If you haven't been living deep underground for the last year and a half, you are aware of the "Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis". Over 250 of the largest lenders have either vanished, stopped acting as wholesale lenders or been merged with the few huge bankers with "deep pockets". There are quite a number of others that are "holding on by the skin of their teeth" and others have lost, literally, hundreds of billions of dollars in loans-gone-bad.

You might think that the "Sub-Prime Crisis" only involves sub-prime lenders. Unfortunately, most other alternative mortgages have also vanished (ALT-A and Alternative documentation, etc) removing the opportunity to do "if the loan makes sense, then close it" underwriting. Lenders made ALT-A loans that made no more sense than the sub-primes. Because those borrowers are going bad, there are now alternatives to conventional, FHA and VA loans. This is unfortunate, because the majority of the borrowers, who did make sense for those loans, are not in default...they simply did not "fit the mold" of the conventional borrower. But, now, they are out of luck for new loans, along with those borrowers that might have enbe termed "deadbeats" in the first place.

Along with major companies, literally thousands of smaller lenders, mortgage brokers, branches and loan officers have left the business. Some have left because they could not make a living unless they could originate "no-money-needed, no-brainer" loans for unqualified borrowers. These are the people and companies that got into the mortgage business for the "quick and easy pickings". But, while the blame is being heaped on the people at the bottom of the mortgage production machine, that ran out of control, the truth is that the people at the top are the true culprits. The people and companies that built the the financial machine that ultimately failed...the mortgage bankers, ratings agencies and the country's largest lenders...set something rolling downhill that couldn't be stopped once it was let loose:

An Insider's Explanation of the Sub-Prime Mortgage Collapse

By: Best selling author and former Salomon Brothers bond salesman Michael Lewis,
from CBS News, 60 Minutes:

Editorial - Misplaced Blame, Family Home Lending, Etc:

While Quest's efforts are aimed primarily at commercial funding, we still offer some of the best rates for residential borrowers in NJ & Florida, originating for Mega Financial Network, Inc (NJ), a Licensed NJ Mortgage Broker and Florida-licensed Correspondant Mortgage Banker...just as we did for Family Home Lending. 

Unfortunately, with many of their (at one point, nearly 500) lenders/investors being driven out of business as the 2007-9 recession deepened, the corporate office of Family Home Lending also decided to leave the home mortgage business as of year-end, 2007.  

But, WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE STILL HERE...along with a remnant of the other professionals in the mortgage business. Many brokers, who remain to offer residential funding, like to think that we are the ones who were, and are, the professionals. Certainly, during the boom days of the last decade, a lot of people were attracted to both real estate sales and lending. Many came for the "easy money, but did not commit to their customers and their craft, have now moved on.

If you dealt with the Egg Harbor Township, NJ branch of FHLS (or even if you did not), we remain here to be of service to you. Please E-mail or call us.  With mortgage options having become more limited now, our expertise can be of even more importance to you. Our dedication to honest, ethical, professional service remains unchanged. That dedication goes out to all of our customers, including any residential borrower who needs our services anywhere in NJ or Florida. We are here to assist you when you need us.

See General Conventional/Government Residential Loan Rate Information on the Rates Page

Unfortunately, with the mortgage meltdown, plenty of other competent, ethical professionals have quit and moved on because they literally have no products to sell. It isn't just subprime mortgages that have vanished. All types of mortgage products have disappeared. It now seams as if the only people who can get approved for a mortgage are those who don't need them in the first place.

On top of everything else, the government bailout doesn't, for the most part, help the "common man" to any significant degree, except to postpone foreclosures to some extent.  It is appropriate to use a play on the words of Oliver Hardy, "This is another fine mess we are in." 

Most of the blame for our "fine mess" is aimed at mortgage brokers and shady appraisers. But, no-one is really blameless, not the sellers who made unfair profits in the rising values of the market; not the Realtors who listed the properties at unrealistically high prices, convinced byers that those were the market values and then pocketed unfairly high commissions; not the insolvent, greedy borrowers who thought they could make a "quick killing", even with empty pockets; not the Wall Street bankers who bet against their own clients and made a killing, not the bond rating services or the lenders who sloppily originated (then quickly sold) junk loans; and certainly not those mortgage crooks that put their own interests above honesty and professionalism to their borrowers. 

Our situation has decimated the mortgage broker busines, and will force many borrowers to have to deal with the same greedy lenders who were at the real heart of the mess. But, we like to think that this has left the most honest, dedicated and talented mortgage professionals remaining in business to serve you.