The Future is in Our Hands

by Fredric J. Gooch, General Counsel

Everyday the news in the mortgage industry gets more and more bleak.  As property values have fallen, borrowers became delinquent and mortgages were foreclosed things have slowly snowballed to get us to the point where we are now.  Many lenders have gone out of business, investment banks followed, we saw the conservatorship of Fannie and Freddie and now we are looking at a $700 billion dollar bailout of the financial system.  All this started with borrowers borrowing more than they could afford and lenders making loans that shouldn’t have been made.  It looks like we are about at rock bottom; however, I hesitate to say that the worst is over because I never would have dreamed we would be where we are now.   BUT I HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS.  Those of us who are still in this industry can have a loud voice and a dramatic effect on the future of the mortgage lending industry.  We are going to be starting over again.  Yes, a do over, and we can help shape the future of the industry.

Earlier in the month I had an opportunity to participate in meetings arranged by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Capitol Hill.  I had the opportunity of meeting with staff members of Representative Chris Capuano and Representative Mike Simpson and was able to meet with Senator Mike Crapo to discuss mortgage industry issues.  I can’t tell you how good it felt to share my opinions on mortgage regulation with elected officials.  They were open minded and interested to hear my opinions on what can be done to fix this financial crisis and ensure that this never happens again.  My expertise happens to be in mortgage disclosures, so I shared with them some ideas I felt would help improve the quality of consumer disclosures provided to borrowers.  I believe this would help borrowers understand the terms of their mortgage loans and give them the ability to do some shopping for terms and settlement services.  This is because I believe that if borrowers and lenders understood the risks they were taking with these transactions, we might not be in such a predicament.

The mortgage industry will be starting from scratch in the coming years.  Now is the time to let your voice be heard and to shape the future of the industry.  After my experiences in Washington D.C. this month I am confident that our elected officials want to hear from us.  There are many different ways that you can get involved.  You can join MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance to keep informed of important issues.  Even if you don’t agree with every position taken by the MBA this is a good way to keep informed and open a dialogue with your representatives in Washington.  You can also write letters, send emails, and make phone calls on your own to let you elected officials know the best course of action.  When the dust settles on this crisis there will be a lot of work to be done, this industry will have the chance to reinvent itself, let’s make sure our voices are heard.  The future of this industry will be what we make of it.