Confessions of a Subprime Lender: An Insider's Tale of Greed, Fraud, and Ignorance
Confessions of a Subprime Lender: An Insider's Tale of Greed, Fraud, and Ignorance
Product Description
Former subprime lender Richard Bitner once worked in an industry that started out helping disadvantaged customers but collapsed due to greed, lack of financial control and willful ignorance. In Confessions of a Subprime Lender: An Insider's Tale of Greed, Fraud, and Ignorance, he reveals the truth about how the subprime lending business spiraled out of control, pushed home prices to unsustainable levels, and turned unqualified applicants into qualified borrowers through creative financing. Learn about the ways the mortgage industry can be fixed with his twenty suggestions for critical change.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #7112 in Books
- Published on: 2008-06-30
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 208 pages
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
Real Estate
One insider's rollercoaster account of the subprime implosion
Richard Bitner founded his own subprime mortgage company just as the industry took off. In five years, he watched his company grow from a tiny operation to a booming business. But something wasn't right...
As housing prices skyrocketed, Bitner watched greed and fraud overtake the industry. Eventually, he became disenchanted after foreclosing on a subprime borrower who was given a legitimate, industry-standard mortgage—a loan Bitner realized never should have been made. Seeing the ugly writing on the wall, he sold his stake in the business before the industry imploded under a mountain of bad debt.
Confessions of a Subprime Lender pulls back the curtain on the players who created the subprime disaster, including brokers, lenders, Wall Street investment firms, and rating agencies who worked the system to their advantage. From his unique perspective as a subprime lender, Bitner reveals:
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Why nearly three out of every four mortgages were misleading or fraudulent
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How unscrupulous brokers tricked lenders and gullible borrowers
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How brokers and lenders turned unqualified applicants into "qualified borrowers"
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Why Wall Street and the rating agencies are largely to blame for the collapse
Interwoven with dramatic personal anecdotes, Confessions of a Subprime Lender explains how the subprime industry blew up and concludes with a comprehensive solution for rebuilding it by forcing changes on all the key players.
"Bitner's thorough review of the subprime lending industry provides a behind-the-scenes look at the mortgage mess. From the broker on Main Street to the investor on Wall Street, it's an unabridged version of what went wrong and how it needs to be fixed."
—Bill Dallas, founder, First Franklin Mortgage, one of America's largest subprime lenders, before it collapsed
"This is an in-depth, eye-opening examination of the problems impacting the housing and mortgage markets."
—Matthew McIntyre, CEO, Puritan Financial Group, Inc.
About the Author
Richard Bitner was president and cofounder of Kellner Mortgage Investments, a subprime mortgage company that peaked at sixty-five employees and $225 million in annual loan volume. He is Managing Director for Housing Wire, a leading mortgage industry online publication.
Visit Richard's blog at www.lendingsanity.com.
Customer Reviews
Confessions of a Subprime Lender
Am in the process of reading this book. So far, I like it. The writer uses humor to get his point across, and it adds to the quality of the book. The old saying, If I don't laugh, I'll cry, certainly applies here.
Recommend it.
Sub prime mess
We could see it coming. Lenders were lending more then 100% of value. All fine in a rising market but when values go down then what?
So many players in this game. Not just one at fault.
Anne
To be upfront, I worked for Richard Bitner for quite a long time. He was/is one of the most intelligent people I have ever been associated with.
When he mentioned he was going to write this book, I honestly didn't know what to think. After reading it, I truly think he has hit the nail on the head.
This book pulls back the preverbal curtain and explains (in laymen's terms) what actually happen with the mortgage industry.
I recommend this book to any and everyone! It is an incredible read.
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