Getting a pre-approved mortgage - 2004-01-25
Q: In a recent article, you recommended a home buyer get pre-approved in writing by a mortgage lender. You said to be sure the approval comes from a lender, not a mortgage broker. Because you didn't elaborate, it sounded like using a mortgage broker was a bad idea.

As a mortgage broker, I realize there are some mortgage brokers who give the rest of us a bad name. But we honest mortgage brokers provide very valuable services. At our brokerage, our pre-approvals are based on underwriting approvals from the actual lenders. Also, only the actual lender can issue an interest rate lock-in, and we just pass the information to our borrower.
Read the full story at San Francisco Chronicle

The Metropolitan Mortgage mess: Northwest investors victims of risky strategy - 2004-01-25
The irony, Toby Arnold revealed, is that he wasn't looking to get rich fast. It was just about a year ago when the 58-year-old Bothell man, newly laid off from his sales job at Hewlett-Packard, sat down with his broker.

That's how Arnold came to invest $75,000 he couldn't afford to lose in Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities, the Spokane financial conglomerate now struggling to survive under the weight of crushing debt payments and regulatory fines.
Read the full story at Seattle Times