Comments on: Paramount Equity Consent Order

By: To the Students from the July 13-15, 2010 Prelicensing Class in Tacoma : National Association of Mortgage Fiduciaries

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:07:12 +0000

[...] a link to he article on Paramount Equity that I referenced in [...]

By: What You Want To Hear? « HighTechLending, Don Davis

What You Want To Hear? « HighTechLending, Don Davis — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:59:28 +0000

[...] you might find this interesting as it is written by one of our industries continuing education leaders. http://mortgagefiduciaries.com/2009/05/paramount-equity-consent-order/ [...]

By: amanda kirilenko

amanda kirilenko — Mon, 31 May 2010 15:13:18 +0000

I guess my first question is, are they still operating in Washington? It is the age old concept that if you have enough money you buy just about anything.

By: Kathleen Manford

Kathleen Manford — Thu, 27 May 2010 22:25:39 +0000

I have a brother in law who is always calling me wanting to know why I cant get him a rate quoted on commercials. I told him how they work and how they cover the fees. (no one works for free) I finally got tired of his questions and said go ask them! His GF started a loan with them and I went over things with him at the end, needless to say nothing was like the commercials. IF people would just remember 2 little phrases, 1. No one works for free and 2. If it looks to good to be trues…. it is! I hope that soon people will be wise enough to stand up from an escrow table and walk away when things are not as quoted. I am not afraid of licensing or testing or continuing education, bring it on.

By: Angie Williams

Angie Williams — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:44:34 +0000

Ok.. so I’m naive and live in a bubble. How can this possibly happen to this extent? I just went to their website and it states they are a member of the BBB. Seriously? Why are they allowed to operate and advertise? A slap on the hand and back out there you go? I’m confused and most certainly must be missing something here. I can’t sneeze in my office without a supervisor asking me if I re disclosed!
And they are members of a professional organization? This one will bug me for a while…

By: Virginia Miller

Virginia Miller — Tue, 25 May 2010 00:10:22 +0000

Seems to me they got off too easy. Just readng the radio ads sounds flaky to me. I consdier myself a very conservative person and if I heard this ad I seriously would not have paid attention to it or at least did some checking up on it. I know this comes naturally to me as I have been in banking for some time and not for othere they just wantiong a good deal. Ever hear the expression “If it sounds to good it proably is too good”. With all the new laws and the new Good Faith Estiamte 2010 this will eliminate alot of this.

By: Shawn Lynch

Shawn Lynch — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:41:30 +0000

I have to disagree with you on the stiff penalties. I wish they were stiffer. Much stiffer and against ALL owners and board members of a company that goes out to intentionally discieve and manipulate the public. Every industry insider knew that they were doing, oferring a free apprasial in one hand while charging huge fees with the other. It’s not a surprise for anyone who works in the business. But if the state is going to charge them X for breaking the law and they can make ten times X, then that should be the penalty. Ten times X.

I do agree with you on the Scarlet Letter approch, however, Banish them from accessing a warehouse lines until they can prove they have come into compliance.

When it gets down to it, some people will break the law up to the point that it’s financially apprealing to do so. So make it unappealing. Why do you think poeople deal in drugs? It’s a huge money maker and if they are caught, and the money successfully hidden, they do a little time, or a lot, but they walk out of prision rich men. It’s all a part of doing business for them. I’d hate to think my profession was the same . . .

By: Bryce Zimmerman

Bryce Zimmerman — Sat, 22 May 2010 00:15:54 +0000

It is a shame that the penalties weren’t more severe, because that leads other bottom line driven empoyers to persue these types of lending practices. Fortunately with the 2010 gfe I don’t see how they could perform many of these types of malpractices. Realistically their will always be those types of individuals driven by greed, but typically they don’t last in a service related industry. The internet has opened the consumers eyes to reasonable costs for the majority of consumers.

By: Christopher W. Johnston

Christopher W. Johnston — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:40:22 +0000

I have heard their ads numerous times in the past and cringe each and every time I hear that voice of Hayes Barnard. We, as mortgage professionals, knew what they were up to with regards to the “free appraisals” and the $500 guarnatee, but the general public did not. Personally, it’s these types of operations that make all of our lives harder and invite more over-regulation. Truth be told, most, if not all, of the loan officers there are probably very “green” and unfotunately operate off a numbers game.

By: Regulators: Mortgage Lead Generation Firms are Violating State and Federal Laws | Rain City Guide

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 05:54:17 +0000

[...] When clicking through, the lendgo.com lead generation site asks some simple questions like the value of my home, zip code, whether or not I’ve ever filed bankruptcy, etc. Then I’m asked to provide personal information and assured that I’m dealing with a secure website. Name address, phone number, etc. After I click “submit,” I’m told that I will be given four quotes. I clicked ’submit’ after offering them the following: First Name: Your Ad Last Name: Violates TILA But I don’t get a quote. Instead I’m asked even more questions before being told that four lenders will contact me within 24 hours: Quicken Loans, Onyx Mortgage, Americash Mortgage Bankers (I’m thinking it was a seven beer night when someone decided on that name), and….I’m totally surprised here: Paramount Equity Mortgage. [...]

By: Mortgage Lead Generation Firms Continue to Violate Federal and State Laws : National Association of Mortgage Fiduciaries

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 05:53:41 +0000

By: To the Students from the April 6-8, 2010 20 Hr Prelicensing and Exam Prep class : National Association of Mortgage Fiduciaries

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:20:58 +0000

[...] is the article I wrote regarding Paramount Equity’s Consent [...]

By: Elisa Wu

Elisa Wu — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:30:19 +0000

Actually, if you read many morgage comapny’s ads on paper, you could always find one or two of the companies has similar violations like Paramount Equaty’s. It’s very educational from the opposite side for LO to conduct business with their customers in a professional and ethic way; we LO always can learn lessons from the other sides of it. It’s very interesting to read all the ads on paper about APR and how much the morgage company can give you back for your business, and some of them you can tell it’s illegal because it just too good to be true.

By: Kelly Fiscus

Kelly Fiscus — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:29:03 +0000

Perhaps the new tag should be Paramount Equity “Lending with Expertise at ripping the consumer off!” It sounds like they got off lightly too!

By: Adam Salter

Adam Salter — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:01:39 +0000

I was an employee at aparmount equity mortgage and gett screwed out of a ton of money then when I was let go, I could not get unemployement insurance. PEM is a terrible company they only care about making money. Hayes Barnyard is an idiot and an inauthentic liar. No they are looking to rip people off with solar power. I am so bitter with my experiance and can’t wait for them to get shut down.

By: TB98629

TB98629 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:15:49 +0000

We filed our complaint with the Better Business Bureau and with Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. The BBB, I am happy to report, after receiving my letter, has updated their listing for Paramount Equity Mortgage under “Government Actions”. They now list the DFI settlement, and that’s good. It was a BIG DEAL for those of us who were violated. They STOLE our money, and our FUTURE money.

Paramount Equity Mortgage will tell you that they “resolved the issues with the State of Washington” and they told me personally that they, “simply had to better understand how Washington interpreted the mortgage lending laws.” I reminded them that they were not cited for minor variations from the laws, but for glaring, predatory, deceptive practices. They were ordered to pay restitution on those loans that they were caught with, but that’s not the whole story by a long shot. I was told many times that they routinely destroy borrower records after 18 months, so they could not find my records. It is my opinion that they destroy them because then government agencies cannot AUDIT them. Luckily, I have every document produced, and it will be more than enough for me to gain access to justice.

I urge you to check your closing documents for the violations outlined in the settlement charges. They are EASY to spot on your HUD1 statement, and other closing documents, you DON’T need to be an attorney. Their violations were not “dismissed” as Paramount would have you believe, they SETTLED. They DID commit these crimes, they simply said they would stop. Have they stopped? I’ll never personally know, because I will NEVER do business with them again, and I will try to rescue anyone else thinking of doing business with them. CHECK YOUR DOCUMENTS! Help is available to you, but you have to ASK for it. Good luck! TB98629

By: tb98629

tb98629 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:39:37 +0000

I agree whole heartedly with Mr. Schlicke. The punishment does not fit the crime, shame on DFI. WHY should Paramount Equity cease? Their fines were LESS MONEY than their annual radio ad bill (I happen to know this first hand). God sakes.

By: Gordon Schlicke

Gordon Schlicke — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:24:04 +0000

Paramount was nothing more than a mass marketing machine. Look at the posted biographies of the principals. They generated volume but didn’t take care of the back office. Shortly after the DFI complaint they were on the internet looking for a compliance officer! Usually the DFI does a good job, but in this case the penalties were quite palatable. Gee, if I look contrite and pay some money I don’t have to admit any guilt. They had a good lawyer who understood that if you were a good actor at the hearing there would be plenty of cash left to pay his retainer and throw a party. The cash penalties need to be closer to maximum to keep this from happening again.

By: Todd Little

Todd Little — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 21:14:37 +0000

Paramount was in the wrong in this type of marketing and they knew it. Yes, this happens all the time, but Paramount DID get caught and it should be a lesson for all of us in the Mortgage Industry. Don’t play “word games” in advertising or it will came back to haunt you.

By: Victoria Johnson

Victoria Johnson — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:29:54 +0000

I’m the incoming membership chair for NAMB. We currently do not have a Corporate Membership category. NAMB is working on a new corporate category, not yet approved. Therefore, Paramount Equity is NOT a corporate member. I will be delighted to personally look into this matter if you can give me the ACTUAL, INDIVIDUAL, member name. Do you think they could be an “industry partner”? This is not a membership, but a form of support. Let me know and I’ll look into the situation. This sounds like a serious violation of ethics.