Countrywide Home Loans: Tips and Advice For Sellers and Buyers

Countrywide Introduces Seller's and Buyer's Advantage; Offers No Cost, Expert Advice on Buying and Selling a Home

--New Online Service Provides Impartial Tips and Advice from Industry Expert--

Calabasas, CA (September 23, 2003) Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., a national leader in residential finance, today rolled out the newest version of its online Seller's Advantage and an all-new Buyer's Advantage service.

Both are "must visit" online services for prospective home sellers and buyers - beginner or experienced. Designed expressly for the unique information needs of home buyers and sellers, Seller's Advantage and Buyer's Advantage (located at www.countrywide.com) offer real estate advice from nationally syndicated journalist and real estate industry expert Ilyce Glink.

Helpful tips and information for home sellers will include how to sell property and realize the greatest profit possible. Home buyers will learn about the purchase process and the basics of financing a home. In addition, Countrywide offers valuable guidance for the often underserved segment of first-time home sellers who are learning how to sell and buy another property simultaneously. The new services, which present tips in a concise, easy to read format, will offer a welcome alternative to the lengthy books consumers have resorted to in the past to have their questions answered.

"As a customer advocate, Countrywide developed ‘Seller's Advantage’ and ‘Buyer's Advantage’ to reach and educate consumers early in the stages of either buying or selling a home," said Bruce Cornelius, senior vice president of the Internet channel at Countrywide Home Loans. "We've found over the years that our customers, and in fact most home buyers and sellers, are looking for a simple, convenient way to learn about both the buying and selling process. By providing this information online, and from an industry expert like Ilyce Glink, we think we've found the way to empower people to buy or sell their homes faster, smart and easier."

Through Seller's Advantage and Buyer's Advantage, prospective home buyers and sellers may subscribe, at no cost, to "Seller SmartTips" and "Buyer SmartTips", a series of weekly e-mails pertinent to buying and selling a home. Both buyers and sellers may also subscribe to "Mortgage SmartTips" to learn more about how to finance a home purchase. Via e-mail, consumers receive impartial, expert advice from Ilyce Glink. Glink is the author of award-winning "100 Questions Every Home Seller Should Ask" and "100 Questions Every First Time Home Buyer Should Ask."

Glink's weekly e-mails will include such topics as:

• How to save money when selling a home
• How to buy and sell a home on the same day
• The pros and cons of purchasing a fixer upper
• How to pay the right amount for a property
• Is the lowest interest rate always the best option?

Seller's Advantage and Buyer's Advantage members will have access to "Consumer's Corner Q&A", where Glink answers questions from buyers across the country. New questions and answers are posted weekly. In addition, tips and information will be stored in a Q&A archive for later reference and access by subscribers.

"Countrywide's Seller's Advantage and Buyer's Advantage blend real estate advice with the tools and calculators people need to make informed decisions," said Glink. "It's a valuable resource for anyone who wants to learn or get advice about buying or selling a home."

Countrywide.com offers comprehensive tools and content with easy-to-use calculators, online loan pre-approval, "Rate Watch" (an interest rate monitoring service), current interest rate quote tool, and one of the broadest loan product lines in the industry.