This is not a healthy indication of where the loan industry is headed:
"FIRST MAGNUS HALTS LOANS
By Jack Gillum, Christie Smythe and David Wichner
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona Published: 08.16.2007
First Magnus Financial Corp., a mortgage lender that is one of Tucson's only locally based national firms and one of the area's major employers, is no longer writing loans as of this morning.
An e-mail Wednesday evening told branch managers of Great Southwest Mortgage, the retail arm of First Magnus, that the parent company was no longer funding loans. First Magnus is reporting 800 full-time-equivalent local employees.
"We will not be funding loans tomorrow," wrote Erik Lutz, the president and founder of Great Southwest. "
Many of the smaller lenders will be hit hard. Even Countrywide is struggling but given its size will likely come through the mess.
One prediction to consider: Are we about to return to the days when Sellers carried a note on the sale of their homes. It would help the entry level buyers now that the sub-prime market is either going away or tightening up to tight for most buyers. Time will tell - how bad do the Sellers want to sell?
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