Long Beach State is eliminated with 4-2 loss to College of Charleston

Morgan Phillips' sacrifice fly drove in Ryan Welke with the tiebreaking run in the fourth inning and College of Charleston beat Long Beach State, 4-2, on Monday to win a regional in Gainesville, Fla.

The Cougars (44-17) advanced to the super regionals and will next face Texas Tech for a berth in the College World Series.

Welke walked to open the fourth, and moved to second when Ben Boykin was hit by a pitch from Nick Sabo. The runners advanced on Sabo's wild pitch and Nick Rosetta relieved and gave up Phillips' fly ball.

Boykin then scored on Rosetta's wild pitch to make it 4-2.

Long Beach State (34-26) took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Richard Prigatano's RBI double and Johnny Bekakis' run-scoring infield single.

Charleston tied it in the third when Blake Butler scored on a throwing error by Michael Hill.

Earlier in the day, Ino Patron homered and drove in five runs to help the 49ers eliminate North Carolina, 12-5, in the completion of a suspended game.

Long Beach State started the game Monday against the Tar Heels ahead 5-4 in the top of the seventh with runners on first and second after six hours of weather delays Sunday forced a postponement.

After Richard Prigatano walked to load the bases, Michael Hill ripped a two-run single off of Spencer Trayner to give the 49ers a 7-4 lead.

North Carolina (35-27) scored a run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double by Tyler Ramirez, but Long Beach State scored five runs in the top of ninth.

UC Irvine 4, Oregon State 2: The Anteaters (38-23) advanced to a super regional by knocking out the host Beavers (45-14), who were the No. 1 seed in the nation.

Irvine will play Oklahoma State in a best-of-three series for a berth in the College World Series.

Stanford 5, Indiana 4: Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Cardinal over the host Hoosiers in the championship game of the Bloomington Regional.

Stanford (34-24) play at Vanderbilt in a super regional.

Wayne Taylor started the ninth with a single through the middle and moved to second on Brett Michael Doran's bunt before Edman's blast.

Indiana's Nick Ramos broke a 3-3 tie with an infield single in the top of the eighth. Craig Dedelow had three hits, including an RBI single for the Hoosiers (44-15). Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer in the third.

Stanford answered with run-scoring singles by Alex Blandino and Zach Hoffpauir in the bottom of the third. Dominic Jose tied the score with a solo homer in the sixth.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Long Beach State is eliminated with 4-2 loss to College of Charleston

Morgan Phillips' sacrifice fly drove in Ryan Welke with the tiebreaking run in the fourth inning and College of Charleston beat Long Beach State, 4-2, on Monday to win a regional in Gainesville, Fla.

The Cougars (44-17) advanced to the super regionals and will next face Texas Tech for a berth in the College World Series.

Welke walked to open the fourth, and moved to second when Ben Boykin was hit by a pitch from Nick Sabo. The runners advanced on Sabo's wild pitch and Nick Rosetta relieved and gave up Phillips' fly ball.

Boykin then scored on Rosetta's wild pitch to make it 4-2.

Long Beach State (34-26) took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Richard Prigatano's RBI double and Johnny Bekakis' run-scoring infield single.

Charleston tied it in the third when Blake Butler scored on a throwing error by Michael Hill.

Earlier in the day, Ino Patron homered and drove in five runs to help the 49ers eliminate North Carolina, 12-5, in the completion of a suspended game.

Long Beach State started the game Monday against the Tar Heels ahead 5-4 in the top of the seventh with runners on first and second after six hours of weather delays Sunday forced a postponement.

After Richard Prigatano walked to load the bases, Michael Hill ripped a two-run single off of Spencer Trayner to give the 49ers a 7-4 lead.

North Carolina (35-27) scored a run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double by Tyler Ramirez, but Long Beach State scored five runs in the top of ninth.

UC Irvine 4, Oregon State 2: The Anteaters (38-23) advanced to a super regional by knocking out the host Beavers (45-14), who were the No. 1 seed in the nation.

Irvine will play Oklahoma State in a best-of-three series for a berth in the College World Series.

Stanford 5, Indiana 4: Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Cardinal over the host Hoosiers in the championship game of the Bloomington Regional.

Stanford (34-24) play at Vanderbilt in a super regional.

Wayne Taylor started the ninth with a single through the middle and moved to second on Brett Michael Doran's bunt before Edman's blast.

Indiana's Nick Ramos broke a 3-3 tie with an infield single in the top of the eighth. Craig Dedelow had three hits, including an RBI single for the Hoosiers (44-15). Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer in the third.

Stanford answered with run-scoring singles by Alex Blandino and Zach Hoffpauir in the bottom of the third. Dominic Jose tied the score with a solo homer in the sixth.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Long Beach State is eliminated with 4-2 loss to College of Charleston

Morgan Phillips' sacrifice fly drove in Ryan Welke with the tiebreaking run in the fourth inning and College of Charleston beat Long Beach State, 4-2, on Monday to win a regional in Gainesville, Fla.

The Cougars (44-17) advanced to the super regionals and will next face Texas Tech for a berth in the College World Series.

Welke walked to open the fourth, and moved to second when Ben Boykin was hit by a pitch from Nick Sabo. The runners advanced on Sabo's wild pitch and Nick Rosetta relieved and gave up Phillips' fly ball.

Boykin then scored on Rosetta's wild pitch to make it 4-2.

Long Beach State (34-26) took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Richard Prigatano's RBI double and Johnny Bekakis' run-scoring infield single.

Charleston tied it in the third when Blake Butler scored on a throwing error by Michael Hill.

Earlier in the day, Ino Patron homered and drove in five runs to help the 49ers eliminate North Carolina, 12-5, in the completion of a suspended game.

Long Beach State started the game Monday against the Tar Heels ahead 5-4 in the top of the seventh with runners on first and second after six hours of weather delays Sunday forced a postponement.

After Richard Prigatano walked to load the bases, Michael Hill ripped a two-run single off of Spencer Trayner to give the 49ers a 7-4 lead.

North Carolina (35-27) scored a run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double by Tyler Ramirez, but Long Beach State scored five runs in the top of ninth.

UC Irvine 4, Oregon State 2: The Anteaters (38-23) advanced to a super regional by knocking out the host Beavers (45-14), who were the No. 1 seed in the nation.

Irvine will play Oklahoma State in a best-of-three series for a berth in the College World Series.

Stanford 5, Indiana 4: Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Cardinal over the host Hoosiers in the championship game of the Bloomington Regional.

Stanford (34-24) play at Vanderbilt in a super regional.

Wayne Taylor started the ninth with a single through the middle and moved to second on Brett Michael Doran's bunt before Edman's blast.

Indiana's Nick Ramos broke a 3-3 tie with an infield single in the top of the eighth. Craig Dedelow had three hits, including an RBI single for the Hoosiers (44-15). Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer in the third.

Stanford answered with run-scoring singles by Alex Blandino and Zach Hoffpauir in the bottom of the third. Dominic Jose tied the score with a solo homer in the sixth.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Blackhawks season ends with heartbreak for city of Chicago

At 10:10 p.m. CDT Sunday night, Chicago shook its fist at fate, cursed the Kings and slowly started to face reality that will take all summer to sink in.

BREAKING NEWS: Hearts all over town broke watching the Blackhawks lose, 5-4, in overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. There will be no Stanley Cup repeat or Grant Park parade. Stunningly, the Blackhawks' season is over. It even seems odd to type that.

It ended when Kings defenseman Alec Martinez fulfilled the dream every hockey player has when he starts skating by scoring the goal that sent his team into the Cup Final. The only dream better would be a goal to win the Cup — which, in all likelihood, this one did for the Kings.

At the 5-minute 47-second mark of overtime, Martinez fired a shot that deflected off teammate Tyler Toffoli's stick and Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy's shoulder past Corey Crawford. Call it cheap or fluky but, in the words of Patrick Kane, that's hockey, baby. Live by the quirky bounce — Patrick Sharp's first goal — and die by it too.

"I didn't really know until [Jarret Stoll] started going nuts," Martinez said.

The moment will be etched into the memory of so many Chicago sports fans to whom the pain feels familiar. For some, the temptation now will be to label the Blackhawks' entire season a failure but resist it. Disappointment is more apt. This wasn't a first- or second-round ouster but a loss in the conference finals to the first NHL team to ever win three Game 7s on the road. There is despair but no shame in that. There were no goats, only regrets.

"To work as hard as we have to put ourselves in position two years in a row, it's tough to think about," Jonathan Toews said.

With the season on the line for the third straight game, the Blackhawks again responded as if every shift mattered. Every Blackhawks star played like a star, finally with Sharp getting into the act.

The man known for his movie-star looks nearly prevented the team from Hollywood from getting its happy ending with two goals. Sharp's go-ahead score with 1:35 left in the second period looked like the game-winner until Marian Gaborik did to the Blackhawks what Kane did the Kings in Game 6. Gaborik, on track for the Conn Smythe Trophy, knocked in his own rebound with 7:17 left in regulation. The goal reminded everybody these Kings never say die. They only say we're not going away.

Neither did the Blackhawks on a night many will try to forget but can't.

"Tonight was two great teams with a lot of guys who have won Stanley Cups before," Sharp said.

The Blackhawks came out with intensity that matched the crowd of 22,315, which included Brandon Marshall, Anthony Rizzo and Charles Barkley in a red No. 88 sweater. Anthem singer Jim Cornelison rose to the occasion, making it hard to imagine a more electric pregame atmosphere in all of sports.

Just 5:06 into the game, Kane raised the decibel level even more. Behind the net, Kane made one of those passes only he would attempt to Brandon Saad. From an unusual angle, Saad caught Kings goalie Jonathan Quick leaning and scored the first goal. The Four-Letter Word line of Kane, Saad and Andrew Shaw again made Kings fans want to cuss.

Kane applied more pressure three minutes later by advancing the puck until it popped loose in front of Quick where Toews tapped in his easiest goal of the playoffs. At the 8-minute 36-second mark, the Blackhawks led, 2-0. Bedlam erupted.

Game 2 taught the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead was anything but safe at home. On cue, Jeff Carter knocked in a puck out of midair for the Kings' first goal. Justin Williams, Mr. Game 7, tied it 51 seconds later on a rebound. Before total deflation set in, Sharp reclaimed a 3-2 lead 12 seconds later with a please-remember-me wrist shot that took a fortunate bounce by Quick.

Doubt returned with 9:29 left in the second when the puck deflected off Michal Handzus and Toffoli knocked it in as Brent Seabrook — in an all-too-familiar scene — arrived a half-second late. Of course, it wasn't the last tie of the last game of an epic series.

You didn't have to be an NBC executive to appreciate what America witnessed. A wonderful series that deserved a Game 7 required overtime too — as fitting as it was frustrating. With due respect to the Rangers, the NHL will stage a Stanley Cup Final, but this series decided the league's best team.

"It's hard to admit to ourselves this season is over," Toews said.

Rest assured, it will be even harder for a hockey city to accept.

dhaugh@tribune.com

Twitter: @DavidHaugh

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

16.38 | 0 komentar | Read More

Blackhawks season ends with heartbreak for city of Chicago

At 10:10 p.m. CDT Sunday night, Chicago shook its fist at fate, cursed the Kings and slowly started to face reality that will take all summer to sink in.

BREAKING NEWS: Hearts all over town broke watching the Blackhawks lose, 5-4, in overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. There will be no Stanley Cup repeat or Grant Park parade. Stunningly, the Blackhawks' season is over. It even seems odd to type that.

It ended when Kings defenseman Alec Martinez fulfilled the dream every hockey player has when he starts skating by scoring the goal that sent his team into the Cup Final. The only dream better would be a goal to win the Cup — which, in all likelihood, this one did for the Kings.

At the 5-minute 47-second mark of overtime, Martinez fired a shot that deflected off teammate Tyler Toffoli's stick and Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy's shoulder past Corey Crawford. Call it cheap or fluky but, in the words of Patrick Kane, that's hockey, baby. Live by the quirky bounce — Patrick Sharp's first goal — and die by it too.

"I didn't really know until [Jarret Stoll] started going nuts," Martinez said.

The moment will be etched into the memory of so many Chicago sports fans to whom the pain feels familiar. For some, the temptation now will be to label the Blackhawks' entire season a failure but resist it. Disappointment is more apt. This wasn't a first- or second-round ouster but a loss in the conference finals to the first NHL team to ever win three Game 7s on the road. There is despair but no shame in that. There were no goats, only regrets.

"To work as hard as we have to put ourselves in position two years in a row, it's tough to think about," Jonathan Toews said.

With the season on the line for the third straight game, the Blackhawks again responded as if every shift mattered. Every Blackhawks star played like a star, finally with Sharp getting into the act.

The man known for his movie-star looks nearly prevented the team from Hollywood from getting its happy ending with two goals. Sharp's go-ahead score with 1:35 left in the second period looked like the game-winner until Marian Gaborik did to the Blackhawks what Kane did the Kings in Game 6. Gaborik, on track for the Conn Smythe Trophy, knocked in his own rebound with 7:17 left in regulation. The goal reminded everybody these Kings never say die. They only say we're not going away.

Neither did the Blackhawks on a night many will try to forget but can't.

"Tonight was two great teams with a lot of guys who have won Stanley Cups before," Sharp said.

The Blackhawks came out with intensity that matched the crowd of 22,315, which included Brandon Marshall, Anthony Rizzo and Charles Barkley in a red No. 88 sweater. Anthem singer Jim Cornelison rose to the occasion, making it hard to imagine a more electric pregame atmosphere in all of sports.

Just 5:06 into the game, Kane raised the decibel level even more. Behind the net, Kane made one of those passes only he would attempt to Brandon Saad. From an unusual angle, Saad caught Kings goalie Jonathan Quick leaning and scored the first goal. The Four-Letter Word line of Kane, Saad and Andrew Shaw again made Kings fans want to cuss.

Kane applied more pressure three minutes later by advancing the puck until it popped loose in front of Quick where Toews tapped in his easiest goal of the playoffs. At the 8-minute 36-second mark, the Blackhawks led, 2-0. Bedlam erupted.

Game 2 taught the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead was anything but safe at home. On cue, Jeff Carter knocked in a puck out of midair for the Kings' first goal. Justin Williams, Mr. Game 7, tied it 51 seconds later on a rebound. Before total deflation set in, Sharp reclaimed a 3-2 lead 12 seconds later with a please-remember-me wrist shot that took a fortunate bounce by Quick.

Doubt returned with 9:29 left in the second when the puck deflected off Michal Handzus and Toffoli knocked it in as Brent Seabrook — in an all-too-familiar scene — arrived a half-second late. Of course, it wasn't the last tie of the last game of an epic series.

You didn't have to be an NBC executive to appreciate what America witnessed. A wonderful series that deserved a Game 7 required overtime too — as fitting as it was frustrating. With due respect to the Rangers, the NHL will stage a Stanley Cup Final, but this series decided the league's best team.

"It's hard to admit to ourselves this season is over," Toews said.

Rest assured, it will be even harder for a hockey city to accept.

dhaugh@tribune.com

Twitter: @DavidHaugh

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

16.38 | 0 komentar | Read More

Blackhawks season ends with heartbreak for city of Chicago

At 10:10 p.m. CDT Sunday night, Chicago shook its fist at fate, cursed the Kings and slowly started to face reality that will take all summer to sink in.

BREAKING NEWS: Hearts all over town broke watching the Blackhawks lose, 5-4, in overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. There will be no Stanley Cup repeat or Grant Park parade. Stunningly, the Blackhawks' season is over. It even seems odd to type that.

It ended when Kings defenseman Alec Martinez fulfilled the dream every hockey player has when he starts skating by scoring the goal that sent his team into the Cup Final. The only dream better would be a goal to win the Cup — which, in all likelihood, this one did for the Kings.

At the 5-minute 47-second mark of overtime, Martinez fired a shot that deflected off teammate Tyler Toffoli's stick and Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy's shoulder past Corey Crawford. Call it cheap or fluky but, in the words of Patrick Kane, that's hockey, baby. Live by the quirky bounce — Patrick Sharp's first goal — and die by it too.

"I didn't really know until [Jarret Stoll] started going nuts," Martinez said.

The moment will be etched into the memory of so many Chicago sports fans to whom the pain feels familiar. For some, the temptation now will be to label the Blackhawks' entire season a failure but resist it. Disappointment is more apt. This wasn't a first- or second-round ouster but a loss in the conference finals to the first NHL team to ever win three Game 7s on the road. There is despair but no shame in that. There were no goats, only regrets.

"To work as hard as we have to put ourselves in position two years in a row, it's tough to think about," Jonathan Toews said.

With the season on the line for the third straight game, the Blackhawks again responded as if every shift mattered. Every Blackhawks star played like a star, finally with Sharp getting into the act.

The man known for his movie-star looks nearly prevented the team from Hollywood from getting its happy ending with two goals. Sharp's go-ahead score with 1:35 left in the second period looked like the game-winner until Marian Gaborik did to the Blackhawks what Kane did the Kings in Game 6. Gaborik, on track for the Conn Smythe Trophy, knocked in his own rebound with 7:17 left in regulation. The goal reminded everybody these Kings never say die. They only say we're not going away.

Neither did the Blackhawks on a night many will try to forget but can't.

"Tonight was two great teams with a lot of guys who have won Stanley Cups before," Sharp said.

The Blackhawks came out with intensity that matched the crowd of 22,315, which included Brandon Marshall, Anthony Rizzo and Charles Barkley in a red No. 88 sweater. Anthem singer Jim Cornelison rose to the occasion, making it hard to imagine a more electric pregame atmosphere in all of sports.

Just 5:06 into the game, Kane raised the decibel level even more. Behind the net, Kane made one of those passes only he would attempt to Brandon Saad. From an unusual angle, Saad caught Kings goalie Jonathan Quick leaning and scored the first goal. The Four-Letter Word line of Kane, Saad and Andrew Shaw again made Kings fans want to cuss.

Kane applied more pressure three minutes later by advancing the puck until it popped loose in front of Quick where Toews tapped in his easiest goal of the playoffs. At the 8-minute 36-second mark, the Blackhawks led, 2-0. Bedlam erupted.

Game 2 taught the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead was anything but safe at home. On cue, Jeff Carter knocked in a puck out of midair for the Kings' first goal. Justin Williams, Mr. Game 7, tied it 51 seconds later on a rebound. Before total deflation set in, Sharp reclaimed a 3-2 lead 12 seconds later with a please-remember-me wrist shot that took a fortunate bounce by Quick.

Doubt returned with 9:29 left in the second when the puck deflected off Michal Handzus and Toffoli knocked it in as Brent Seabrook — in an all-too-familiar scene — arrived a half-second late. Of course, it wasn't the last tie of the last game of an epic series.

You didn't have to be an NBC executive to appreciate what America witnessed. A wonderful series that deserved a Game 7 required overtime too — as fitting as it was frustrating. With due respect to the Rangers, the NHL will stage a Stanley Cup Final, but this series decided the league's best team.

"It's hard to admit to ourselves this season is over," Toews said.

Rest assured, it will be even harder for a hockey city to accept.

dhaugh@tribune.com

Twitter: @DavidHaugh

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

16.38 | 0 komentar | Read More

New online calculator makes fees in mortgage offers transparent

When you need a mortgage — whether to buy a house or refinance — what do you do? More than likely you jump online and check out competing quotes on sites that let you compare multiple offers, including interest rates, annual percentage rates and monthly payments.

That's smart. But there's a problem. From the information presented, you often don't know enough about how much competing lenders intend to charge you in loan fees — origination, underwriting, processing, and various others including so-called garbage fees — until you actually apply and see your good-faith estimate several days later.

These fees are supposed to be woven into the annual percentage rate. But sometimes differences in APRs that appear trivial — a few decimal points — can significantly affect your payments over time. Worse yet, you usually don't know how these fees will affect your total payouts over the period of time you're likely to retain the loan.

So even though you think you're astutely picking the right mortgage, you end up with one costing you thousands of dollars more.

But now there's a way to squeeze more information out of what's displayed online — before you hand over your Social Security number, property information and credit details to any lender. Best of all, it's free and has no commercial ties to banks, investors or anybody else who's got money to lend.

It's a new loan-shopping utility, debuting this week, that uses algorithms to "see through" the typical rate, APR and monthly payment quotes online. It discloses the amounts of fees that are rolled into the quote package and what they mean to you in terms of total payouts over the time you expect to be in the house or keep the mortgage.

It's called the Loantech "My Loan Cost Calculator" (www.loantech.com). Here's how it works. Say you're shopping for a $300,000 fixed-rate 30-year mortgage. You've got three competing offers from lenders online that look pretty good: Lender A is offering 4%, a monthly payment of $1,432 and an APR of 4.055%; Lender B is offering the same 4% rate and a $1,432 monthly payment with an APR of 4.191%; Lender C quotes 3.875% with a $1,411 monthly payment and an APR of 4.042%. These are actual quotes of lenders pulled off the widely used HSH.com mortgage shopping site May 22.

The payments and rates are identical from two of the three and the APRs don't look all that far apart. How to choose which is best? To which lender should you submit your Social Security number, the address of the property and other personal financial details?

It depends on your main objective. Are you trying to:

•Minimize total monthly payments over time?

•Minimize lender loan fees and charges?

•Maximize principal payoff?

•Minimize total interest and fees?

To produce answers, the calculator directs you to choose one of the above and pick a specific time period — say, 10 years, which is roughly in the range of the traditional average holding period for a mortgage of seven to eight years. Holding period is important because the shorter the time you keep your mortgage, the greater the effect of the fees that a lender charges you upfront.

Let's say you want to pay the least in total interest and fees over the coming 10 years. According to the Loantech calculator, Lender B should definitely not be your choice. Even though its quoted interest rate and monthly payment are identical to Lender A, Lender B — a well-known national bank — plans to bludgeon you with $6,803 in loan-related fees compared with Lender A's more consumer-friendly $1,983. During a 10-year period, you'd pay Lender B about $5,000 more in total interest and fees.

Of course, the key tipoff, even without the calculator, is the APR differential. But who knows how much of a ripoff in dollars is involved over a specific time period? That's hidden.

David I. Ginsburg, who owns Loantech — an analytics firm best known for its audits of mortgage escrow accounts and adjustable-rate loan-payment calculation errors by banks — says he created the algorithms that run the calculator to remedy a major drawback in most online mortgage quotes: "Until now," he said, "there was no easy way for loan shoppers" to pierce the APR curtain "to determine the amount of loan fees" lenders were tacking onto deals.

Now there is.

kenharney@earthlink.net

Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

16.38 | 0 komentar | Read More

New online calculator makes fees in mortgage offers transparent

When you need a mortgage — whether to buy a house or refinance — what do you do? More than likely you jump online and check out competing quotes on sites that let you compare multiple offers, including interest rates, annual percentage rates and monthly payments.

That's smart. But there's a problem. From the information presented, you often don't know enough about how much competing lenders intend to charge you in loan fees — origination, underwriting, processing, and various others including so-called garbage fees — until you actually apply and see your good-faith estimate several days later.

These fees are supposed to be woven into the annual percentage rate. But sometimes differences in APRs that appear trivial — a few decimal points — can significantly affect your payments over time. Worse yet, you usually don't know how these fees will affect your total payouts over the period of time you're likely to retain the loan.

So even though you think you're astutely picking the right mortgage, you end up with one costing you thousands of dollars more.

But now there's a way to squeeze more information out of what's displayed online — before you hand over your Social Security number, property information and credit details to any lender. Best of all, it's free and has no commercial ties to banks, investors or anybody else who's got money to lend.

It's a new loan-shopping utility, debuting this week, that uses algorithms to "see through" the typical rate, APR and monthly payment quotes online. It discloses the amounts of fees that are rolled into the quote package and what they mean to you in terms of total payouts over the time you expect to be in the house or keep the mortgage.

It's called the Loantech "My Loan Cost Calculator" (www.loantech.com). Here's how it works. Say you're shopping for a $300,000 fixed-rate 30-year mortgage. You've got three competing offers from lenders online that look pretty good: Lender A is offering 4%, a monthly payment of $1,432 and an APR of 4.055%; Lender B is offering the same 4% rate and a $1,432 monthly payment with an APR of 4.191%; Lender C quotes 3.875% with a $1,411 monthly payment and an APR of 4.042%. These are actual quotes of lenders pulled off the widely used HSH.com mortgage shopping site May 22.

The payments and rates are identical from two of the three and the APRs don't look all that far apart. How to choose which is best? To which lender should you submit your Social Security number, the address of the property and other personal financial details?

It depends on your main objective. Are you trying to:

•Minimize total monthly payments over time?

•Minimize lender loan fees and charges?

•Maximize principal payoff?

•Minimize total interest and fees?

To produce answers, the calculator directs you to choose one of the above and pick a specific time period — say, 10 years, which is roughly in the range of the traditional average holding period for a mortgage of seven to eight years. Holding period is important because the shorter the time you keep your mortgage, the greater the effect of the fees that a lender charges you upfront.

Let's say you want to pay the least in total interest and fees over the coming 10 years. According to the Loantech calculator, Lender B should definitely not be your choice. Even though its quoted interest rate and monthly payment are identical to Lender A, Lender B — a well-known national bank — plans to bludgeon you with $6,803 in loan-related fees compared with Lender A's more consumer-friendly $1,983. During a 10-year period, you'd pay Lender B about $5,000 more in total interest and fees.

Of course, the key tipoff, even without the calculator, is the APR differential. But who knows how much of a ripoff in dollars is involved over a specific time period? That's hidden.

David I. Ginsburg, who owns Loantech — an analytics firm best known for its audits of mortgage escrow accounts and adjustable-rate loan-payment calculation errors by banks — says he created the algorithms that run the calculator to remedy a major drawback in most online mortgage quotes: "Until now," he said, "there was no easy way for loan shoppers" to pierce the APR curtain "to determine the amount of loan fees" lenders were tacking onto deals.

Now there is.

kenharney@earthlink.net

Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

16.38 | 0 komentar | Read More

New online calculator makes fees in mortgage offers transparent

When you need a mortgage — whether to buy a house or refinance — what do you do? More than likely you jump online and check out competing quotes on sites that let you compare multiple offers, including interest rates, annual percentage rates and monthly payments.

That's smart. But there's a problem. From the information presented, you often don't know enough about how much competing lenders intend to charge you in loan fees — origination, underwriting, processing, and various others including so-called garbage fees — until you actually apply and see your good-faith estimate several days later.

These fees are supposed to be woven into the annual percentage rate. But sometimes differences in APRs that appear trivial — a few decimal points — can significantly affect your payments over time. Worse yet, you usually don't know how these fees will affect your total payouts over the period of time you're likely to retain the loan.

So even though you think you're astutely picking the right mortgage, you end up with one costing you thousands of dollars more.

But now there's a way to squeeze more information out of what's displayed online — before you hand over your Social Security number, property information and credit details to any lender. Best of all, it's free and has no commercial ties to banks, investors or anybody else who's got money to lend.

It's a new loan-shopping utility, debuting this week, that uses algorithms to "see through" the typical rate, APR and monthly payment quotes online. It discloses the amounts of fees that are rolled into the quote package and what they mean to you in terms of total payouts over the time you expect to be in the house or keep the mortgage.

It's called the Loantech "My Loan Cost Calculator" (www.loantech.com). Here's how it works. Say you're shopping for a $300,000 fixed-rate 30-year mortgage. You've got three competing offers from lenders online that look pretty good: Lender A is offering 4%, a monthly payment of $1,432 and an APR of 4.055%; Lender B is offering the same 4% rate and a $1,432 monthly payment with an APR of 4.191%; Lender C quotes 3.875% with a $1,411 monthly payment and an APR of 4.042%. These are actual quotes of lenders pulled off the widely used HSH.com mortgage shopping site May 22.

The payments and rates are identical from two of the three and the APRs don't look all that far apart. How to choose which is best? To which lender should you submit your Social Security number, the address of the property and other personal financial details?

It depends on your main objective. Are you trying to:

•Minimize total monthly payments over time?

•Minimize lender loan fees and charges?

•Maximize principal payoff?

•Minimize total interest and fees?

To produce answers, the calculator directs you to choose one of the above and pick a specific time period — say, 10 years, which is roughly in the range of the traditional average holding period for a mortgage of seven to eight years. Holding period is important because the shorter the time you keep your mortgage, the greater the effect of the fees that a lender charges you upfront.

Let's say you want to pay the least in total interest and fees over the coming 10 years. According to the Loantech calculator, Lender B should definitely not be your choice. Even though its quoted interest rate and monthly payment are identical to Lender A, Lender B — a well-known national bank — plans to bludgeon you with $6,803 in loan-related fees compared with Lender A's more consumer-friendly $1,983. During a 10-year period, you'd pay Lender B about $5,000 more in total interest and fees.

Of course, the key tipoff, even without the calculator, is the APR differential. But who knows how much of a ripoff in dollars is involved over a specific time period? That's hidden.

David I. Ginsburg, who owns Loantech — an analytics firm best known for its audits of mortgage escrow accounts and adjustable-rate loan-payment calculation errors by banks — says he created the algorithms that run the calculator to remedy a major drawback in most online mortgage quotes: "Until now," he said, "there was no easy way for loan shoppers" to pierce the APR curtain "to determine the amount of loan fees" lenders were tacking onto deals.

Now there is.

kenharney@earthlink.net

Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Dodgers lose third game in a row, 2-1 to Pirates

KEY MOMENT: Chone Figgins drew a two-out, 11-pitch walk in the fifth inning to load the bases for Yasiel Puig. But Puig popped out to second base to end the inning and the Dodgers still trailed, 2-0. The Dodgers are now four for 37 this season with the bases loaded. Hanley Ramirez led off the sixth inning with a double, but Matt Kemp, Scott Van Slyke and Andre Ethier failed to drive him in. The Dodgers went on to lose their third consecutive game.

AT THE PLATE: Ramirez was two for four and drove in the Dodgers' only run with an eighth-inning single. Dee Gordon stole two bases, raising his season total to a major league-leading 34. That establishes a career high for Gordon, whose previous best was 32, in 2012. Puig singled in the fourth inning and has reached base in 31 consecutive games. As Gordon and Puig continue to play at All-Star-caliber levels, Kemp remains in a funk. Kemp, who recently moved from center field to left, is 0 for his last 20.

ON THE MOUND: The bullpen kept the game close, as Paul Maholm, Chris Perez, Brian Wilson and J.P. Howell each tossed a scoreless inning. Pittsburgh starter Francisco Liriano got his first win of the season; he had been 0-5.

ON THE BENCH: With the Dodgers facing a left-hander in Liriano, Manager Don Mattingly used it as a reason to give Adrian Gonzalez a day off. Van Slyke started in his place at first base. The last time Gonzalez didn't start was a game was May 7. "With Adrian, what's tough is you always want him in the lineup," Mattingly said. "He wants to be out there." At the same time, Mattingly said he wants to rest his first baseman every now and then, especially now that Gonzalez is 32 years old. Gonzalez pinch-hit in the eighth inning with two outs and Ramirez on second base, but grounded out to short.

UP NEXT: Hyun-Jin Ryu (5-2, 3.10 ERA) will face the Pirates and Brandon Cumpton (0-1, 3.38) at Dodger Stadium at 4 p.m. On the air: TV: Channel 11. Radio: 570, 1020 (Spanish).

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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