Hello to all of you,
Needless to say this has been a very difficult last three years for the real estate business in general and the mortgage business specifically. Virtually everyone associated with homes have suffered greatly. That includes real estate agents, appraisers, title companies, escrow companies, builders, contractors, subcontractors and all of their suppliers. There are hundreds of thousands of people associated with the housing industry that are out of work and searching for something to make an income to support their families. They are good people that build this country. The unemployment numbers rarely indicate how deep this runs because unemployment claims are shown essentially for W2 employees. So those numbers don’t show how it has affected the self employed people who build and sell the homes that we buy.
After a long and protracted downturn in the housing industry and the expected time of a real turn around (up to five more years) I have decided to move on.
In this last year I have had to tell so many people “no” they can’t get a mortgage that it is depressing. The lenders have tightened their lending guidelines to a point that it will be very difficult for 60% of the population to get a mortgage anymore. Not only credit scores but credit history is scrutinized beyond belief. Appraisals are re-appraised and sometimes re-appraised again, costing the potential home buyer so much more money than is necessary. Lenders are afraid to make decisions on good files because they are liable for so many things that could result in them having to buy the loan back.
The lenders are far more conservative than ever before, and that includes prior to the introduction of sub-prime loans. Thos sub-prime loans didn’t even come in to being until almost the mid 2000’s and lasted only a few years. But, the lenders are even tighter than they were in the 90’s.
In the last three years I have had over 1800 opportunities to help you get a home loan and live the American dream. There has been a $8,000 tax credit to help “stimulate” the home sales (HUGE mistake by the government) an out of all of those I have had to say “no” to all but a handful. It isn’t just because of credit issues. Some made offers on “short sale” homes that the mortgage holders couldn’t make a decision even after 9 months. Others were buying a “Bank Owned” home and were not habitable and the appraiser pointed out every deficiency. Others couldn’t prove their income (self employed) and thereby weren’t able to qualify for any mortgage. Some had minor credit issues that were long resolved. The list goes on and on.
And so the time has come for me to move on.
It is with mixed emotions that I leave. I have really enjoyed working with you over the last 12 or so years and I can truly say that I have made some very good friends. I have helped people understand and manage their credit scores so they will never again be a victim of such an absurd system. I also look forward to a new challenge as I turn another page.
Feel free to drop me an email with your thoughts.
Thank you for your letting me be part of your lives. Thank you for the friends that I have made and thank you for your trust.
Don









