The Mortgage Bankers Association isn't waiting for Congress or the White House to come to do something abusive lending practices.

In conjunction with the National Council on Economic Education, the MBA is launching a pilot program aimed at teaching consumers the warning signs so they can recognize predatory lenders when they strike.

The experimental program will help the elderly, uneducated and other potential marks identify unfair credit practices that can quickly strip away their equity and cause them to lose their homes. Participants will learn how to identify the tell-tale signs and avoid being forced into a cycle of debt and bad decisions.

The course also will provide essential personal finance information, including such topics as managing money, how to spend today so you can save tomorrow, the importance of good credit and key mortgage qualification requirements. Armed with this knowledge, first-time buyers will be better prepared for home ownership.

Called the Homebuyer Education and Learning Partnership, the pilot will target both adults and students in five states Alabama, California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Virginia and the District of Columbia.

"Our goal is to educate consumers so that we can help give new life to the dream of home ownership for all Americans," MBA Vice President James M. Murphy said at a Capital Hill news conference this morning.

"We want to make sure that our customers are educated consumers, so that they can avoid becoming targets of unscrupulous lenders and, at the same time, learn the financial skills they'll need to get a mortgage and own a home."

The MBA, which already has a working relationship with NCEE, is throwing $132,000 into the hopper to support the expanded consumer awareness effort, which also will include workshops for teachers so they can include the economics of home ownership in their classrooms. Members of the MBA state associations will organize and conduct the adult workshops with materials provided by the NCEE state Council's at libraries, schools, universities and other sites.

Published: July 19, 2000

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.