Pressure at Mortgage Firm: The other side of the story

June 1, 2007

On May 9th I published this article: What flavor loan is in your future? about the subprime lending mess. The article pointed out the advertising still being done universally (email spam, fax spam, print ads, television, etc) touting mortgage loans with low starting rates, no credit, bad credit, bankruptcy and no income verification.

I also pointed to an article from The Washington Post titled "Pressure at Mortgage Firm Led To Mass Approval of Bad Loans" that depicted the intense internal pressure resulting in bad behavior inside bankrupt New Century Financial. I received a comment from an employee working in the same office that paints a different picture than the one the Post writer painted in his article. This comment comes from Duane Hamm and warrants being featured on the front page. Here's his comment:

I had the misfortune of working with Maggie Hardiman as the appraisal clerk (my job was to assist her and the other appraisal reviewer) in the New Century branch she's talking about in this article and I have to say that not only is every word she said in that article a lie, she left out the fact that she was a difficult unreasonable monster to work with. She would reject loans because there was a shadow on the roof from nearby trees or in some cases simply because she didn't like the appraiser. I remember one time she had me spend all day gathering information on a certain appraiser she knew personally in order to get him blacklisted from New Century. When the information I provided showed he was a competent appraiser she got mad and accused me of working against her.

Paranoia was a common theme with her. Whenever anyone disagreed with her she would accuse the whole office of being against her.

Yes, it's true that when she would reject something, they would bring it to the other reviewer. But again, she neglects to mention that he was a well respected, competent appraiser with years of experience. And he didn't always overturn her decision, just the insane ones. While we're on that note, I should mention that whenever he rejected an appraisal, she would seek out the account executive and do anything in her power to accept it just to spite him. Since he only rejected appraisals for legitimate reasons that means many loans that never should have made it out did because of her.

I'm not normally one to celebrate another person's misfortune but the day she was fired was a great day for me and my job became so much more enjoyable after she was gone. The whole office breathed a sigh of relief that day.

I'm not saying things like this don't happen or that my office was perfect, and I wasn't aware of every single dealing in that office. I can only say that what Maggie Hardiman says in this article is completely false and I can't stand by and see my former co-workers and friends slandered like this.

I could go on but I'll leave it at this. If anyone is interested, you can email me at duanehamm@yahoo.com and Maggie if you read this, shame on you.

One last thing about Maggie, Google "Margaret Hardiman" "Hopkinton" for a nice little story about the nightmare she put a small RI town through in her next job.

I did Google Ms. Hardiman as Duane suggested and found nothing conclusive other than a swarm of controversy around her job and local Hopkinton, R.I. politics. Ms. Hardiman was fired in July, 2006 from her position as tax assessor and since filed grievances alleging unlawful termination, civil rights violations and a hostile work environment. I could not find any additional reporting as to the outcome.

So, What is the truth? It is always what one perceives it to be. What is a reporter's responsibility to vet all the actors in a sensational story? I'd say imperative to be balanced reporting. But, balance is always what one perceives it be.

Note: Mr. Hamm's opinions are completely his own in his own words.

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