Florida investor properties are over three times as risky for employment/income fraud as compared to owner occupied properties.

Investor properties in Florida are over three times as risky for employment/income fraud as compared to owner occupied properties

In reaction to the mortgage industry’s woes, and in some cases in spite of them, technology has marched on giving us new tools, techniques, and tactics that enhance our ability to be vigilant.

The problem is that the future is unpredictable: just as we can’t always foresee what will be on the litigation panels or general sessions, neither can we police for all the potential fraud trends on the horizon.

Are the instructive lessons of the past sufficiently integrated into current industry business models and strategic planning?

From time to time I hear appraisers talk about the fact that they feel undervalued, and that the business they’re in is becoming increasingly difficult. Some feel it’s a downright hostile environment for appraisers today.

While it is evident that loans are receiving a great deal of scrutiny these days, it is also true that appraisal reports are generally viewed most closely for the value they recommend, not the detail they contain.

At Interthinx we get to be both soothsayer and Monday morning quarterback understanding from review why portfolios fell during the bust, and applying that learning to the future. Thus, my advice to you is to make sure that best practices in your organization flow from front to back and that all areas have the necessary intelligence tools to adequately ensure quality.

I started my first day at Goldman Sachs in 2004. As with all GS employees in New York, I sat through an all-day briefing on the firm, the culture, and the rules of the road. It was the most comprehensive session for new employees that I have ever experienced. That first day and all subsequent days after that while working at Goldman Sachs always exceeded my expectations.

Last year's repeal of the final remaining vestige of Regulation Q, the prohibition of payment of interest on business demand deposits, at long last completed a pro-competitive process which began with the Monetary Control Act of 1980. The repeal was and is a good idea.

If we’re going to tackle our industry’s areas of weakness, we need to be able to define risk. We need a standardized way to classify the various types of risk.

One of the major challenges we as an industry are facing is survival. Like it or not, the mortgage industry is undergoing a change at least as cataclysmic to us as global warming is to the penguins of Antarctica.

No lender or servicer wants to keep a portfolio of REO or short sale properties. For starters, they're not in the business of managing properties. Each day an REO or short sale property isn't sold is a day of upkeep and lost interest payments.

Boxing reminds me a lot of today's lenders. Most lenders get into the ring every day, fighting until someone drops. The reason however is not to win a match, but to prevent a repurchase.

The classic 1895 science fiction novel The Time Machine by H.G. Wells allowed travel to the past and future. According to the most recent Case-Shiller study, home prices have now 'traveled' back to 2003 levels. This represents a 3.7% drop in overall prices since November 2011.