Wait a minute.

I was reading an article about "stated-income loans", also known as "liar loans", in the Herald this morning. Stated-income loans are where your lender basically takes your word for it that you make what you say you do, when they loan you money, with little or no documentation.

Obviously, this can lead to fraud, either by lenders fudging your documents or, more likely, by you lying about how much money you make, in order to buy a home that costs more than you can afford to buy.

I was caught by this sentence:

Most real estate agents and mortgage brokers are honest, but too many have stretched the truth, says Jim Croft, founder of the Mortgage Asset Research Institute.

"And they always have the fallback that they’re not dishonest," he says. "They’re just helping Jill and Joe Six-pack get into the home and realize the American dream."

Wait a minute.

What do real estate agents have to do with the mortgage loan industry?

I'm not being an idiot.

What I'm saying is, at least in my business, I have little or nothing to do with lenders.

This may surprise you, but it's true.

By the time clients contact me, they have lready approached a bank and been pre-approved for a loan.

Most of the time, I have absolutely no idea how much my clients make, what types of loans they are taking out, how much they are putting down at closing, etc.

It's not my job, it's not my responsibility, it's not my concern.

Clients come to me, tell me they want to buy a home in a certain neighborhood, fitting certain criteria, within a certain price range.

I help buyers find homes. I help them negotiate offers. I offer advice and guidance.

I don't have anything to do with mortgage brokers or lenders.

Don't soil my name!

Complete story: Neighborhood swayed by ’liar’s loans’ - By Associated Press, by way of The Boston Herald