincts and insights. The chairman recognized that productivity was climbing much faster than the government’s official numbers showed, and acted accordingly.

Then there’s economic growth. During Greenspan’s 18 ½ years in office, the country had two recessions — following the first Gulf War in 1990-1991, and the stock market plunge in 2001. But both turned out to be mild downturns that lasted only about eight months each. There is perhaps no better indicator of his performance than this fact. In the 18 years before Greenspan took over, by contrast, the country experienced four severe downturns.

”I think he’s done a remarkable job of balancing a tenuous situation,” said John Adam Kanas, CEO of North Fork Bancorp in Melville, N.Y. “I think he will go down as probably the most effective Fed chairman that has ever held the job.”

Greenspan’s balancing act also led to controversy though. The real estate boom of the last five years is a direct result of the Fed steadily cutting interest rates until they reached historic lows — to quell inflation and keep the economy strong. As a result, mortgage rates fell and created a housing boom that some worry will regress and backfire. With the housing market unable to sustain its current growth, other facets of the economy may take a hit in 2006.

Greenspan has also taken heat for failing to rein in the high-flying stock market of the ’90s in time. Although he mused in 1996 that the stock boom was caused by what he called “irrational exuberance,” prices continued to rise. Only when the bubble burst in the early 21st Century did Greenspan move to contain the damage by lowering interest rates.

”If Greenspan had been stronger in his views, then the bubble would not have been as large and the subsequent correction not as severe,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com.

Greenspan’s response is simple. Had the Fed raised interest rates earlier and higher, the country would have plunged into a severe recession. Just as his impressive feats seem to outweigh his mistakes, Greenspan’s fans outnumber his critics. The retiring chief currently holds a 72 percent approval rating, a comfortable 30 points higher than the U.S. President and Vice President.

Rob Quinlivan of Miami has lived in his personal paradise for eight years… living on a 40-foot power boat docked in a public marina.

It’s easy to see why he loves it. The lifestyle has given him adventure, freedom and a chance to experience the region has to offer — minus the runaway prices of the South Florida real estate market.

“Where else can you get living on a waterfront property, you know, some of the best climates in the world?”

The 60-year-old engineer makes a great point. But his slip fees — what he must pay for his spot in the marina, as people often do for parking spots in older, bigger cities — have jumped to $700 a month over the past two years, an increase of more than $200. He and other boaters are finding out the hard way that the real estate boom isn’t limited to dry land.

MARINA OWNERS LOOKING TO SELL

Public places to dock are getting harder to come by, for one, as developers buy up marinas to convert them into private slips for luxury condominiums in popular areas. According to the Boat Owners Association of the United States, development is a constant threat and serious concern for the nation’s estimated 13,000 public marinas, 11,000 of which are mom and pop operations.

“These owners have put a lot of “sweat equity” into their facilities. They’re getting up there in years, and a developer comes along and offers them a big check, and it’s attractive,” said Scott Croft, a spokesman for the association, which is based in Alexandria, Va.

Also, slips are getting more competitive. The real estate boom in some of the country’s prime waterfront areas has been accompanied by a surge in boat ownership. There were 12.78 million boats registered nationally in 2004, according to the most recent U.S. Coast Guard figures available. That is down slightly overall, from a peak of 12.87 million in 2001, but top-ranked Florida’s registrations rose by 79,900 over the same time, and third-ranked California’s climbed 61,700 last year alone.

Pineda Point Marina in Melbourne on Florida’s central Atlantic coast has witnessed the boom since the family-owned business started about 15 years ago. The marina’s 100 slips are always full, and developers have casually the owners about selling.

“I’m not saying that we’re going to stay here no matter what,” manager Scott Jordan said. “If someone was to come around and offered the kind of money that was a ridiculously high price … ”

Jordan said that the rising insurance rates and taxes that accompany the real estate boom have also made the business less profitable. Florida property taxes are soaring all over the place, and jumped 28 percent last year in Jordan’s case, from $11,713 a year to more than $15,000.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a state agency that handles boating access, is concerned about the marina situation and is awaiting the results of a study that will gauge the exact number of facilities lost to development.

“There is, at this point, little that we can do,” said commission spokesman Willie Puz. “Because it’s private property, we can’t regulate it.”

PASSING PRESERVATION LEGISLATION

All hope is not lost. Lawmakers plan to introduce a bill in the state Legislature this year that would encourage local governments to preserve public marinas. Florida Association of Counties spokeswoman Kriss Vallese said that some counties are also taking steps to keep marinas open. As part of its ongoing effort to ease its affordable housing and real estate shortage, Palm Beach County recently approved $15 million to preserve one of its marinas.

Developers say the shortage of marina space is simply another part of the boom. Jim Cohen of Boca Developers said that developers provide a service by modernizing some public marinas that have fallen into disrepair. His Deerfield Beach-based company has set aside about 10 percent of the marina space at one of its properties for public use. But for some boaters, that is just not enough.

“[Florida] is a place for the wealthy who have the money to enjoy the waterfront,” said Jim Edwards, 39, who has lived on his 41-foot sailboat for 10 years. “It has changed from an affordable place for boaters. If you don’t have, you know, a big boat and a lot of money, they don’t really want you.”

The impact of such an incredible surge in real estate prices (due in part to historically low Florida home loan rates) is far-reaching. Florida’s agricultural real estate prices have gone through the roof, putting many small businesses in financial jeopardy. The cost of land has also made life difficult for the state’s ongoing conservation efforts and, perhaps most importantly, rising housing costs and taxes have left many fixed- and lower-income residents at risk.

Looking for a $200 million “jump-start,” Palm Beach County commissioners agreed to consider using bonds backed by taxpayer money to create more affordable housing.

In the past, the county used bonds to pay to preserve land for farming, conservation and parks. This could work the same way and provide money needed to preserve or build more homes priced for teachers, police officers, young professionals and others who can’t afford Palm Beach County’s home costs, Commissioner Burt Aaronson said.

“That is something the people would understand,” said Aaronson, who proposed using $100 million to $200 million in bonds. “That would be a way to jump-start this affordable housing.”

Aaronson proposed using bonds backed by county revenues other than property taxes, which means it would not have to be approved by voters. Proposed fees on new development intended to help pay for affordable housing could be used to pay off the bonds.

Commissioners agreed to consider the bond plan along with other affordable housing proposals that are expected to go before the board in March.

Past problems with bond money

The county’s use of bond money has been criticized in the past. Members of the county’s Land Acquisition Selection Committee in December called for more citizen oversight of the bond money voters approved to preserve farmland. They objected to the county deciding to use 40 acres of farmland to store garbage.

Affordable housing needs gained attention last year when the median home price in Palm Beach County exceeded $400,000 - although the median prices at least dropped a bit as the year wore on.

Instead of just focusing on housing for the poor, the county started looking for ways to ensure more homes are available for moderate-income residents making between $35,000 and $75,000 a year. Those in the South Florida home loan market within this bracket have felt a financial crunch over the past year.

Fees on luxury homes and new businesses are among the proposals being explored to help pay for affordable housing, which the county considers up to $275,000.

In November, commissioners agreed to create a community land trust that could acquire property to build affordable housing, as well as buy mobile home parks and apartments, which provide lower-cost rental opportunities.

The county also has a proposal to require builders to include reduced-price homes in new neighborhoods. The plan would require about 20 percent of new homes to be offered as affordable housing - all this is meant to halt the exodus of South Florida residents. They ditched the area in droves last year in exchange for a North Florida home loan.

Builders would get to build more homes than otherwise allowed to help compensate for the potential lost profits. They also could “buy out” of the affordable housing requirement and the county could use the money to build reduced-price homes elsewhere.

That proposal was supposed to go before the county commission in January, but it has been delayed while county officials try to address objections from the housing industry.
County officials plan to meet again next week with a task force of building and real estate industry representatives helping to craft the new rules.

Summary: As Florida home loans become more and more difficult for renters to afford, the challenge of finding affordable housing becomes more and more pressing. We’ll continue to monitor this story and update the plans Palm Beach has in store to address the concerns of the middle class.

Carl Fisher first laid eyes on Miami Beach in 1912, when he had trouble giving the land away. Times have changed just a little since then.

The price of Miami Beach real estate today would astound Fisher, the city’s founding father, with the coup de gras being the $40 million asking price for his own Biscayne Bay estate (shown here in vintage form, circa 1930s), which went on the market this week.

According to broker Nelson Gonzalez of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors, the amount is a new record for any property in Miami-Dade County. Wondering what $40 million will get you these days, the Miami Herald decided to take a look. The three-story, 79-year-old villa at at 5020 North Bay Road has a mere 12 bedrooms and 19 baths. It’s on a 1.57-acre waterfront lot with a pavilion, outdoor fireplace, jacuzzi, wine cellar, and an original walk-in vault.

Oh, and the 85-foot observation tower, with its own elevator and bathroom. Reaching the top gives you panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean, Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline.

”The view has always brought people here,” Gonzalez said. “You can never, ever, duplicate this because of the city zoning and height limits on residential properties. This is the best of the best. This is where [Fisher] used to come to close the deal.”

It is believed that Fisher constructed the tower to show off the amazing views to potential buyers in the 1920s. Architect / businessman Jorge Almeida bought the historic home in 1978 for $550,000 and sold it last year, just before he passed away, for $16.5 million. The current owners — Todd Michael Glaser, Chad Oppenheim and Armin Mattli — have spent the past several months reworking and remodeling the villa.

Once the $7 million renovation is complete, the property will have two guest houses with a poolside cabana, along with a five-car garage. But it doesn’t end there. The gardens will be adorned with statues original to the 1927 home, and part of the original master bedroom has been converted into a walk-in closet. It comes with a balcony that will look out over the villa’s gardens and Biscayne Bay.

The North Bay Road neighborhood, which boasts residents such as Jennifer Lopez, Matt Damon, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Calvin Klein and Billy Joel, is also described as the ”it” location of Miami Beach. Lenny Kravitz almost became the newest celeb on the block, even touring the Fisher property six times and making an offer before the deal fell through. According to broker Gonzalez, the Grammy-winning rocker just didn’t step up to the plate.

Would the $40 million price be too rich for Fisher himself? Surprisingly, it might not. The builder amassed a fortune of nearly $100 million — and that’s in 1920s dollars. So not only could be potentially buy the place back, he probably wouldn’t even have to glance at current Florida home loan rates before coming to his decision. Must be nice.

A display home at the recent International Builders Show in Orlando may change the way the United States deals with emergency housing and affordable housing.

It’s not big and it’s not fancy. In fact, according to the St. Petersburg Times, it’s the opposite. It’s just a little yellow cottage (above) with a tin roof is exactly the size of the temporary trailers the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides to victims of hurricanes and other disasters, and it costs about the same: less than $35,000. But, where a FEMA trailer looks grim and boring, the new “Katrina Cottage” is airy, bright and even a little charming.

“I’m designing affordable housing,” said 31-year old Marianne Cusato, the cottage’s designer and architect.

The design is one of the products of the Mississippi Renewal Forum, held on that state’s coast in October. About 110 architects, planners and designers converged with 80 local counterparts at the request of Gov. Haley Barbour to brainstorm and rebuild 11 small coastal communities damaged by Hurricane Katrina. More than 50,000 homes were obliterated and 80,000 were damaged along a 120-mile stretch of Mississippi’s coastline.

Drawing on the original architecture and design detail of the area, the assembled team came up with a foot-high stack of reports and a pattern book of designs to guide the rebuilding process of the area’s communities, neighborhoods and single-family homes. Herein lies the project’s challenge, according to Andres Duany, a Miami architect and a leader in traditional neighborhood design.

“We have to bring it back better,” Duany explained. “If these communities are ever going to be spiritually whole, they can’t be pining about their past, always saying, ‘It was better before Katrina.’ The only way to renew these communities is for them to be better than before.”

The overarching goals of rebuilding the communities are:

• Making sure high-rises don’t wall off the beach.
• Ensuring that major highways don’t slash through downtowns and isolate neighborhoods.
• Making them walkable.
• Providing viable public transportation options.
• Encourage local retail while find a way to accommodate the big-box chains that bring necessary tax revenue.
• Support personal and economic diversity.
• Build community, with little touches like the front porch on the Katrina Cottage, where people sat and talked nonstop during the four-day convention.

In addition to charm, the original Katrina Cottage was built in just 20 days and offers three important things — versatility, flexibility and affordable housing. It’s no wonder manufacturers are interested in reproducing the house.

“The only reason not to do this is that it’s not the current conventional practice. But we can do this. Sometimes it takes a major event to change things, make us recalibrate,” Cusato said. “At first, I didn’t get it. Then I realized that hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, this year and every year. There will always be a need for emergency housing somewhere, for some reason.”

The cottage draws on the design of a traditional Mississippi coastal cottage. It is 14 by 22 feet, plus an 8-foot-deep porch. Inside the front door is a living/dining area. A small kitchen with a four-burner range and a full-size refrigerator, sink, and cabinets is to the right. Beside it is a full bath, and at the back of the house you can find a bedroom with two sets of bunk beds. The house features central air and heat, fiber-cement siding, and a metal roof.

Design matters. Architects’ sketches show how the cottage can be expanded and enlarged as need and money permit. The session generated a dozen plans for modestly priced housing in addition to Cusato’s design. Beyond speed of construction and permanence is what Cusato calls the “dignity factor.” In other words, providing disaster victims a permanent, attractive place to live that respects them and supports their desire to return to a normal life.

FEMA is not chartered to provide permanent housing, however. Its mandate would have to be changed in order for this trend to take hold. Individuals like Duany are hopeful. They plan to do what they can to encourage good design in Mississippi according to the principles developed by the forum by telling developers and builders their ideas.

“We’ll give you a straight pipeline — carry you through codes, insurance, FEMA, mortgages — if you do it well and follow our plans,” Duany said. “But everything has to be this nice. Come in planning to throw up cheap, ugly housing, and the way will be tougher. [The Gulf Coast] is 120 miles of really valuable Mississippi real estate. It’s hard to keep people out. You can’t say, ‘You can’t build there.’ But we don’t have to build back as badly as we have in the last 20 years, with neighborhoods dismantled or highways that ream out neighborhoods.”

The Katrina Cottage lends itself to a variety of uses:

• Housing for emergency workers.
• Habitat for Humanity housing.
• Student housing.
• Guest or in-law quarters.

The design team got good feedback and interest from builders and the manufactured-home industry at the builders’ show. The proof will come if anyone wants to put the cottage into large-scale production. As Cusato says, the story isn’t the cute yellow house, but that people are attempting to change the way we deal with emergency and affordable housing throughout the United States.

They could really be on to something here.

Housing costs in Broward Country continue to climb to high levels. It costs about 25 percent more to buy a single-family home or condominium-townhouse in that area this January versus the same month last year.

The latest statistics from the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale (RAGFL) show the median price of a single-family home Broward County in January to be $379,900, an increase of over $75,000 from 2004. Meanwhile, the median price for a condo-townhouse was $202,250, up 27 percent from $159,000 a year earlier.

RAGFL said combined single-family and condo-townhouse sales volume hit $469.8 million, down 15 percent from $553.6 million in January 2004. The 2,415 homes sold was a 29 percent, year-over-year decline, from 1,872 homes.

“We’re still seeing the effect of Hurricane Wilma in the marketplace but, as we expected, that effect lessened somewhat in January from the previous month,” RAGFL President Dori Longhini said. “The increases for individual home prices and total sales volume indicate residential real estate remains strong in South Florida.”

Broward County’s inventory is growing, however, a trend not unique to just this sector of the state.

In January, RAGFL said the number of total new listings was up 58 percent to 6,981 from 4,410 for the same month a year ago. These numbers all counter previous reports that the Florida home loan market had peaked. Home prices continue to rise, satisfying those wishing to sell their property.

Shakira wants more living space and has put her 6,500-square-foot Miami Beach mansion on the market, the Houston Chronicle said Friday.

The asking price for the five bedroom, six-and-a-half bathroom house, which also sports a pool, jacuzzi and private dock, is a cool $5.9 million. The Colombian-born singer, who released best-selling albums in English and Spanish last year, bought the home in 2001 for $3.38 million, said agent Jorge Uribe of Sol Sotheby’s International Realty.

The house, located on North Bay Road, is built in the classic Mediterranean style and boasts more than 6,000 feet of living space. While she reportedly wants a bigger pad, Shakira wants to remain in the swanky area, where her neighbors include singer Ricky Martin, actor Matt Damon and catcher Ivan Rodriguez of the Detroit Tigers.

The engaged singer, who will turn 29 on February 2, previously owned an additional piece of Miami Beach real estate, a house on La Gorce Island that she sold for $1.8 million a year ago. While you probably can’t qualify for a Florida home loan big enough to buy Shakira’s place, you can at least watch her on MTV, or catch her on her upcoming worldwide tour, which begins next month.

As the impact of storms from their hurricane season is still being felt, residents of Mississippi can at least take comfort in assistance from Freddie Mac. The mortgage investor recently announced the availability of $40 million in low cost mortgages intended to promote homeownership and recovery efforts throughout Mississippi’s Hurricane Katrina disaster areas.

Specifically, Freddie Mac is purchasing $40 million of Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC) bonds that will be used to finance mortgages with a 5.61 percent interest rate for an estimated 350 borrowers. The company is buying the bonds at a price that will enable MHC to make available an additional $1.2 million to cover three points of down payment or closing cost assistance, which works out to an estimated $3,000 per borrower.

This sort of help should contribute to the veracity of the previously reported forecast of a rebounding housing market in the area.

Giving thanks to Freddie Mac

Governor Haley Barbour said: “Mississippi is grateful to Freddie Mac and Mississippi Home Corporation for this welcome injection of affordable mortgage credit to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina rebuild their lives and livelihoods. I congratulate them and thank them for their hard work and commitment to finance the restoration of so many Mississippi homes and neighborhoods.”

The mortgages, which can be used to repair or purchase homes in federally designated storm disaster areas, are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“Because we are buying these tax-exempt mortgage bonds for our investment portfolio,” said Patricia Cook, Freddie Mac’s executive vice president of Investments and Capital Management, “we can safely price them so their rate is a quarter point below market.”

This announcement also marked the first installment on Freddie Mac’s commitment to fund up to $1 billion in below-market rate mortgages for storm recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana. The hope is that a real estate boom could continue in areas hit strongly by Hurricane Katrina.

In an effort to help more borrowers caught in the 2005 storms, MHC is waiving its usual first-time homebuyer requirement and raising its cap on home repair loans from $15,000 to $150,000 under special provisions in the 2005 Katrina Emergency Tax Act. To be eligible for the new mortgages, borrowers can earn no more than 140 percent of their area median income.

“Energizing Mississippi’s housing market is more important than ever,” said Dianne Bolen, MHC’s Executive Director as she reflected on the recent destruction of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “The financial support of Freddie Mac, along with the support of Governor Barbour, helps reassure the citizens of the Gulf Coast that some sense of normalcy is within reach,.”

This certainly isn’t the first - or last - time Freddie Mac has offered assistance to those in need. Earlier in the year, the company helped to finance a construction project in Gainesville in an effort to boost the affordability in that sector’s market.

One of the most familiar and distressing consumer complaints regarding mortgages is that the “good faith estimates” of closing costs offered by lenders turn out to be off the mark. Hundreds or thousands of dollars off the mark. Because of this, writes syndicated columnist Kenneth Harney in the Miami Herald, many lenders are thinking of new ways to turn their settlement cost estimates into binding promises.

For instance, vague and undisclosed charges for ”processing,” ”administration,” and other services appear on the HUD-1 settlement form. All too frequently, an estimated $2,200 in total fees turns out instead to be $3,400 at the actual close. Which, in turn, forces consumers into a Hobson’s choice:

1. Do they pay the extra charges even if they were not included in the good faith estimate?
2. Or do they kill the whole deal — potentially losing the house they wanted to buy or the mortgage they needed in order to do it — over a lowball estimate?

Federal housing officials are working on possible remedies, but there’s some unexpected good news — so are mortgage lenders themselves. Many have gotten the message from customers — the people demand certainty about fees at the bottom line — and they are coming up with ways to turn a good faith estimate into an actual rock-solid promise.

SunTrust Mortgage, which is ranked among the 20 highest-volume lenders in the country, has begun rolling out what it calls ”good faith guarantees.” When retail loan applicants receive their good faith estimate disclosures, SunTrust has now added language that commits the company to deliver those prices at settlement.

“BUNDLING” SERVICES

LendingTree, another major industry force, has begun offering lenders on its network what it calls settlement ”bundles.” The packaged bundles include everything the buyer needs to close the mortgage from title insurance to appraisals to surveys and credit reports.

Participating lenders are thereby better positioned to offer accurate estimates of total closing charges, and even pass on the lower costs to borrowers. LendingTree typically promises its mortgage applicants competitive quotes from up to four lenders. Roughly 50 of its network of lenders are now buying sthe ettlement service bundles through the new LendingTree Settlement Services — the company’s own, in-house ”vendor management” agency.

‘We listened to our customers and they told us that the important thing to them is certainty about settlement cost estimates. So now we’re going to guarantee them,” said Sterling Edmunds, CEO of SunTrust Mortgage.

As an alternative to the guaranteed estimates, SunTrust also offers fixed-fee ”packages” of services, allowing applicants to compare SunTrust’s total costs with competitors such as ABN-AMRO Mortgage, Ditech.com and E-Loan, who promote other versions of guaranteed settlement cost programs.

Vendors typically have negotiated contracts with hundreds of individual providers of services across the country for lower fees in exchange for a higher volume of orders. Therefore, rather than buying your appraisal here, your title insurance there, your flood zone certification here, your credit report there, et cetera (with each service from a different source), you buy a package from a specialized settlement vendor — with a significantly lower total cost.

NOTE: The cost of Florida title insurance is set by the state and vendors are not allowed to offer discounts, though the costs of title searches and some other costs may vary.

LendingTree Settlement Services got into the business of offering bundled services as both a quality control measure and as a way to lower costs for lenders and borrowers alike. Research by LendingTree found that customers often were satisfied with the mortgage rates on the loans they obtained but unhappy about the closing process. Now LendingTree essentially buys the services itself — wholesale — and has better control over quality, timeliness and pricing.

Well then. With lenders stepping forward to deal with closing quagmires and consumer abuse, it looks like the “good” may be put back into the good faith estimate you receive on your Florida home loan quote.