OT: Interesting video - Page 3

 

On Thu, 2 Oct 2008 07:10:24 -0700 (PDT), kickstart


Me too, but it was in '92.


And a pair of ice cold Coors please.

Snarl... thanky

 

AH#104 wrote:

   Guess I'll jump in both feet here, perhaps under the theory of "Fools
rush in where angels dare to thread".  But maybe more so because you are
you, Len, and I am me.


   It wasn't 1995 but more like the earlier years of this century that I
could see this whole thing coming.  (sorry, i neglected to post it here)

   I have to totally agree with everything Spunky said in his major
missive.  The combination of easing lending regs, speculative greed,
overbuilding, untalented and commission-based mortgage lenders, and the
explosion of so-called "mortgage brokers" coupled with the American
Dream of owning a home has all come together to create this mess.

   I stopped lending to builders for speculative homes in the 1980's,
right before the housing crash of the 90's.  It always amazed me when
other commercial lenders at competitor's took that much risk.  I lent
only to builders that had a signed contract from a qualified buyer.

   One factor that hasn't been mentioned is the passage of FIRREA
(Finally I'm a Rich Real Estate Appraiser) in 1989 caused a lot of
losers (read:  folks that couldn't hold a job who went in real estate
and then during the slowdown of the 90's became an "appraiser") to
"write" appraisals for residential housing.  In lots of cases this
"appraisal" consisted of sending out an assistant to get the
particulars, insert those particulars into a computerized format, and
then signing the form even though the "appraiser" never even viewed or
set foot on the property.

   At the same time, the tried and true ratios of 28% debt-to-income for
housing expense and 40% for all debt were relaxed and Fannie and Freddie
were happy to purchase loans which, in my opinion, were doomed to fail.
  This was coupled with credit-card issuers being allowed to access
credit bureau agency records to send out unsolicited credit card offers
which resulted in another extremely lax issuance of further debt.

   The trend of paying mortgage lenders by commission only, instead of
salary, resulted in them not doing what was best for the borrower, but
doing what was best for their own bank accounts.  (figures lie and liars
figure)

   In 2004, before he became my step-son, Julie's son purchased his
first home.  It was financed with an 80% first mortgage and a 20% second
mortgage.  Whatever happened to another tried and true practice of
requiring at least a 5% down-payment with PMI or a 20% down-payment and
no PMI?  It only took about 18 months for his home to devalue to a point
that it is now worth less than what he owes.  And, with a 30-year
amortization on the first and interest only on the second, what are the
chances of his debt ever being less than the home value?


   These are the same opinions I've had for several years but your
comment does remind me that I need to empty the washer into the drier
and start another load.  Thanks.

   Yeah, I plan to leave tomorrow for a several thousand mile trip.


   I remember when you used to ride.

   Banker (retired mainly because the whole business of lending money
became way too focused on the banks making more than a decent return
instead of doing what was best for the communities they served)

 

banker sed:

Interesting that you felt it necessary to add that.
I didn't add that and I think there are actually people in here that
think I might disagree.

<snip the rehtoric, since you didn't post it here *before* the meltdown
and it now becomes hindsight, no matter how you try to spin it.>
I have been coding/uncoding the regs for the banks for the last 20+
years, it's not the regs or lack thereof.


That really hurt.

ASSHOLE#104 Len

 

AH#104 wrote:

   I was only expressing my agreement with what he wrote earlier.  It
was not menat to be a "taking sides" type of comment.


   Everyone's entitled to their opinion no matter how wrong it may be.


   It wasn't rhetoric, there was no spin, it was factual, and my opinion
existed way before the "meltdown".


   And as Compliance Officer for a National Bank I had to interpret as
well as enforce the regs and in that position I told the coders what to
do.  I was the dog, you were only the tail.

   My apologies.

   Banker

 

banker sed:

See how I set that up for you.

The only problem is; everyone who's ever coded ANYTHING from a computer
to cell phone, knows the INSTRUCTIONS are usually wrong, and have to be
revised after real-world applications are tested.


Accepted.

Wait, wait,,,, you were being sarcastic... weren't you.

ASSHOLE#104 Len