New home improvement guide explains how to avoid renovation rip-offs
MCRC's new guide to "How to Improve Your Home: Without Losing Your Shirt" gives you clear and specfic steps to take to protect your property, your family, and your savings when you renovate your home. It includes valuable advice on:
- What to do before you break ground.
- What questions to ask contractors you interview.
- How you can check a contractor's record.
- How you can recognize the warning signs of a scam.
- What safeguards need to be part of your home improvement contract.
- How you can file a complaint of go to mediation if the job goes badly.
You can read and download the guide here
You can read our press statement about the guide here
You can read more about the guide and find places you can pick up a copy on our Home Improvement homepage.
MCRC special report calls for new protections against rent-to-own abuses
MCRC's new research report "Rent-to-Own: Profiting from the Poor" shows that the industry targets low- and moderate-income families with fees 2 to 3.5 times what other stores charge for the same merchandise and interest rates ranging from 65% to more than 300%. The report calls for caps on prices and interest rates, better disclosures of fees and policies, more time for consumers to reinstate contracts if they miss a payment, and other new safeguards to protect consumers against the industry's high costs and predatory practices.
Read the Executive Summary of the report here: Executive Summary
Read and download the full report here: Full report
Read our press statement on the report here: Rent-to-own press statement
Consumers win victories on foreclosures, identity theft in 2012 session
MCRC helped pass important legislation to give families and communities new protections against foreclosures, give consumers new protections against identity theft and help boost the community banks that have a strong record of responsible lending to small businesses during the 2012 Maryland legislative session. While the session brought both good and bad news for Maryland consumers, MCRC managed to help pass seven of our nine top priority bills in Annapolis this year.
You can read our 2012 legislative wrap-up here.
Petition demands banks do more to save homes of Maryland families
Under the $26 billion robosigning scandal settlement announced in February, the big banks must establish principal-reduction programs for many distressed homeowners within 75 to 90 days. But Maryland families facing foreclosure can't afford to wait for help. That's why MCRC and the Moving Maryland Forward Network launched a petition drive demanding that the banks put principal-reduction programs and other reforms to help homeowners in place within 30 days.
The big banks' predatory lending practices were a leading cause of the foreclosure crisis. Now it's time for the banks to help clean up the mess they made.
Almost 3,000 people have now signed the petition. You can add your voice by signing the petition here: Petition to hold the banks accountable
On March 19, MCRC and other advocates met with Wells Fargo leaders to ask them to do more to help homeowners. You can see WBAL-TV's report on the meeting here:
WBAL report on meeting between Wells Fargo, housing advocates
Solving the Foreclosure Crisis
To stem the foreclosure crisis, MCRC calls for the banks to offer more principal-reduction loan modifications, create rent-to-buyback programs for those who lose their homes to foreclosures and strengthen the single point of contact for homeowners during the mortgage-review process.
Executive Director Marceline White testified about these proposals to the House Economic Matters Committee on Jan. 18 and submitted written remarks to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Jan 26.
You can read her written testimony here: MCRC's foreclosure testimony
Financial Fraud Documentary Wins National Award
On April 20, Stealing Trust, MCRC's powerful documentary film about the impact of financial fraud on Maryland families won the prestigious
Community Empowerment Film Award at the
National Community Reinvestment Coalition's (NCRC) national convention. NCRC's award honors independent filmmakers whose work shines a light on important economic and social justice issues.
You can read
MCRC's Press Statement about the award here
Documentary Film Wins Rave Reviews
"Stealing Trust" tells the poignant human stories of individuals and families across Maryland who have lost their homes, their savings, and even their capacity to trust others to predatory mortgage lenders, debt settlement companies, and home improvement contractors and also shows how some consumers have successfully fought back to protect their rights. Since its premiere in Baltimore last May, the film has won enthusiastic responses from audiences, critics, and journalists at a series of screenings around Central Maryland.
To learn more about the film, read some of its rave reviews, or order a copy of the film, please visit our
"Stealing Trust" homepage.
You can also see the film's opening section and some of the consumer stories it tells on our
Youtube Channel.
We will be scheduling further screenings this Spring and Summer. Please watch for word about a screening near you. Please also consider hosting a screening of the film for your friends and colleagues at your home, your office, your church or your community group. Contact Franz@marylandconsumers.org for more information.