Letter from Secretary of Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings

RE: "the mortgage meltdown"

Why wasn't anything done to stop risky and even illegal practices when consumer
complaints and other warnings surfaced and the damage could've been contained?
Artificially high appraisals and cozy relationships between some appraisers,
builders, lenders, title co's, etc, added to the sham of loose lending and
mortgage backed securities as an investment.  Consumers were admonished for' not
doing their homework,' while 'professionals' in the industry showed even poorer
judgment.  It's obscene that the industry paints itself as the victim, and that
the industry that helped cause this mess may get a bailout at the expense of
responsible American taxpayers.  I doubt our government can sort out the true
victims from all the fools and crooks anyway.
 
There were warnings that the housing/finance industry's practices were going to
lead to major turmoil, years in advance of the bubble's "pop."  Consumer groups
and others gave warnings that were ignored. Many Americans never saw the
warnings, which were largely confined to alternative news sites, blogs, etc.
Mainstream media did a poor job of presenting the cautionary viewpoint.  Most
consumers who bought into it seemed to be brainwashed by spin, to believe real
estate was a path to quick riches and everyone should own a house.'As one of the
people who researches and posts current news on the HADD.com news page, I see
examples of industry press releases later repackaged as' news.' E.g. the real
estate industry's 'It's a great time to buy a home' type campaigns.  Each locale
that denies the bubble has hit THERE seems to gloss over the fact that what
affects the U.S. economy affects us all.  I saw prices fall almost overnight in
my area in 2005.  Builder's model homes had signs that said' Price Reduced!' and
a few weeks later, 'For Rent!'  Houses sat unsold for months in my neighborhood.
And yet even today, TV industry ads say this state was not really affected.
Since I research national news I see this scenario playing out in many locales
not just mine. 
 
I can't believe anyone ever thought houses in really inflated areas were ever
worth that much.  And I can't see how hardly anyone could afford them, or how
any lender could approve those toxic liar loans, etc.  The results were
predictable and predicted.  If I saw it, and others saw it, how is it that the
industry professionals and regulators' DIDN'T SEE IT COMING?'  What a crock!

Unfortunately anyone in a position to do something about it in time to prevent
economic damage was either complicit in this deception, or turning a blind eye
to it. Whether they were stupid or crooked, these individuals were unfit for
their jobs. At least consumers who fell for it were often just ignorant, which
is curable. The same can't be said for 'educated' professionals in government
and the industry, whom consumers RELIED on for that' expertise.'
 
After 2005 when it all began to predictably fall apart, banks and investors were
finding that the chickens came home to roost for them, too. Then suddenly terms
like' predatory lending' were reclassified as' fraud' and the industry painted
itself as a victim, blaming other related industries, consumers, and even the
media for finally reporting that the bubble was fake and had burst.
Investigations by the government into lenders, builders, and others who were
violating laws are now going on, but this will not help those who've already
been financially destroyed by these companies.  Prevention would've been so much
better for the whole country; prevention would not have hampered honest
businesses from making a profit, nor would it have prevented qualified buyers
from buying a house.  These houses were never worth the inflated prices.
Unqualified buyers who bought them never really owned them, but were just'
teased' by a temporary, artificial fantasy that ended badly and often left them
worse off than before.

So far, most of the rescue ideas involve bailing out crooks and fools at the
expense of responsible American taxpayers. Tax payers who didn't take part in
the housing bubble are justifiably angry that they're expected to bail out
anyone. Consumer groups are justifiably outraged that relatively few of the
responsible parties appear headed for jail.'And, any bailout that encourages
more of that behavior will only exacerbate the problem and contribute the
downfall of this country.
 
Cracking down on fraud and deception is good, and should've been done sooner.
The industry has shown that it can't effectively self-regulate.  Ideally, true
victims of fraud and deception WOULD be identified and helped, (and probably at
a comparatively miniscule cost to taxpayers).  But please, no bailout for crooks
and idiots.
 
Cindy Schnackel, National Secretary, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings http://www.hadd.com
 
ABOUT HADD:  (hadd.com)  The organization was started by homeowners with
construction defect cases in the early 1990s in Kansas City.  It became
'national' in scope upon publishing its website in 1998.  As of this writing,
the org is still volunteer-run by consumers who've had personal experiences with
bad builders. It's registered as a non profit org in KS and AZ, with volunteers
in about 25 states at any given time now.  The housing bubble and bust
contributed to many builder complaints that involved use of builders' affiliated
lenders, which is how HADD came to be involved or interested in the' mortgage
meltdown' issue.  HADD strives to reach consumers before they get taken so they
can prevent new home nightmares.  Our website contains consumer information,
news, a message board, a complaint database, state pages, legislative notices,
and more.
 
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/322833272?ltl=1110494716#body
PETITION: Request for a Congressional hearing concerning accountability of the
home building industry