As seen in the New York Daily News.

Those risky mortgages of recent years dragged down plenty of homeowners, but now they’re taking out many of the huge lenders that underwrote them.

Big names like HSBC, Countrywide and even Citigroup have grappled with growing defaults. Worse, Long Island-based American Home Mortgage filed for bankruptcy protection, Fremont Capital sold its mortgage business to a hedge fund and Ameriquest closed more than 200 branch offices.

Such dire news can leave borrowers who are keeping up with their bills in limbo. Your Money spoke with American Bankers Association spokesman John Hall, Mortgage Bankers Association spokesman John Mechem and Jacqueline McCormack, communications director at the state Banking Department, to figure out what someone with a mortgage or loan should do when their lender is in trouble.

Here’s what they said:

UNDERSTAND WHAT’S HAPPENING

There are two common situations when a lender goes under — one change that the borrower won’t notice and another that he or she will, Mechem said.

“It may be a situation where they’re no longer making new loans but they continue to service existing loans,” Mechem said. “In that circumstance, the borrower should see no changes. They’ll continue to get their statement as usual.”

But if the company goes bankrupt and sells its assets, you may be writing your monthly check to someone else.

“The loan is obviously an asset. The customer will get what we call in the business a ‘Hello-Goodbye Letter,’ saying that the company has sold your loan and here is the new institution’s contact information.”

The new bank takes over servicing of the loan, and they can enforce the loan contract with you. Keep the payments going out on time.

LEARN THE PROCESS

Understand that most of the changes are going on behind the scenes and know that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is charged with handling this event, Hall said.

“Generally, for a bank, if it should go under, the FDIC will try to have the bank and its assets merged or purchased by another institution.”

There’s plenty of incentive on both sides of the deal, too: Other lenders want your business, and the government doesn’t want to get more involved than it has to. “The FDIC does not like to take over banks,” Hall said. “They’re not in the business of running financial institutions.”

REVIEW THE TERMS

The terms of your loan stay the same while the merger or acquisition occurs, McCormack said. Review the details of your original mortgage or loan agreement. If your lender does shutter the servicing portion of the company, you should receive a letter from a new company at least 30 days in advance.

“It’s a transfer of servicing rights. There’s a federal regulation that requires the new servicing company to notify you of the change 30 days in advance, but most of them will give notice 45 days ahead,” McCormack said.

Officially, 15 days is required for notification, so if you only get a letter 15 days ahead of time you’ll get 15 days after the switch as a grace period. “However, there’s no official grace period, so consumers should continue paying on schedule,” McCormack added.

CHECK YOUR STATUS

Consumers that are more likely to be affected are those who have been approved but have not yet closed on a mortgage, McCormack said.

“If you’ve been approved and your approved loan is going to end up in transfer to another servicer, there’s a risk that the terms could change,” she said. “However, it’s more likely that the companies will work to keep them the same.” Call to make sure you know exactly where you stand.

KNOW THE ODDS

“So few banks have failed,” Hall said. “I’ve been in ABA long enough where I remember the savings and loan crisis of the late ’80s. Savings and loans were failing and banks were failing all over the country. There’s really no chance of that happening today. Banks have much more capital and reserves than they did at that time.”

Recent figures supported Hall’s claim: In a March 21 speech by FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Blair, 50 institutions were mentioned as being on the organization’s problem list — one of the lowest numbers in FDIC history.

As seen in the New York Daily News.

When Scott Levine went after a job at a Fortune 500 company, he wanted to sell himself more than his résumé allowed, even with an extra page.

Believing his winning personality just didn’t come across on paper, the accountant sat down at his computer and spoke into the lens of a Webcam: “Hi, I’m Scott Levine, and I’m currently looking for a position.”

Levine, 36, went on to detail his career and qualifications over the next three minutes, creating his first video résumé.

Digital videos e-mailed directly to companies or posted online, video résumés are redefining the way people apply for jobs. Whether used to supplement a paper résumé or replace it altogether, they range from inexpensive two-minute presentations of job seekers talking into a camera, to costly and slick productions directed by professionals.

“My paper résumé speaks for itself, but there are probably thousands of guys with my experience,” said Levine, who once worked for accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Accounting people sometimes get pigeonholed. I wanted something to show one of my best assets – my personality.”

According to a new survey by Vault.com, a career information site, only 17% of employers have ever viewed a video résumé, yet 89% of employers said they would watch a video résumé if they received one. The majority said video résumés could help assess a candidate’s potential.

“It’s still the first inning of the new youth of video technology for the job search,” said Vault.com co-founder Mark Oldman. “The rules and policies for them are being set and crystallized now.”

A growing number of Web sites have launched services to help create and host video résumés, including GoCVOne, HireMeNow, RecruiTV, HireVue, MyPersonalBroadcast and WorkBlast, as well as Vault. Oldman said video résumés will become an integral part of a job search.

“In a few years, we expect the situation to change dramatically,” Oldman said. “We think that video résumés will become a cornerstone of your application package.”

Many job seekers have matched that enthusiasm. YouTube has upward of 10,700 entries listed under “résumé.” Some are spoofs, but there are thousands of earnest ones from dancers, actors, comedians, meteorologists, video technicians, sales managers, media specialists, broadcast journalists and even candidates for public office.

Levine hoped a video résumé would help him rise above the stereotype that accountants are dull and lacking in creativity. It appears to have worked: he landed an offer he wanted to be a finance and accounting manager.

“It didn’t get me the job, but it got me in the door,” said Levine, who uploaded his video résumé on WorkBlast.com. “I don’t know if I would have gotten the interview if I hadn’t had a video résumé.”

Of course, a bad video résumé can get lousy reviews from an employer – or worse.

In October 2006, Yale student Aleksey Vayner submitted a link to his six-minute video with his 11-page paper résumé to the Manhattan offices of financial services giant UBS. In the video, titled “Impossible is Nothing,” the immodest Vayner opines on success and boasts of an ability to throw a baseball 140 miles per hour and bench press 495 pounds.

The video quickly spread through the financial sector and, within 24 hours, made headlines nationwide, transforming Vayner into a laughingstock and unlikely poster boy for video résumés.

“It’s really sad that everybody jumped all over that,” said Penelope Trunk, financial columnist and author of “Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success.”

“It’s not even an example of a video résumé,” she said.

If Vayner’s clip was a put-on, he won’t say. But he takes credit for giving the format a boost. “Regardless of whether the content is appreciated, it raised awareness to the importance of visual media in communication,” Vayner told the Daily News in an e-mail. The effect “Impossible is Nothing” will have on his career is impossible to know for now. Vayner’s status at Yale was unclear.

Trunk is skeptical of a video résumé’s ability to convey substance. “They’re a total waste of time for human resources and the candidate, unless the candidate is totally hot and wants to be judged on their appearances,” she said.

But if you insist on applying on video, Trunk advised getting help. “Hire someone who’s very talented with a camera and someone who can coach you through the whole taping.”

If your clip is entertaining – intentionally or not – it could wind up getting forwarded all over the country. Sites like YouTube can’t ensure your audience is limited to a prospective employer, although Web sites specializing in job searches can.

There are potential legal pitfalls, too, according to Columbia Law School Prof. Lance Liebman. Many employers have long declined to look at paper résumés sent in with photos for fear of discrimination lawsuits. Liebman said a video résumé could expose employers to the same risk – that they’re choosing who gets a look based on how they look.

“Legal disputes are coming, but they are not here yet,” said Liebman, who specializes in employment law.

Whether a video résumé will work for you depends on a host of factors, especially what kind of job you’re seeking, your ability to communicate and the big unknown: the willingness of an employer to consider it. But if you make one, Trunk emphasized getting a pro to help to ensure yours doesn’t draw snickers, like Vayner’s.

“Worry about being that person,” Trunk said. “He’s not the only guy HR is laughing at.”‘Hire someone who’s very talented with a camera.’Growing number of job seekers say preparing a video résumé can make them look better than they do on paper

As seen in the New York Daily News.

When a pal invited him to create a profile on the career-oriented online network LinkedIn, Harry Barnes signed up out of courtesy and then forgot about it.

But when the 36-year-old found himself back on the job market two years later, he turned to the site and others, including ZoomInfo and Ziggs, in an effort to find job leads.

“I took a look at these sites and used them as a marketing tool for myself,” said Barnes, now a vice president at a global financial services company. “They provided a way for me to do that.

“It did spawn a lot of interviews,” Barnes said. “It was good to get [my] references out there.”

Functionally similar to popular social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, professional networking sites skip the party photos and focus on helping professionals make contacts. Members list and update their education, work experience and fields of expertise.

The sites, which also include Xing, Jigsaw, Spoke, Ryze and Zoodango, amount to a living, breathing Rolodex. Employers can find candidates by searching for certain skill sets, and professionals can keep tabs on each others’ careers.

According to a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, 15% of HR professionals said they use social networking sites to review information posted online by a job candidate. Another 26% said they may be likely to use them in the next year.

“Professional networking sites have better searchability and it’s easier for recruiters to tap into passive talent,” said Shawn Fegley, a research specialist at the HR society.

Chia-Lin Simmons, a vice president at a digital media company, said she enjoys tracking former colleagues and bosses on professional networking sites.

“It’s a great way to keep up to date with the folks in your industry,” she said. “Professionals in the technology industry tend to go from company to company more frequently than in other industries. Using LinkedIn is like having your entire [Microsoft] Outlook contact list maintained online with people updating their own information.”

James Sun, founder of Zoodango and runner-up on season six of “The Apprentice,” said he found two of his own employees through his professional networking site, which gained 33,000 users since its February launch.

“I meet three people a week through Zoodango,” Sun said. “People would never get a hold of me otherwise. There’s too much bureaucratic red tape. You get to the results much faster.”

As seen in the New York Daily News.

Mortgage relief

New Yorkers struggling with mortgage debt may soon get some help.

National nonprofit credit counseling firm Money Management International will offer qualified homeowners debt relief and housing counseling in a program made possible by a $1 million grant from HSBC.

Applicants must be at least a month behind, but no more than two, on their mortgage payments to qualify for a grant up to $5,000. They also must attend counseling and educational sessions over the next year.

Point, click and spend

Commerce on the Web is growing rapidly, a new report found.

Retail commerce on the Internet was 23% higher in the second quarter of this year than during the same time last year, according to a report by comScore, which tracks traffic and commerce in the digital world.

Online travel spending increased 14% to $20.3 billion.

According to the report, total e-commerce worldwide reached $95 billion during the first half of 2007. Total U.S. e-commerce spending climbed 19% to $47.5 billion.

IRS workers fail audit

Employees at the IRS ignored rules and turned over sensitive computer information to a caller posing as a technical support person, according to a government study.

No fewer than 61 of the 102 people who got the calls, including managers and a contractor, agreed to give their user names and change their passwords to one that the caller suggested, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

By failing to question the identity of the caller, the report said, the employees made the IRS vulnerable to scammers who could use taxpayer data to commit fraud.

–with Daniel Carty

As seen in the New York Daily News.

For many New Yorkers, letting go of a regular paycheck to reach for more is too great a risk.

But for those who don’t mind giving up their weekends, late nights or early mornings, there is a way to make the transition from day job to dream job. These entrepreneurs moonlight at a second job, making a few extra bucks while giving a test run to the career they really want. Some never break the mold, some only break even, but a few find enough success to leave the daily grind.

Your Money talked to six New Yorkers – some successful, others trying to be – who made the decision to write their own paychecks and haven’t turned back.

1. Malena Perez, 29

Day Job: Coca-Cola rep

Dream Job: Indie record label boss

For Perez, the real thing wasn’t handling publicity for the soft drink giant.

In 2005, Perez gave Coke two weeks’ notice and went off to start a record label, Cubanita Groove. For Perez, an actress and vocalist, giving up her day job to pursue her interest in Latin jazz and soul music was a risky move financially.

The Atlanta native, who now lives in the East Village, contemplated her move for two years before making the jump.

“More than anything, I’m a creative person and I reached a point in a corporate environment where I couldn’t fully be me,” she said. “I ended up feeling like my true passion in life was being stifled and put off.”

Giving up a steady paycheck has been difficult at times.

“If I were making now the money I was making then, I could do so much with it,” she said. “I know what it’s like to go without.”

Now, there are positive signs that her business is going in the right direction: she has since signed an artist, released her own album, “Stars,” and licensed her own music to be featured in Banana Republic stores nationwide.

Perez said starting fresh has been both a challenge and an education, but she isn’t looking back.

“Life is short – why not be passionate about what you do?” she asked. “I have never felt more materially poor but more materially rich.”

2. Charles Black, 28

Day Job: Media salesman

Dream Job: Internet search engine specialist

After Hurricane Katrina forced him out of his native New Orleans, Black found himself living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and working an Internet sales job.

Peddling Web pages for commission paid the bills, but when Black “got tired of putting money in someone else’s pockets,” he launched ClickSupreme, a keyword marketing company that manages the bidding process for paid search results on top sites such as Google and Yahoo.

Black said he’s had the entrepreneurial urge since he was a young child.

“It’s always been my ambition,” Black said. “I’ve always wanted to strike out on my own.”

His technical and cold-calling skills came in handy when he made the jump into online media.

“This is a field that’s tested enough for me to invest in it, but it’s not saturated,” he said.

Now nearly eight months into self-employment, Black said he’s been doing well enough to pay his bills.

“It’s tough in the beginning,” he said. “I just cold-call everyday. I’m trying to market myself.”

Soon, he hopes to be able to tap a small advertising budget – for marketing online, of course.

“What scares me most is just not knowing how much money I’m gonna make next month,” he said. “Things are doing really well right now, the whole industry’s doing great, but the gravy train’s not gonna ride forever.”

3. Katherine Cruden, 29

Day Job: Rockette

Dream Job: Fitness guru

While many people want to leave the daily grind for the spotlight, Katherine Cruden is going the other direction.

Between gigs as a Radio City Rockette, Cruden, 29, co-founded FitLink, an online fitness community that helps motivate its users to achieve fitness goals.

“It makes me feel like a more relevant person,” she said. “As a Rockette, it’s my job to carry through the director’s vision. With FitLink, it’s exactly the opposite – I’m the one creating the ideas.”

Writing and working on her computer from home is perfect for Cruden, who said the demanding Rockette schedule leaves her sapped.

“Being a dancer is absolutely a seven-days-a-week, 365 days-a-year job,” the Illinois native said.

“I’m so exhausted by the end of the day that I don’t have any energy to do anything but sit in front of my computer.”

Although FitLink isn’t profitable enough yet to allow her to kick her regular gig, Cruden feels good about having a plan in place.

“I won’t be able to dance forever,” she said. “If I get injured, I’m out. I knew that this was a great way to make the next transition.

“I’m not the kind of person who can work a desk job. I wish other people knew that they don’t have to be that way.”

FitLink is going well, but Cruden said she’s not yet financially ready to leave her day job.

“We’re still trying to get this thing off the ground,” she said. As many entrepreneurs find, “Until a bigger company decides to pair with you, there is no pay day.”

4. J.P. Checa, 26

Day Job: Management consultant

Dream Job: CEO of online management service

When J.P. Checa broke up with his former employer, he asked if they could just stay friends.

He got his wish.

Checa left his day job at Acquis Consulting in 2005 to start Convos, an online venture that helps small businesses and their employees manage information online.

“When I came up with Convos, it sounded like a really good concept to a lot of people,” Checa said. “I kept working on it on the weekends in the evening.

“It just grew in momentum.”

His old boss liked the idea so well he came on as a business partner, and Convos’ headquarters is right down the hall.

“They were very supportive,” said Checa, a 2005 graduate of New York University’s Stern School of Business. “They’ve given me office space, computing equipment, advice on h.r. and accounting, even manpower.”

The first year on his own was the most difficult, and it’s constantly a challenge to manage the expectations of his friends, family and investors, Checa said.

“The quality of the people you work with is really important. Having a great partner working alongside you is very important. You start getting more ideas. It’s very motivating.”

Checa said his former employer has a lot riding on his success, too. If it works out, Acquis may look for similar ventures to back.

“It could be another aspect of their company to work with other startup companies in the area,” Checa said. “For them, Convos was a testbed for getting into that type of work.”

There have been lean times, but Checa doesn’t regret leaving a regular paycheck. And he’s confident that, if it doesn’t work, he can land on his entrepreneurial feet.

“I would definitely try something else,” he said. “I could be going to bed one night and ideas will pop into my head and I’ll be up all night.

“I really want to become a serial entrepreneur.”

5. Sara Hodges, 31 & Meredith Gray, 30

Day Jobs: Grad student and preschool director

Dream Jobs: Vintage clothing peddlers

Scouring thrift stores and rummage sales for great finds was their hobby for so long that Sara Hodges and Meredith Gray got pretty good at it.

But when they decided to make their interest more than a hobby, they knew they had to brush up on their business skills.

“Before we opened was the hard part,” Hodges said. “We had to learn how to run a business. Neither of us had done any of this before. Fitting it all in was much harder before we opened.”

Blue Bass Vintage and Handmade Clothing opened in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, last September, and Hodges has a lot riding on its success.

She was working as a geographical researcher for Columbia University and studying for a doctorate degree at CUNY, but dropped both to open the store.

Though the shop turns a small profit, she supplements her income by waiting tables.

“I would love this to be my only job,” Hodges said. “I always have trouble balancing my creative side and my more intellectual side.

“So far, I’ve been able to be creative here and do something more intellectual elsewhere.”

Gray works part-time as the director of the Co-op School, a nearby preschool.

Hodges said creating a business out of a passion hasn’t tainted her decision to make the switch.

“To take something that I used to do on vacation obviously makes it a little less enjoyable,” she said.

“But it’s still like more of a vacation than any other job I’ve had.”

As seen in the New York Daily News.

Investing pools swell

Mutual funds are a $10.8 trillion industry with 90 million investors in the U.S. alone, a new study found.

According to researchers at California-based Tiburon Strategic Advisors, 641 mutual fund companies operate nearly 8,000 funds.

The report also found:

*
Industry profits top $25 billion annually.
*
Mutual funds redemption rates have decreased 25%, after spiking in 2002 – a horrendous year for stocks.
*
Vanguard, Fidelity and American Funds have the most assets.

New saving plan

Automatic enrollment in employer-based Individual Retirement Account programs could encourage as many as 48 million workers to save more for later on.

According to a new study by AARP, two-thirds of the 75 million working Americans without access to employer-sponsored retirement plans could benefit.

Workers who set aside $1,000 a year, growing at just 4% a year, would have $58,300 after 30 years, according to the study.

Putting up pets

Not every hotel wants to put your pet in the doghouse.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals named New York-based Loews among its top five most animal-friendly hotels in the nation. Loews offers special animal amenities for critter visitors, including dog and cat beds of all sizes, litter boxes, pooper scoopers and even minibars stocked with biscuits.

Rates move up

Mortgage rates rose to 6.73% last week, reversing a three-week trend, a new survey found.

The cost of a 30-year mortgage was just a tick below the 11-month high reached June 14, according to Freddie Mac. The finance company expects rates to hold steady this year amid a weak housing market.

–With Daniel Carty

As seen in the New York Daily News.

Market worries

More money managers believe a stock market correction looms than at any other time in almost a decade, a new survey found.

The number of planners telling New Rochelle-based newsletter Investors Intelligence they expect a 10% slide in stocks during the next 12 months jumped to 32.6% last week. That’s the highest since August 1997 and up from 25.8% a week earlier.

“The market is due to pull back a little bit,” predicted Alan Lancz, a money manager in Toledo, Ohio. “Any kind of significant pullback should be used as a buying opportunity because there’s a huge amount of cash on the sidelines.”

Boxes to boost cable bills

Your cable box is going to cost you more soon, as cable firms upgrade them to comply with a federal mandate.

The new boxes are required to receive digital programming, among other features. Industry groups predicted a $2 to $3 increase in monthly bills, likely in January.

Chris Murray of Consumers Union rejected cable companies’ assertion that regulators are to blame.

“They raise rates three times faster than inflation every year, for more than a decade,” he said. “Cable companies want to have absolute control.”

Bullies hurt bottom line

The office bully may pick on the company’s bottom line.

Consulting firm Challenger Gray and Christmas found that one-third of human resource execs have witnessed or experienced workplace bullying. The cost of replacement of an employee subjected to verbal abuse, threats or sabotage could cost as much as 150% of the victim’s salary, researchers concluded.

The survey also found one in three human resource execs know workers who quit due to bullying.

As seen in the New York Daily News.

Downtown is up, up, up

The nation’s richest city dwellers can be found in lower Manhattan, a new survey found.

Median household income in the area, which includes the Financial District and Battery Park City, is $162,700, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York. The figure is up 47% from 2004, and is triple the median household income for all of Manhattan.

Small loans pushed

A new federal pilot program could help workers get short-term loans without having to pay huge fees charged by payday lenders.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation initiative is a two-year effort aimed at getting banks to make loans of up to $1,000, while charging borrowers lower interest and giving them more time to repay than they get from unconventional lenders.

“Payday lenders typically charge $15 for every $100 borrowed,” said FDIC project manager Andrew Stirling. “If you took out a $500 loan, you’d typically pay a $75 fee, which works out to 391% annually.”

Not seeing clearly

Bad eyesight is bad for business.

The Vision Council of America found that eye trouble, which affects 120 million Americans, result in a huge decrease in productivity. The group’s study pegged the cost to employers at $8 billion a year.

The council recommended regular eye exams as the best means of minimizing problems.

Golden parachutes

If only the rest of us were so lucky.

When bosses of large U.S. companies lose their jobs, they can usually expect severance packages of more than $20 million, researchers found.

According to a study of 137 major companies, more than 71% of CEOs are eligible for severance if they’re fired without cause. Execs receive a median payout of about $21 million, the report by research firm Equilar said.

As seen in the New York Daily News.

Jobs picture bright
The job market may be looking up for the rest of the year, a new survey found.

The study by employment consulting firm Challenger Gray and Christmas showed that 69% of companies are having difficulty finding skilled workers.

According to the survey, nearly 80% of companies plan to match or increase the pace of hiring seen in the first six months of the year, and nearly one-third have raised salaries to attract workers.

Retirement plan needed
Small business owners and their employees could be in trouble when it comes to retirement, according to a new study.

A report by the National Association for the Self-Employed found that 80% of small businesses offer no retirement plans for either the owner or the employees, mainly because of cost.

Researchers also found that there is a considerable gap between what business owners expect to need for retirement and what they have actually saved. Further, 33% of respondents said they’re not saving anything for retirement.

Check that policy
A flood could be an even bigger disaster than you think.

Research by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that 33% of homeowners wrongly believe flood damage is covered by their standard insurance policies.

Lack of summer jobs
The city’s Summer Youth Employment Program will accept 9,000 fewer kids this season than it did in 1999 due to steep cuts in federal funding and a higher state minimum wage.

Manhattan-based Center for an Urban Future concluded that the declining enrollment is troubling since the city’s teen employment rate is the lowest of any of the nation’s 50 largest cities.

Researchers have established that early work experience boosts chances of future success in the job market.

As seen in the New York Daily News.

Next time you’re getting ready to go shopping, you might be able to leave your wallet at home.

Verizon Wireless customers will soon have the ability to make purchases directly from their mobile phone using Obopay, the first service of its kind in the U.S.

Users will be able to access their mobile money from any ATM or retail outlet that accepts credit cards using an Obopay prepaid MasterCard, as well as check account balances or histories via their mobile phone.

“The cell phone is a very personal device, and the things that you think about when you leave the house are your wallet, your keys and your cell phone,” said Todd Murphy of Verizon Wireless. “We are moving down the path so that you need just your cell phone and your keys when you leave the house. Your phone becomes a mobile wallet.”

Users open an Obopay account that stores money without requiring a minimum balance. They can then add money from an existing credit or debit card and send money to any U.S. mobile phone number, regardless if they have an Obopay account. According to Obopay, this may be used when a parent needs to pay for an out-of-state college student’s books, or when a home business owner receives payment from clients.

“It’s convenient, it’s cheap, it’s something that’s also useful in emergency situations,” said Christian Delay, a vice president of Obopay. “You have a lot of comfort and peace of mind. From our perspective, it’s the future of money and commerce.”

Though the general service is available now on all networks, Verizon customers will soon be able to download a specialized Obopay application from the Verizon Wireless Get It Now online catalogue. Receiving and withdrawing money is free, but there is a 10-cent fee to send money to someone else.