Racial Inequity When It Should Be Irrelevant

It burns us up to read these recent reports about racial inequality in mortgage lending. One of the many problems with this reporting is that it leads readers to conclude that if you are a minority you will be charged more for your loan. This is a huge misconception about the lending process and quite honestly we take offence to this naive interpretation.

Over the past few days we have read or listened to numerous sources explain how Congressmen have “grilled” Federal Reserve Governors; how some consumer advocate organizations are calling for federal limits on how much can be charged by lenders. This is absolutely ridiculous. There are already rules in place that limit charges in most states. But the most demanding regulator of all is the open market.

We consumers have more choices now than ever before when it comes to real estate loans. These choices have made it more difficult to determine if we are making the right decision. Add to this fact that over the last few years the number of people who call themselves "loan officers" has doubled from approximately 250,000 to 500,000. This does not lead to the highest quality of service.

An even more harsh reality is the simple fact that most of us have gotten lazy about doing our own due diligence. My wife will spend hours at a mall shopping. She may find a blouse she likes at one store, put it on hold, and then continue to shop at countless other stores to find the same blouse. Once she finds the store with the least expensive blouse, she buys it. This is fun to her. To me, it's torture, but it's a great analogy. We need to do this with our financial decisions, but we should shop for expertise, not price.

With something as complex as mortgage lending, you do yourself a huge favor by seeking out experts. You should do research. Check your local paper for articles written by lenders in your area. Listen to real estate radio talk shows. Check online with lending associations for members of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB.org), the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBAA.org) and the National Association of Responsible Loan Officers (NARLO.com). Finally, ask a friend for a referral. Remember, you want to speak with someone who knows what they are talking about (an expert in their field) and can give you the best advice possible.

We, as consumers, have to take responsibility for the decisions we make. Yes, we agree that discrimination takes place, but to a certain extent nowadays it can be avoided. There are national lenders, internet lenders, regional lenders, local lenders and private individuals who all lend money. No one should feel pigeon-holed into a loan without having to bear some of the blame.

One of the biggest issues with this subject is that the lending community does very little to advertise itself as ethical. Lenders seem to think that the way they differentiate themselves is by offering the "lowest" rates. Well guess what...there's no such thing. If we were to ask 5 people with the exact same qualifications to go find the lowest rate they can today, we are guaranteed to get 5 different answers. We consumers don't need the lowest rate; we need experts with the highest ethical standards.

Only ethics and morals will ever change these strings of reports we all read/hear about. No amount of Federal regulation will ever be able to impose these standards without encouraging the best in their field to leave the industry. Let me give you an example.

If I were to tell you to go find a heart surgeon would you consult the yellow pages? NO! Would you price shop their fees? NO! You'd do research and ask for referrals. You'd want to know where he/she was trained and how many operations they had successfully completed and how many unsuccessful. You’d go to incredible lengths to get answers. Why then do we trust the largest financial transaction of our lives to some idiot telemarketer who calls us at dinner time with the promise of the lowest rate and a free toaster oven? It boggles the mind.

It's time to take responsibility America. People are taking advantage of us because we allow them to. There will always be statistics like these until we decide to be responsible for ourselves. Big Brother has too much on his plate to regulate an industry that only needs it's consumers to be more diligent. It's up to us to fix this problem, and the solution is readily available if we look.

We need to verify a loan officer’s credentials. Do they serve a specific niche? Ask them to show you social proof of their expertise. What designations have they earned? Have they been honored by any organization? To which associations do they belong? If we can not resolve our differences, do we as consumers have the ability to mediate our problem? Do they have testimonials from three previous customers that will speak to us? All these questions and more should be on the top of your list; rates, points and fees will automatically be fair if you get good answers to any of these questions.

We have great sympathy for people who have been overcharged for reasons of race. This is an outrage that should never be tolerated. We encourage the predatory people to get out of the lending industry. That however may be a pipe dream. So, the best way we can eliminate reports with findings like these in the future is to be more diligent shoppers of expertise, not rates and fees.