Sam's TEAM Blog

very good.  Yet buying share of mind isn't really difficult.  It's only marketing, using a sledgehammer to buy time and having a bank account large enough to pay the freight. 

So what's this about you ask.  This is about Paramount Equity Mortgage.

The state of Washington's DFI, the mortgage industry overseer in the Northwest's most populous state, served notice of their intention to eliminate household name Paramount Equity Mortgage from providing mortgage services.

Shocking?!?!???

Perhaps only in the absence of the question "What took regulators (the law) so long to take action?".

For reputable mortgage industry insider's jealousy was an element - but jealousy that some could behave in such a callous manner, essentially laughing in the face of the law, the rules, the regulations.  Envy existed too, but only for the voluminous Paramount Equity marketing budget and the share of mind notariety it generated.

Regulators are rightly suspicious of competitors complaining about one another.  Yet the tactics of Paramount Equity were pretty well known, as wary consumers have sought out comparisons from other lender options when something just didn't smell right in the Paramount transaction.

Washington DFI's filing ( Washington 12 pg statement of charges - the juicy allegations start on page 8!) sums up the allegations and provides the reasoning for the formal court filing revocation of Paramount's license in Washington.  The charges provide an unflattering and descriptive analysis of the company's behaviors.

The $500,000 minimum fine and complete restitution of injured borrowers losses only add to the severity of the dismissal of Paramount's ability to do business in Washington.

While the headline asserts deceptive advertising, persons with industry knowledge reading the 12 page court document should get a chin cushion for the anticipated gaping jaw drop.  Smelling salts advised, too. Gravity induced chin free fall can provide serious injury.

Unearned fees, charging discount points to lower the interest rate but not doing so or charging a fee which is not expensed out the other side is a serious violation of law, federal law.

So while the initial fireworks are sent skyward in Olympia, WA., the real show may be when HUD and the Feds, through the FBI and the US Attorney General's office investigate the reported violations of federal regulations.