Ed's Blog

When I was recently interviewed for a Year In Real Estate Review type of feature for a large daily newspaper, I was asked to offer my thoughts on 2007 coming to a close. Before I could stop my loose lips from betraying me, I blurted out “Good Riddance!” This was immediately followed by my thinking, “What did I just say?!”

It’s been a couple of weeks since that interview and in hindsight I probably could have been a little more eloquent in my send off to 2007. But in all honesty, there was at least some truth behind my outburst. 2007 will forever be known (in no particular order) as the Year of the Sub Prime Storm, the Year of The Mortgage Meltdown, and/or the Year of the Foreclosure Frenzy.

Now that I’ve had some time to reflect upon my words, I realize that there are a few things that occurred in 2007 which absolutely do deserve to be bid good riddance. But there are a lot of lessons that were learned that I’m grateful for as well.

First, I’m hoping that 2008 will bring with it a slowing in the nonstop negative media coverage that the mortgage industry receives. So, I bid good riddance to the barrage of bad press that true mortgage professionals were on the receiving end of in 2007.

Secondly, I bid good riddance to the mortgage industry employees who were poorly trained, unethical in the advice they provided to unsuspecting clients, lied to homeowners and buyers, and sought to fatten their own wallets at the expense of hardworking Americans who trusted them. These unsavory sorts have thankfully deserted the industry, and I bid them a very heartfelt good riddance!

Thirdly, I bid good riddance to the loans that almost seemed by their very design, to set people up for failure and financial ruin.

Fourthly, I bid good riddance to the lack of responsibility by Wall Street companies that fed the demand for exotic loans by buying up loans that were at best risky, and at worst a calamity in the making.

But you know what? Even with all of these things that I’m happy to see become nothing more than a distant bad memory, I’m also grateful for a lot of things that happened in the mortgage and real estate industries in 2007.

I couldn’t be happier that many of the liars and incompetents, who knowingly put people into loans they couldn’t afford, have left the industry.

I’m happy that the true mortgage professionals –although they are technically my competitors- have stuck around during this tumultuous time, because it raises the bar for all of us. These mortgage professionals are those I want to be competing with. I welcome competition from ethical, educated and professional colleagues.

I’m happy that guidelines and underwriting standards have become universally tighter and stricter. Having been in the industry for so long, I remember a time when it used to really mean something to be able to buy a home. It was something people saved for, budgeted for, dreamed about and when they were finally able to obtain a loan and make it a reality, they were so grateful, and prideful to have achieved one of the foundations of the American Dream- owning your own home. And, they were much better equipped to understand their mortgage and make their payments.

I’d be lying if I said that I wanted 2007 to last forever, but I did want to recognize the good things that have come out of the bad. So, instead of my only parting words to 2007 being “Good Riddance,” I’d like choose to send off 2007 with these additional parting words; “Lessons learned, whether through triumph or failure, are still lessons learned.”