Many states are jumping on the bandwagon and suing Countrywide for their unscrupulous business dealings. This effort may be seen as an effort to fight against all lending companies that during the big real estate boom made money from unaware homebuyers.

Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed suit against Countrywide Financial Corporation, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, LP, Full Spectrum Lending, Inc., and Angelo R. Mozilo, individually and as CEO of Countrywide Financial Corporation.

McGraw is alleging that Countrywide made loan arrangement in the state of West Virginia that were unaffordable and insensible. The loans not only have affected consumers in the state of West Virginia but throughout the US. The question is, was Countrywide the only real estate broker wanting to get it on the real estate bubble and make billions of money before the bubble burst?

A few of the ways that Countrywide enticed homebuyers is the same exact ways that many other lending companies were working with consumers over the last few years. These examples include offering a teaser rate for between two and five years, then resetting the interest rate at a much higher rate which made the loans unaffordable. This is not the only way they enticed consumers. Other such enticements including no down payment. However, with the no down agreement in 15 years a large balloon would be due that was close to the same amount the homebuyer borrowed in the first place.

Question. Who is watching over the lending practices of any type of lending institution? When loan companies such as Countrywide can scam people into making a loan higher than they can afford, the entire economy suffers. Not only will the property value go down in the neighborhood where the foreclosure happens to be, but also as you are seeing today, many banks are in trouble. Investors pull their money out of the lending market, then you see banks and the stock market weakening.

More real estate agents need to work alongside their homebuyers and home sellers when it comes to working with any lending company. If more agents were involved in the process and really have their clientele’s best interest at heart, they could help prevent such catastrophes. If homebuyers would sit down with their real estate agent and fill out all the appropriate information, the agent could show them how much they could afford to pay monthly. Not only this, but agents could explain all the tricky wording of the various loans and explain to their clientele what all of these means to their pocket. In order to fight the big dogs, you have to know what you are up against and working together with knowledgeable and trustworthy real estate agents may be the biggest key to the real estate slump. Consumers do not know whom they can trust when they see big lending companies such as Countrywide scamming them so they lose their homes.

Yes, this will be work for the agent, however, as agents, a smile on the face of your clients for helping them find their dream home they can afford and the money you will make from a good deal should be worth the effort. Going that extra mile with a client will provide you with more clients and you will become a pillar among the rest of the agents and lending companies that look at clients as dollar signs.

Scott Kucirek was appointed to lead the development and implementation of a groundbreaking initiative, CALMLS, by the California Association of Realtors. Kucirek has all the expertise that is needed to bring about a huge change in the world of real estate in California, however, will this change the Multi Listing Service as much as realtor’s really need.

How many times have you had a client visit the multi listing and then contact you about a property to learn quickly the home was sold three or four months ago? This catastrophe is not just happening on San Diego real estate but occurring all across America. Due to this, many homebuyers are put off rather than grasping the internet for their source for finding their dream home. You can imagine the distraught feelings for those wishing to move to the San Diego area from out of state trying to find a home to buy using the internet. Many times, they will search and search for a home that fits their lifestyle and then call a realtor to learn that the home was sold and not taken out of the online database. Since the homebuyer is not in the state is can be quite devastating for them when searching.

If any type of MLS is going to work to help realtor’s they must be kept up to date and as much information as possible be accessible to the Realtor. Realtors in order to sell homes on the market need a bit more information that is normally find in the databases. No matter what side of the MLS you are on, home buyer or realtor, the information is often misleading or is totally left out. Realtors should have a private area in which to learn more about properties on the market including if they are in the process of foreclosure. Too many times, a realtor and home buyer learn after putting in a bid that the home is owned by a bank and is up for bids instead of purchasing for the price listed on the MLS. This is not only hurtful for the realtor’s relationship with the buyer but is hard on the realtor’s pocketbook as well. All the time spent with the client to learn they are now in a bidding war.

However, the California Association of Realtors states, “Scott has a proven track-record of leading large teams of people to achieve superior results. He’s demonstrated his ability to identify and expand new markets, streamline complex systems and create more efficient processes in real estate through even better uses of technology best practices,” hopefully he will be able to implement the proper designs and multi listing software programs that will work for both realtor and home buyer.