Geoff Karlavage's plane had just touched down in Las Vegas in August 2007 when he learned that the mortgage lender he worked for was shutting down. ...more

March 1, 2009

Low-Income Loans The recent decision by the city and county to ban "yield spread premiums" on low-income loans is yet another example of government removing choices under the guise of protecting people. I was in the mortgage business for 12 years but am no longer in it, so I have no dog in this fight, but I can tell you that a yield spread premium is a great way to reduce the out of pocket expenses associated with a home closing. ...more

November 20, 2008

Years ago, the federal government bailed out the savings and loan banks. ...more

September 20, 2008

Recently, I received an e-mail missive from one of the legions of loyal, devoted, satisfied readers of this space who took note of the cancellation of my old radio show on WFLA, 970 AM. ...more

August 3, 2008

The revelation that more than 10,000 convicted criminals have been welcomed with open arms into Florida's mortgage industry is shocking, even in light of the state's sleazy, anything-goes history. ...more

July 31, 2008

Perhaps the best way to understand how it could be possible for more than 10,000 people with criminal records to win state approval to work in the mortgage business is to think of Florida as historically sort of the Al-Qaida of real estate. ...more

July 26, 2008

It's no surprise Florida leads the nation in mortgage fraud. State regulators have allowed thousands of criminals to enter the mortgage business, scarcely lifting a finger to protect homebuyers from con artists. ...more

July 22, 2008

Let's see if you can pass a fairly simple ethics test: ...more

June 19, 2008

Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan, said Monday that problems in the mortgage and credit markets are forcing it to close offices, lay off more than 3,000 workers and set aside up to $1.6 billion for loan losses in its fourth quarter. ...more

December 11, 2007

The head of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, is right to give no hint that interest rates will be cut again soon. ...more

November 14, 2007