Mortgage Reality Distortion Field

This is the second of what now appear to be three columns about how we as a people allow ourselves to be victimized, whether by unscrupulous computer hackers or unscrupulous computer bankers. This part is about the bankers — the guys whose bonuses were too big to be discontinued.  Part three will present a possible solution to this specific systems problem…

A year ago I wrote a sad little column about my friend Ralph and his difficulty getting his mortgage adjusted.  Ralph had lost his tech job, there was this federal program to help people in his position lower their mortgage payments, but for some reason it just wasn’t working. […]

When IT Fails

A friend of mine has been in an epic struggle with his mortgage processor and his experience tells us a lot about the state of IT. It started in October of last year when my friend met with his loan processor (Bank of America) to inquire about a loan modification. The loan is actually owned by Freddie Mac. He turned-in all the required paperwork and followed up with an income statement when requested two weeks later.  The meeting took many hours mainly because all of the original documents were imaged and put into his electronic file. In late December he was told that his modification was completed, given a new mortgage payment and told to […]