During 2002 and 2003, the Boston TV news had a recurring story about Whitey Bulger. Whitey was in the news on a regular basis. For those who don’t know the Whitey Bulger story – you can find his picture on the famous “FBI 10 most wanted†list. Whitey’s picture is directly below Usama Bin Laden
The news people loved to do stories about Whitey, because it gave them a chance to use the phrase “on the lam“. It was great fun watching them deliver the line, and they never passed up a chance to use it.
During my stay in Boston, I added “on the lam” to my list of words used in the media but never in real life. Other words on the list include “hip” and “groovy”. Ever since 2002 I have been looking for an opportunity to use “on the lam” in a sentence, and today is the day.
As I drive around Aurora, Colorado I listen to my car radio. I hear hundreds (maybe thousands) of 30 second commercials for mortgage companies – and nearly every commercial uses the phrase “less than perfect credit”. It is readily apparent this phrase is a money maker, because they all say it as often as possible. For example – I entered the phrase “less than perfect credit” in Google and got 1.5 million hits. I am not making this up. HSH comes up number one on the Google phrase “less than perfect credit”. I am sure HSH worked very hard and spent $1,000’s (maybe millions) of dollars to be the top “less than perfect credit” Website.
What exactly does “less than perfect credit” mean? Does this imply there is such a thing as “perfect credit”? Is there even one person who has perfect credit? If I claimed to have perfect credit, would anyone believe me? In the mortgage business, everyone has a story. This “less than perfect credit” thing is just another story. It sounds good. It must work because they all do it, but this phrase is so broad it has no meaning. Everyone has “less than perfect credit”. Right?
Listening to the radio commercials I get the impression that “less than perfect credit” is a very valuable commodity. Mortgage companies fight hard to obtain customers with “less than perfect credit”. I can easily imagine a scenario where someone with “less than perfect credit” could apply for a mortgage loan, and expect fierce competition amongst the lenders. If the borrower played it right the lenders would all try to out-do each other. Before long, some lender would offer to pay him a big chunk of money to buy a house and take out a loan.
Does anyone think I am exaggerating?
Consider the case of Justin Matthew Byrd, date of birth 05/27/86. Mr Byrd is included in an article dated 11/09/04 in the Spokesman-Review: (Spokane Washington) — OUTSTANDING WARRANTS Bonner County, (Idaho) has a backlog of outstanding warrants. Officials are asking the public for any information about the following people, who are identified by name, age, last known city of residence, the charge and the bond amount on the warrant. If you have any information, contact the sheriff’s department at (208) 263-8417, or the Bonner County Communication Center (208) 255-2946.
Misdemeanors: Justin M. Byrd – 18, Sagle, assault, malicious injury to property, intentional destruction of a phone/telecommunication line, $10,000 bond.
With that lengthy introduction – here are today’s entries in the Mortgage Scam-O-Rama:
Property Address = 22294 E Frost Pl, Aurora, CO 80016
Close Date = 11/29/05
Loan Amt = $430,000 Buyer/Borrower = Justin M Byrd
Lender = Axis Mortgage / Biltmore
Indicated Value = $370,000 (this is a stretch – I put the value more like $340 – $350)
Indicated Mortgage Fraud = My best estimate is that Justin M Byrd walked out of the closing room with $85,000 cash, courtesy of Axis Mortgage.
MLS listing history / MLS pg 1 / MLS 2002
Listing agent = Troy Hansford Re/Max Unlimited / Selling Agent = Kimberly White at Space Realty
Notes: Kimberly White strikes again. Existing loan on this property was about $350,000 which means there was just enough money for the real estate agents to get paid with nothing left over for the seller.
tags
on the lam with less than perfect credit
on+the+lam less+than+perfect usama+bin+laden fbi 10+most+wanted whitey+bulger hip groovy kimberly+white mortgage+fraud justin+byrd
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