Brokers who won in Salem, lost in life

State legislators tussled with lobbyists over mortgage regulations and lost

By Steve Law

The Portland Tribune, Oct 23, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

Harriet Bing

Call it ironic or a cruel twist of fate.

Call it a comeuppance, or just plain sad.

But it’s hard not to notice that so many Portland mortgage brokers who fended off tighter home-lending regulations now are falling victim to the industry excesses that precipitated the economic crisis.

To set the stage, let’s go back to May 25, 2007, to a state Capitol hearing held by the Oregon House of Representatives’ Consumer Protection Committee.

The state Senate had easily passed a crackdown on predatory and risky mortgage lending, but Portland-area mortgage brokers mobilized to snuff out the bill on the House side.

Their new lobbying group, the Oregon Coalition of Mortgage Originators, packed the hearing room. Mortgage brokers offered a chorus of dire warnings that the bill would cripple Oregon-based lenders and shut down the flow of home loans in the state.

Those signed-up to testify that day included local mortgage brokers Harriet Bing, Steve Emory and Bill Ridge. Orchestrating the fight-back was Shane Jackson, hired to represent the fledgling lobbying group.

The industry’s full-court press prevailed, killing Senate Bill 965 in the Democrat-controlled House, and quashing similar bills in the February 2008 special session.

Much has changed since February.

Find out more

To learn more about how to prevent foreclosures and gain tips on avoiding foreclosure scams, check the state Division of Finance and Corporate Securities Web site at www.cbs.state.or.us/dfcs/ml/foreclosure.html.

In March, Emory closed his Beaverton mortgage company, and took a job as a loan officer with another local company.

In June, Jackson filed a lawsuit against the mortgage trade group that hired him, claiming he never got paid $20,000 for services rendered. “They didn’t have the money to pay the bill,” Jackson said. The case is in mediation.

In August, Bill Ridge, who spearheaded formation of the Oregon Coalition of Mortgage Originators, went into default on the Portland riverfront condo he purchased in 2006 for $423,110, according to Multnomah County records.

In late September, Bing said she was barely hanging onto her Southeast Portland mortgage company. Times are so tough that Bing said she pared back use of her anti-stroke medication, put off her own retirement date and entertained the notion of moving in with her daughter in Toronto.

Warnings were given

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit