After many years of providing mortgages through it's mortgage broker network, Taylor, Bean and Whitaker closes shop after the Feds barred the company from originating any new FHA loans. Ginnie Mae also terminated the company's ability to issue mortgage-backed securities.
With no FHA or conventional financing to offer, the company had no alternative but to close up shop. The management sent emails to everyone expressing their disappointment that a less drastic option was unavailable. Realize that we're not talking about a small shop - TBW had over 2,000 employees.
Federal authorities "raided" the company's main offices in Ocala, Florida on August 3, 2009. Did you notice the quotes around "raided"? It's such a made for media term - it makes you think of the days of Elliot Ness and Al Capone. But the feds performed a site visit examination after TBW failed to submit a required financial report. It was also stated that the company did not disclose certain irregular transactions that subsequently "raised concerns of fraud".
The company was incorporated in 1982 as a small town retail mortgage firm. But in the past decade or so, TBW had grown substantially to become one of the top mortgage wholesalers in the country.
What this closure means is another stake in the heart of the mortgage brokerage industry. Look - I'm not saying that Taylor Bean was completely above reproach - I personally have never had any direct dealings with the firm. But through my many years in this industry, I had never heard a disparaging remark about them. As far as I know, this company was one of the better mortgage lenders out there. And now they are gone. And now there is one less competitor, one less company for a broker to choose from.
Where is the mortgage industry headed? Well, we are pretty much there already. Mortgage borrowers can choose from Government loans or from a small sprinkling of small local lenders that still portfolio their own loans. Just try to find a broker these days - there are less and less every day. I hope you can see that YOUR CHOICES ARE BEING ELIMINATED! Now you may choose a fixed rate - oh, you can choose 30 or 20 or even 15 years or one of a couple of adjustable programs left - 5, 7 or 10 year fixed rate products that convert to floating rates after the fixed rate portion ends. That's about it! And this is good for consumers?
No comments:
Post a Comment