My New Blog

I read an article written by Gene Wunderlich, the chairman of the Southwest Riverside County Board of Realtor's that made me think that he must live in his own world of perfection.  After reading his article I was upset that he blames the whole mess of our entire industry on mortgage fraud. I am certain there are many real estate agents that played their part in the game of deception. Instead of blaming one industry for the mess he should also include examples of folks that belong to his own organization.

The group of folks that have engaged in fraud for personal gain include mortgage brokers, mortgage bankers, real estate brokers, Wall Street, investors, speculators, appraisers and the general public at large. Greed is the culprit of our current mess and for Mr. Wunderlich to single out one group of individuals is very short sighted and ignorant of what really has transpired in the real estate industry as a whole.

I personally know Realtor's who are dishonest and only care about their commission regardless of what happens to the borrower after they close the deal. There is plenty of blame to go around and greed infiltrated every aspect of our industry, so please understand there is not one industry to blame, everyone had their hand in the cookie jar.  

Rather than rely on the media to provide accurate information regarding interest rates, consumers should call a mortgage professional they trust. Most news commentators are not experts in the mortgage industry and often pass on information that is inaccurate or is old news. Mortgage rates change daily, sometimes several times a day depending on the volatility of the financial markets. Yesterday was a good example of how volatile the financial markets can be, in the morning the stock market was down more than 300 points, investors moved funds into bonds which helped lower mortgage rates. In the afternoon the stock market reversed its losses and ended up 300 points, a 600 point gain, investors moved out of bonds, increasing mortgage rates dramatically.

While listening to the news today, the commentator quoted rates based on the events of yesterday morning rather than what had occurred over the past 24 hours. The media is into sensational stories and not so much about reporting current information. The problem with untimely reporting is that the general public believes what they have heard on the news rather than what is real. If you desire accurate information, rely on someone who dedicates their life to their profession, not someone who gets paid to read a story.