Publisher description for Confessions of a subprime lender : an insider's tale of greed, fraud, and ignorance / Richard Bitner.
Bibliographic record and links to related information available from the Library of Congress catalog
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"Bitners book conveys the authority of someone who was in the trenches where this dirty work was going on." -- Newsweek Magazine
With each day bringing new revelations about the economic damage the mortgage crisis is creating worldwide, this book couldn't be timelier._ Bitner tells the fascinating story of his disillusionment after owning a sub-prime lending business for five years, beginning with foreclosing on a borrower he knew shouldn't have been given a mortgage in the first place (even though the loan fit the industry's guidelines), and relating the story of his house catching fire, and how this string of events prompted him to re-evaluate his priorities and sell his stake in the company just as profits were plummeting and sales were hitting an all-time high._ A year after Bitner bailed, the industry began to implode, and he watched his former company go bankrupt.
Weaved in with his personal industry experiences is the fascinating story of how an industry started by helping disadvantaged customers buy houses, but soon lost its way due to greed, lack of financial control, and willful ignorance; this book reveals the truth about how various parts of the mortgage business yielded to temptations to maximize profits, weakening the chain that held this system together._ The book covers:
What it was like running a sub-prime lending business in an industry spiraling out of control
How nearly three out of every four sub-prime mortgages originated by brokers were misleading or fraudulent, and the tactics they used to trick lenders and borrowers
How the sub-prime industry pushed home prices to unsustainable levels
How brokers and lenders used creative financing to turn unqualified applicants into qualified borrowers
20 critical changes that must be made to fix the mortgage industry, including transparent fees, rating agency reform, and the implementation of new, mandatory licensing requirements for brokers
From borrowers, to brokers, to appraisers, to_Wall Street Investment Banks, Bitner exposes the role that each level of the hierarchy played -- and the tactics that were used -- in bringing on one of the greatest business disasters in the history of the United States.
Library of Congress subject headings for this publication:
Mortgage brokers -- United States.
Mortgage loans -- United States.
Subprime loans