The Word “Mortgage” in the Media Always Means Something Negative

I notice a disturbing trend in the media and on TV in general. I first talked about this on our podcast for last week. It seems like when you hear the word “mortgage” on TV it always means something bad.

When people get taken advantage of it is by a “mortgage company”.

When you hear about the foreclosure rate, the cause is “mortgage brokers”.

On TV last week, a preview for the upcoming news cast said a “mortgage company” was being sued and they would tell me who at 10! It turned out to be Ameriquest. I am the first one to say these guys deserve it but it was the name the news channel gave them…..”mortgage company”.

Ameriquest is the same type of company as, for example, Countrywide Home Loans. Both have a wholesale source for the money and a retail side pushing loans and yet I have never heard Countrywide called a “mortgage company”.

A company like Countrywide is called a “lender” right?

That is supposed to instill a sense of confidence in us all. That’s why brokers all over the country (post 1999 when the law was past that brokers had to disclose their yield spread premium) changed the way they did business.

No let me clarify….changed the way they did business with the wholesale lenders…not the client.

When you hear things like “we are a direct lender” or “we can approve a loan in one day” the only thing you need to glean from that is…..they get to legally hide their yield spread premium! Being a direct lender only means they get to act like a bank….and banks hide the extra money they make by increasing your rate.

The brokers who have moved from being a true broker to a lender will say it is better and cheaper for the client….total crap. A true broker has to disclose the extra money they made off hiking up your rate. An ethical broker who doesn’t lie to his or her clients has no reason to change the status of their business.

Author: Terri Ewing
Published July 16, 2007