Greed, Fraud & Ignorance: A Subprime Insider’s Look at the Mortgage Collapse (Mortgage Solutions)
Greed, Fraud & Ignorance provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the subprime lending industry operated. Told from the perspective of an industry insider, the author, a former subprime lender, pulls the curtain back to provide a first-hand account of how brokers, lenders, Wall Street investment firms and rating agencies created the greatest real estate and mortgage debacle in our nations history. The books reveals:
How nearly three out of every four subprime mortgages originated by brokers were misleading or fraudulent, and which tactics they used to trick lenders and borrowers.
How the subprime industry played a major role in pushing home prices to unsustainable levels.
How brokers and lenders used creative financing techniques to turn unqualified applicants into qualified borrowers.
How a comprehensive solution that addresses all of the industry players is the key to fixing the mortgage industry.
Customer Review: Highly recommended to anyone who’s about to take a dive into a mortgage
The Housing Crisis is far worse than people think explains decade-and-a-half veteran of the mortgage industry Richard Bitner in his book “Greed, Fraud, & Ignorance: A Subprime Insider’s Look at the Mortgage Collapse”. Exposing all of the inner workings of this industry and how almost 75% of brokers are misleading or flat out fraud lying to both lenders and borrowers, how they inflate home prices to ridiculous amounts, and more. He also outlines a solution that could fix every level of the industry for the better to clear out the corruption that has taken root. “Greed, Fraud, & Ignorance: A Subprime Insider’s Look at the Mortgage Collapse” is highly recommended to anyone who’s about to take a dive into a mortgage or is in one and may think their broker is up to something unsavory.
Customer Review: Outstanding. This is the one to buy.
If you want a book that tells you why things went so wrong in subprime lending, this is the book. Not only is (or more correctly, was) the author an insider in the industry, he is bright, extremely perceptive, and, most importantly, he has a conscience. In addition, he is an extremely able writer. He takes a topic that others have reduced to technical mush and presents it in a clear, precise, pointed fashion. The book is a nice collection of on-the-ground examples placed in a perceptive and morally-balanced “big picture.” There are insights here that you won’t find anywhere else.
Let me make it clear: I have no connection with the author in any way, shape, or form. I was looking for a good, well-written book that gave me new insights into the sub-prime mess. I bought five different books. This one was clearly the best. A couple of the others were useful, but they didn’t have the appeal of hearing all of this explained by a very bright, extremely knowledgeable insider.
If you want to know how all of those banks in Europe got duped into buying bonds backed by laugher mortgages, or how Bear, Stearns got taken down, you want to continue your search. But if you want to know how this massive market failure happened in the first place, this author, Richard Bitner, will tell you.