Countrywide Launches 'It's Your Choice'

Countrywide Home Loans, Calabasas, Calif., has announced the launch of a national "It's Your Choice" initiative to educate consumers about the many options available to obtain or refinance a home loan.The company said it is providing specialized cost calculators and other new tools to the more than 9,000 members of its mortgage sales force to enable them to show customers cost-effective choices for structuring their home loans. Countrywide cited the results of a national survey commissioned by the company showing that 76% of more than 2,280 homeowners surveyed strongly agreed that they wanted to be informed about as many closing-cost choices as possible. The company said it will advise consumers about options such as: lender-paid closing costs; loan discount points; first- and second-mortgage combinations; and avoiding mortgage insurance payments. The company can be found online at http://www.countrywide.com.