With unemployment surging due to the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans are struggling to pay their mortgage. Jay Farner, CEO of Quicken Loans, told Cheddar Friday that the company is focused on educating customers about their available options.
"There's been a lot of news out in the media, you're hearing from the federal government, you're hearing from governors, you're hearing from mayors, and so, trying to educate our clients on the options that they have as they think about their mortgage payments has been important to us," Farner said.
Interest rates recently hit at all-time lows, driving a record number of homeowners to refinance their mortgages. Farner noted the company recently had its best month in company history -- even with nearly its entire workforce working from home.
"When you look at the uncertainty in the marketplace that is usually helpful to interest rates and bringing them down. So, what we're telling people is now is the time to take advantage," he said.
In addition to client outreach, Farner noted Quicken Loans' efforts to support communities by donating money to charitable organizations and purchasing face masks and gloves for healthcare workers on the frontlines.
"That's probably the number one thing you can do. Making sure you're taking care of your team members and community that you serve. If you can do that then you've got all the right capabilities to take care of your clients," Farner said.
As the Federal Reserve prepares to hold its annual economic conference in Jackson Hole on Friday and Saturday, its policymakers are trying to guide the U.S. economy toward something akin to what's happening in Jackson Hole.
Anyone in the U.S. who had an account at any time between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, is eligible to receive a payment. The 2022 settlement resolves a lawsuit alleging that Facebook allowed millions of its users’ personal information to be fed to Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Irrigation might have saved Jackson's hay, but she and her husband rejected the idea about 10 years ago over the cost: as much as $75,000 for a new well and all the equipment. But now — with an extended drought and another U.S. heat wave this week that will broil her land about an hour northwest of Dallas for days in 100-degree-plus temperatures — Jackson said she is “kind of rethinking.”
