Have we learned nothing?
propertylines.ibj.com, September 22, 2008
Posted by cschouten, trackback
http://propertylines.ibj.com/content/?p=947
Paul Estridge Jr Says:
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:55 pm
In response to your blog article, “Have we learned nothing?”, I would like to take the opportunity to respond to your insinuation that our Live Free & Easy Program is another builder “gimmick” that is somehow contributing to the mortgage and credit crisis in our country.
For sure there have been builders and mortgage companies who have had a direct hand in creating the housing problems we are facing as a nation today. Many of the country’s big public builders or giant regional builders preyed on the greed of the buyers to own big and cheap homes without having any money. Buyers were seduced by reckless mortgage plans, careless underwriting standards and aggressive sales techniques. Today it is clear home financing deals were done with minimal underwriting, with fraudulent documentation and those involved turning their heads the other way. And to top it off, the buyer was putting no money down on the home! In many parts of the country, the housing market was artificially inflated by speculators, creating a false market. Tens of thousands of homes were sold to speculators, not real home buyers. Home sales were not really homes sales and those builders and realtors and mortgage brokers involved all knew they were apart of this residential Ponzi scheme.
Every builder who played this game, and every mortgage company who facilitated these loans, and even fraudulently reported lending documents in an effort to get the deal done, is an accomplice to one of our nation’s greatest scams on the American consumer. It was simply too much money chasing too few buyers. Money Pushers. People were lent money the original lender, builders and realtors involved knew would never be able to pay back. This would never have happened had the banks retained the risk. When lenders can separate themselves from the risk, this is what happens.
At Estridge, we are very proud that these practices have never been the business of our company. Over the last 200 sales, the average credit score of an Estridge buyer is exceeds 720. The average down payment is 17%, in excess of $50,000. Less than 3% of all the homes we have sold would be considered sub-prime. This is why Estridge customers & neighborhoods are not part of the problem
Our latest Live Free & Easy Program, may appear on the surface to be a too good to be true deal. But to anyone taking the time to research and understand the truth and facts of the Live Free & Easy Program, it is clear that what we are actually offering is an authentic and genuine opportunity for buyers to own an Estridge home in a responsible manner. In this program, the customer must put up their own money, typically in excess of $20,000. The mortgage is a fully amortized 30 year fixed mortgage in the buyer’s name. There is no negative amortization, no game, no gimmick. Estridge is paying into escrow the all the first year’s ownership. Estridge bears the full cost of this incentive; the buyer completely wins.
I would hope that the next time you attempt to throw all home builders into the same “gimmick” box, you would take the time to know the facts and the truth about those builder. We need people who are willing to report the truth and what is really happening in our
