Cary Reines is the executive vice president of Mason-Dixon Funding, an independent mortgage banking company based in Rockville.
What’s your take on the mortgage crisis?
Mason-Dixon, like every other mortgage company, has felt the impact of the last six months. I’ve been in the business for 30 years. I think we all know that the industry has its ups and downs and is subject to business cycles. This has been different. This is almost an industry that has had an infection.
But you remain in business despite the subprime meltdown?
We were never a company that specialized in subprime, so we haven’t been impacted as much by the buybacks you’re seeing out there now. What we’re finding are people who have very little equity when they went into their house, and now that their home values are dropping they’re upside down.
You’re actually hiring more staff?
We’ve been able to retain our top loan officers and we’re hiring more commission loan officers. We’ve always looked at tough times as an opportunity to attract great people. When times are great the top loan people are not really in a place to be hired.
So plenty of people are looking for work?
We’re hiring talented loan officers who are surviving during these difficult times but their companies are going out of business. The silver lining in the gray cloud: There’s going to be a lot of the riffraff that’s going to get out, both companies and loan officers. We’re going to get back to basics and have a good, solid industry.
How do you see the industry emerging?
It has improved a little bit in the last month or two. I think we need to get the consumer confidence in order to start absorbing some of the inventory we have in the marketplace. As we trudge our way through 2008 and get into the fall, I think you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel. Rates are good.
