The Mortgage Mess

Do you not think it strange that lenders - the very people who gave these bad loans to consumers - consumers who should never have been approved for them in the first place - are opposing this bill?

Is there a reason this happened? Yes - somebody wanted to make money, a lot of money. They were not concerned for the poor consumer, who didn't understand how mortgages worked, or that their loan would go up and UP. All that the mortgage people cared about was making money.

Having said that, there are good mortgage professionals out there, we just need more of them. For that matter, there are also bad REALTORS®, appraisers, underwriters, title companies and attorneys out there also.

It is time to put a stop to this nonsense. The average consumer is not in a position to know the best mortgage lender, agent, attorney, or title company/attorney.

But what is the answer? More governmental control? No.....I think not. Perhaps more on our part to do the right thing? ahhh, that would be too easy!

More education is one answer, but that doesn't resolve the issue of ethics. More money to stay in the industry would certainly work to weed out those who are not serious about real estate and doing this for a hobby.

I also think that there should be more stringent controls to get a real estate license, appraiser's license and a Mortgage Brokers license. Currently, it is just too easy, only taking a few hours and a few hundred bucks. Then these folks are turned loose on the public at large while we, the serious and experienced ones, have to take the fall for this? No.

I vote for an internship program. Get your license, then work for two or more years UNDER an experienced person before you can go out on your own and serve the public consumer who is entrusting thousands of dollars and their lives in your hands.

The next best thing would be to dramatically raise the price of being in the profession. THIS would resolve the problem of the non serious and hobby people! Once they are gone, the rest of us who do this for a living and consider it a serious profession would have no problem paying higher fees, because there would be less competition from the non-serious newbie hobbyists, so we'd make more money, and it would be worth it.

THAT would be a start in fixing the problems with the entire industry: real estate, mortgages and appraisals. Make it harder, make it more expensive, and you get rid of the chaff.

Works for me - but probably not for NAR - who wants all the money they can get from those who seek their real estate licenses. . . or the Board of REALTORS®, who seek dues from them for belonging, as well as the MLS fees. Nor would the Mortgage Brokers Association probably like it very much either, and the appraisal boards.......ah the list goes on! Politics, money. Who is watching out for the consumer?

Because of politics, and so much money at stake, where does that leave the consumer, or those of us who have been in the business for years and ARE ethical, honest and competent?

Politics - money - government control. There is a thought for those who are trying to figure out how to fix this whole mess. Those in power, who could make the change for the benefit of all, will never do so, because they will lose money. 

You can't fix greed and you can't fix 'stupid'.

Maybe the answer is to start up a new system? hmmm? For those who are 'not in the know' this is already in the works. A shift from a sales to a consulting model and a public MLS would fix this entire problem. I'm an Accredited Consultant in Real Estate™, so I do things a little differently. If more agents or mortgage brokers got paid for their time without the contingency of a closing - it would dramatically change our industry. Why is it that we give our work and expertise away for free? There are, of course, personal injury attorneys that work on a contingency basis - but they charge 33.3% of the winnings and they don't take cases they know they won't win. The commission system for agents, mortgage brokers and consumers is broken and it is time for a change.

No NAR dues, no local board dues, no MLS fee's, no politics, no problem. I can not wait for someone to get this working, but there we go again, we have those politics working against us, and they have very deeeep pockets. One day though - that well will dry up because everyone is getting tired of being thirsty, and consumers aren't stupid. They want value for their money and I don't blame them. The real estate industry is tired of it too, so where is that going to leave the politicians? Looking for a new job, and you know what? I hope they try to sell real estate or mortgages and see what mess they have created!