Posts Tagged → Safe Act
Loan Officer Registry? Make Sure Your Neighborhood is SAFE(Act)
With the way things have transpired in our industry, it feels like we’ll eventually be seeing a website that consumers can access to see if any Loan Officer’s (LO’s) live in a particular neighborhood. This would be important since we have all been labeled with the “predator” tag and it is important for America to protect families and neighborhoods from animals of this type! The economic mess that we are in has many culprits, predatory LO’s were and are one of those culprits. But the question I have is why we are being singled out as a profession and being held accountable for a situation in which we were really a bit player? Let’s take a quick look at the cast o f characters:
1. Wall Street (big time – they developed the paper and put it out on the streets)
2. The rating agencies (why would Moody’s give an MBS pool a AAA rating when it was weighted down with sub 620 FICO 100% LTV mortgages?)
3. Barney Frank (you betcha!)
4. Realtors (they sold the houses – 100% LTV investment property with stated income to a 620 FICO house keeper!). Don’t worry – location-location-location- Real Estate ALWAYS appreciates in value. That 1% start rate Option ARM will insure a positive cash flow!
5. Barney Frank (he deserves A LOT of credit)
6. Appraisers – this is a tough one as I know many and have respect for the profession. But just like the mortgage industry, they became infected with less experienced “I’ll bring it in at any value” players and now we have the mess known as HVCC.
7. The government in general (and Barney Frank) – come on – isn’t it obvious???
8. The Federal Reserve and Alan Greenspan – I admire the work he did at the helm for the most part but he has to take some credit because he was at the helm.
9. You and Me: The average American is culpable because we went out, purchased homes we couldn’t afford with ridiculous financing terms, and then cried foul when the economy went south and we could not abide by the terms of our loan. Come on – read the damn note and understand the terms of the loan you are getting – hopefully Mama didn’t raise a fool!
10. Barney Frank (see a pattern here?)
So the SAFE Act was enacted requiring all of us scum bag LO’s to get education, be tested, and get a license. I am all for it! Testing and education to insure competency in the industry is the best thing that has happened in my 25 years in this business. But why are bank LO’s excluded? Presumably because Banks are well capitalized and well managed and are more secure!?!? GIVE ME A BREAK! (Washington Mutual – IndyMac BANK)!!
Education, testing, criminal background check are all A-OK as far as I am concerned. When you get to demonstrating financial responsibility and some states even requiring a minimum credit score I have to draw to draw the line! Someone needs to give me an example (other than the FBI or CIA) of an industry that puts participants under such an intense level of scrutiny??? Please help as I am having a hard time with this. Doctors, Attorneys, POLITICIANS, and assorted other professions are not looked at to this degree. The economy has been rough on many of us and there are ethical, honest, and capable LO’s that are in danger of being drummed out of their chosen profession because of some misguided regulations put into place by a bunch of overweight pompous politicians that have never earned an honest buck in their entire lives! IT IS TIME FOR THIS MADNESS TO COME TO AN END!!!
Please comment as I am interested in any thoughts on this subject – until then I will be a registered predator and you will have to worry about me infecting your neighborhood!!