Just hit my mailbox. B of A (and Chase) decide to go back to the old business model of “in-house” mortgage loan consultants. Both are officially “out” of the wholesale loan market and claiming this move is NOT for “PR purposes” to whiten their collars and cuffs over the MERS mess.
Ironically, B of A’s major mortgage loan predecessor, “Countrywide Funding” had their OWN standalone mortgage loan processing units as late as 2006 no less than two within walking distance of my house!!
Chase’s most recent predecessor here in SD County, “WAMU” had at least 12 large standalone mortgage processing units in this county up until about 2005!!
Alas, both lenders shut them down, laid off employees and sent their loan-origination functions out to be processed “wholesale” by unchecked and unvetted “mortgage brokers” (legitimate or not).
A client I previously posted about here who refinanced in 2007 to a Countrywide (now B of A) mortgage was defrauded by her mortgage broker of $67,500 in home equity (complicated story). It turned out he defrauded at least 23 borrowers under that particular fictitious name only (he operated under several names), all to the tune of $40K to $125K each. He was prosecuted by the US Attorney for fraud and is slated to be sentenced in Federal Court on 10/28. I don’t see any of his victims recovering anything.
There was absolutely NOTHING WRONG with these bank’s predecessor’s previous “in-house lending models,” except perhaps having to offer health insurance to the loan consultants. NOW they are going BACK to this model . . . LOL!
Hard lesson learned, albeit a little too late :={.
