INTRODUCTION - Or Why I Started This Blog...

 

The idea for this blog came to me some time ago, but I never really seemed to have the time or the guts to do it. What's different now ? Well, not much, and a lot. I do have the time (I always did, it seems), but I did not have the nerve to really blog about the current mortgage, finance, or real estate industries.  It's been a rough four years for the financial sector of the U.S. economy, especially for mortgages and real estate.

They have all taken a beating, and public opinion has rightfully been very negative. I'm not saying the public isn't correct  in feeling the way they do. I agree with them whole heartily.


But I do think there were a lot of scapegoats. Borrowers were victims for sure. But there were also a lot of good, honest and hard working loan officers, brokers, appraisers, attorneys and a whole host of support staff that were negatively portrayed in their connection with the 2008 financial crisis. I was a mortgage loan officer at the time, and I was totally caught off guard when everything began to collapse. Loan Officers were supposedly the main culprits in fraudulent behavior that lead to the crisis, and it just seemed to be a safe bet to just go away quietly and let the whole thing simmer down a bit.

At the same time I was content to run and hide, I was also a bit angry. I had always conducted myself with the utmost integrity, and was miffed at the fact that myself and others in my profession were being accused of being the main reason the country was falling apart. We were responsible for returning the country to a 1930's style depression. It just wasn't true. Sure there are loan officers, but there are also bad teachers, lawyers, priest, doctors, dentist and dog owners, but in their case, the many are not judged by the few.

Well, as the facts eventually revealed - it was not the lowly loan officer or two that were deceptive cheaters that brought down the whole house of cards. Oh sure, they broke the law, but they didn't break the BANK! The banks and investment firms invented a way of doing that all by themselves.

Sometimes when things are incorrect, or the blame for something is being placed in the wrong direction, some one has to say something.  I have decided to try and be that someone.

So...The idea behind this blog is to engage the public in how world events affect the work of a the loan officer, or what is now known as a Mortgage Loan Originator. Or at least, provide a outlook of the situation in one Originator's Opinion...