Lots of love for money found in this Mortgage Meltdown...

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10


I have never been able to understand why there is so much confusion about the above scripture. I think it's also interesting how often that scripture is misquoted. It doesn't say money is the root of all evil. Most people would agree that money is not the root of ALL evil. And many would say money isn't even the root of any evil. That's true too. But guess what? The bible doesn't say money is the root of all evil OR that it's the root of any evil at all!! It says, "the LOVE of money is A root of all kinds of evil...."

Now that I have that framed up, hopefully properly, I want to make some comments on evil that I believe has a root in the love of money.

I think that much of this mortgage crisis is directly the result of a whole lot of people, myself included, loving money. Today, the Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as he expanded his investigation into ``widespread'' collusion between real estate appraisers and lenders including Washington Mutual Inc.

If what Mr. Cuomo is asserting is true, then we can pretty much say our whole mortgage banking system is corrupt. That is one extrordinary large statement in a small blog by an active participant in closing loans for the past 10 years. During that time, every person involved in the closings from the loan officer to the underwriter to the appraiser and title person and real estate agent, all had one common goal: Close the deal. We worked as a team of people all committed to the same goal. Close the deal. Do whatever you have to do to get these buyers into that house that they want so badly and that our livelyhood depends. We were all on this runaway train and it was fueled, at least in part- by the love of money.

You will be hard pressed to find someone who was actively in business then admit that now. I wasn't too keen on admitting it either, but again- the bible is pretty simple. What we have going on now is nothing short of piercing grief caused by the love of money. People are losing their homes and many banks have gone under. Many jobs are being lost and this housing thing is now affecting our standing in other countries.


Personally, I think Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is partially correct. Heads need to roll. He is starting with Washington Mutual, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and some appraisers. They are not the only ones or even the biggest offenders but I guess he has to start somewhere. Most other banks have imploded so he may be going after the few who are left to account.

However, I also think our efforts would be better spent creating a new system. A system that is not inherently corrupt. A system that does not reward everyone on every level for having that above referenced love of money.

If we create a mortgage system that rewards fairness and ethics and sound underwriting principles, then we can once again become a nation that secures the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity... sound familiar?

Focusing on the solution will help us all continue to

Keep it in Perspective