A national organization says Raleigh and Durham are among the top five worst places in the country where African Americans are getting high cost home loans. This finding comes eight-months after our Eyewitness News investigation called "Borrowing While Black." In November, Eyewitness News exposed what many consider discrimination in mortgage lending. Now a national study is exposing more problems in the Triangle. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition analyzed federal data and determined nationwide - African Americans are almost four times more likely to get a high cost mortgage loan than whites. That means they're paying an interest rate higher than competitive rates. John Taylor is the president of the NCRC. He says when you factor in income, unequal leading is the worst in the country -- right in our backyard. "Durham has the distinction of being the number one worst disparate ratio and Raleigh has the distinction of being the number two worst.. in the nation!" Taylor explained. When we sent our undercover investigative team into banks around the Triangle last fall to see if blacks and whites would get different mortgage rates, the results were startling. Our black tester, Melvin Watson, was surprised to get a different rate than the white tester. "I don't see (laughs) why there was a difference," Melvin said. "I mean the only difference was the color of our skin." Stella Adams helped us organize the test which showed an 1/8 of a point difference between the interest rates. STEVE: You've seen this before? STELLA: I've seen it before STEVE: Across the country? STELLA: Across the country? STEVE: What do you call it? STELLA: I call it the Black Tax STEVE: The black tax, the tax on the African Americans? STELLA: It's the tax, it's the extra cost of being an African American in American society. John Taylor says most Americans don't know these things are happening. "Even though most people want to believe we should be color blind there shouldn't be discrimination and so on, I don't think most people realize that it really continues at the level that it does.," Taylor said. The new study also says high cost loans often include adjustable rates mortgages with low teaser rates. That may lead to foreclosure as the rate increases over time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your credit and income determine your interest rate. This is typically done by a computer, not a human being. Good credit and a decent income = low interest rates. Sick of this race card crap.
I've seen a lot of mortgage stuff, and nowhere have I EVER seen a place to put your race. What a load.
You know, someone did an article on WRAL about this same issue. In the article (which was written by a black man), he reported these same disparities, emphasizing several times that the sample group of blacks and whites had similar incomes. Towards the end of the article, the reporter indicated as a side note that "other factors besides income may have affected" the outcome for each borrower....as though that fact were not important to point out in light of the subject matter. One of the main factors that I've seen cause such disparities is debt-to-income ratio. You and I could make the exact same salary, have the exact same credit rating and want to buy homes right beside each other. But if you have a car payment on a Lexus, and I have a car payment on a Ford Escort...our loans will be underwritten quite differently. Whether anyone wants to talk about it upfront or not, there is a tendency in the black community towards spending outside one's means. The best quality and highest priced cars, cell phones, clothing, jewelry,etc. In fact, when I was first moving to this area and was looking for an apartment, I saw a new complex that I thought looked nice and went in to inquire. I quickly found that I made too much money...it was subsidized. As I walked back out to my 7 year old Subaru, I looked around at the SUVs, BMWs and Lexus that were parked there and just shook my head in amazement at how so many tenants of section 8 housing for the "poor" could afford such nice cars.
Mags, You hit the nail on the head. Believe me, I have no difficulty helping someone when they are down and out. However, it should be for more than a temporary thing. Certainly, it should not be generational. I guess that the true difference between a freind and the "gubmint" is that the "gubmint" gives you and handout..and a friend gives you a hand up.
That's a smart move????:? :? :? You try to defeat the white racist factor by posting a racist picture. Not to mention, the site that it is taken from calls other people racists??? You guys are absolute wacko's. Why don't you all just post the N word in large font instead?? It's what you really mean .... right?
The picture is not racist, the person whose picture is displayed is the racist. Cynthia McKinney. Get your facts straight.
