Mortgage Book - Read the Insider Secrets From A Subprime Lender about the Mortgage/Housing Crisis

 Introduction

    A year ago, I never thought there would be a need for me to write about the subprime industry. I knew the business was flawed, but it seemed inconceivable the events of 2007 would play out as they did. An entire segment of the lending industry has disappeared and the news gets worse by the day. Home sales have slowed, priced have dropped, credit has tightened, and the true extent of this problem, I believe, is still unknown. It has left many people wondering how bad this crisis will get.   
    As a 14-year veteran of the mortgage industry, five of which were spent as the owner of a Dallas-based subprime lender, I sat front and center in the middle of this debacle. Compared to the big boys like Countrywide or Washington Mutual, my firm was a small player. At our peak, we were on pace to close $250 million a year in subprime mortgages––not an inconsequential figure, but only a fraction of what the largest players were funding.
Being a lender of this size, however, afforded me a unique perspective. A typical day involved working with mortgage brokers as well as the largest mortgage securitizers in the country. By experiencing the inner workings of the subprime industry from one end to the other, I got to see it all.  
Although this book is based on my experiences as a lender, it’s also representative of how the entire subprime industry operated. Part of my preparation included interviews with numerous colleagues, many of whom worked for, managed, or owned subprime mortgage companies. I wanted to be certain that the business practices were typical of the subprime industry and not isolated to my world. Their insight and feedback were invaluable to my portrayal of this volatile business.