Caliber Funding Mortgage - What You Need to Know

From the ashes arises the Phoenix... Maybe in mythology, but for the formerly Phoenix based residential mortgage lender, Caliber Funding LLC (they are now based out of the Dallas, TX area), it seems more likely that they are ready to burn out than they are to re-establish trust in the lending industry. They will certainly do all they can to bury and erase the past, but some things are just to ingrained to easily be able to shake them. Shady lending practices and questionable leadership are not the foundation upon which the trust of a nation is likely to be built, no matter how wonderful they claim their technology to be.

The truth is, Caliber Funding mortgage is nothing more than yesterday's left overs re-heated on a pretty plate with an expensive price tag served by a waiter with a French accent. All the superfluous stuff is supposed to distract the diner from the fact that the leftovers you're being served come from a restaurant that the health department shut down!

OK, so maybe the analogy is being stretched a little bit too far, but can you blame me? When we, the American people (not to mention the entire WORLD), have been left with such a bitter taste in our mouths due to the massive financial collapse of the world's biggest economy, followed by most others, are all based on the unscrupulous practices of the mortgage lending industry, it stands to reason that the people involved aren't high on anyone's list to invite over for dinner.

The question of who exactly is to blame for all of this is one that has been thrown around quite a bit. Everyone wants someONE to point the finger at and blame. The truth is, there is no ONE person or business that can be blamed. We all took part in a boom economy that was fueled on rising home prices. Still, you would think that some of the folks at the top would be smart enough to recognize something that was spinning out of control. After all, isn't that their job? As President, CEO, Chief Financial Officers and the like? I thought they had a responsibility to a cause somewhat greater than simply lining their own pockets as quickly and and completely as possible. I guess I was wrong.

One of the most egregious abuses of power had to be Washington Mutual. In fact, WaMu turned out to be the biggest bank failure in US history and it was largely due to high-risk lending that was encouraged by the top executive management. What, you don't believe me? What if I told you that is exactly what CNN had to say?

You might be thinking, "Yeah, but that was in the hey-day of the housing bubble. The people responsible for that are probably in jail now, or at least tied up in court or something. At the very least they wouldn't have the audacity to still be plying their trade in the the mortgage industry!"

And if you thought that, you'd be wrong. Very, very wrong.

As a matter of fact, it's amazing how easy it is to simply dress up something that was spoiled yesterday and serve it up as something new, fresh and healthy today (at least in the mortgage business, apparently. Hopefully my analogy doesn't actually happen in any real restaurants!)

If you don't believe me, let's take a look at the newest kid on the block, Caliber Funding, LLC.

Caliber Mortgage is currently being directed by Bill Fruit. Who is Mr. Fruit and where did he come from? I'm glad you asked.

Prior to working for Caliber Funding, Mr. Fruit was with Countrywide. Whether he was a golfing buddy with Mr. Angelo Mozilo, the poster child for the greed and excess of the residential lending industry, I have no idea (but if I had to place a bet...???) And before Countrywide, Fruit worked for none other than Washington Mutual.

Who else is helping to guide the new face of mortgage at Caliber Funding these days? How about Greg Sayegh. Sayegh is currently the Director of National Production. His last two employers prior to Caliber were Countrywide and WaMu. And guess who is Sayegh's right hand man? Lenny McNeill, a long time friend and co-worker at... can you guess where this is going???... Washington Mutual, that's right!

And what area of lending do you think Sayegh and McNeill worked in over at WaMu? If you guessed sub-prime, you'd be correct. And where do you suppose Countrywide made a TON of money? Again, if you guessed sub-prime, you'd be batting 1.000.

If you were to have to pick one word that summarized the problems in the mortgage markets, that led to the global financial crisis we find ourselves trying to dig out of now, what word might that be? If you said 'sub-prime' then you are truly brilliant! As such, it probably doesn't take much more here to explain why, when we see these names associated with "The Future of Mortgage Lending" at Caliber Funding, stomachs start to churn and burn.

Hey, maybe that rotten food analogy isn't so far fetched after all!