Pam and Colleagues,
This is not unique to the Baltimore area as we all know. The Baltimore-Washington area, which has a diversified and relatively high population density, is a prime "Hot spot" for this type of practice. There are so many B-C & D lenders in this area its not funny. I have been running into a few lately since my own rude awakining by FHA. There is nothing new here though. LO's are trying to stay in business any way possible. The high forclosure ratio is probably not that far out of line when considering the surge in the last couple of years in the amount of loans settled.
I am not a brain surgon, Thank God, for the patients sake, but I think there is nothing more to this than the demographics of the area and like someone said previously, Caveat Emptor!! Isn't it true that most of us americans want more than we can afford. There may be some "Preditory Lending" but like the flipping issue, what they are proposing to fix it is overkill. There will probably be the usual Cannon Fodder lying around for a couple of years (I'm trying to keep my head down) but it will come and go like it is in Washington DC. Just my opinion!
PS. The author had to throw in the flipping issue as a cute cousin. I guess if you take the HUD/FHA definition of flipping (which I read in a letter from HUD to a man who gutted out a property in the Canton section of Baltimore City) which read "Any property that has sold within 1 year of its last purchase is considered a flipp." What about gutting out the property and totally renovating the property with top of the line materials and workmanship?
Hey! Hey! YOU! YOU! GET OFF OF MY CLOUD!! Sorry I had to get that out! :roll: