Real Estate
Mr. Mozilo Goes to Washington
By Dan Smith

Mr. Mozilo Goes to Washington
Since January of 2006, approximately 263 major U.S. mortgage lending institutions have fallen by the wayside. Although the pace of such failures has certainly slowed to that of snail’s, I was encouraged to hear about the arrest of two former Bear Sterns hedge fund managers early this morning. It is good to see some of the riff raff behind this real estate debacle are being led away by the FBI in handcuffs. Let’s hope it is just the beginning of a wagon train of arrests to follow.

In other riff raff news, it appears that some of our representatives in Washington (Harry Reid and Barbara Boxer—watch out!) are becoming embroiled in what is being dubbed MoziloGate. Apparently, the CEO of Countrywide, Angelo Mozilo, gave “special sweetheart” mortgage rates to certain United States representatives, including Senator Chris Dodd and Senator Kent Conrad. In fact, Senator Conrad has already confirmed speculation that Angelo Mozilo actually got on the phone with him at the time of his application, and told him that Countrywide had a special VIP division, through which his loan would be sent. However, Senator Dodd and Senator Conrad went on to explain that they didn’t find this treatment unusual in any way. Gee, do you think that might have anything to do with the $300 billion bailout (for Countrywide) that was sponsored recently by Senator Chris Dodd? Hmmm, no I am sure that fact is purely coincidental. That bill, by the way, has already cleared Congress and is back in the Senate.

So in case you are keeping score, the entire citizenry of this country is just now receiving “stimulus” checks totaling approximately $165 billion. But the company that led the nation in sub-prime and option ARM lending needs nearly double that to stay afloat. You can certainly see now why Senator Dodd thinks this is a real bargain. After all the good work Countrywide has done for this country, it should be obvious to all what a national treasure it is. I know I can’t wait to pay my taxes next year, knowing a percentage of my income is going to such a worthy cause. But if you are one of those stingy types, who just can’t get your arms around political bribery and corruption, then you might want to contact our state senators and tell them to kill this bill. (You can email them or call the following numbers: Wayne Allard (R) can be reached at (202-224-5941). Ken Salazar (D) can be reached at (202-224-5852). If they hear from enough of you “honest” types, this bailout will probably die there in the Senate. Otherwise, the next thing you know (and with friends like these), Angelo Mozilo will probably be running an airline. Whew, I know I just got chills!

For honest advice from someone who really cares, call the professional. Dan Smith can be reached at (303-674-0201), or visit his Web site at www.ColoradoHomeLoans.com and check out his complete consumer library today!