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The current mortgage crisis did not begin when the subprime lenders began to announce that they were facing financial difficulties due to a surge in defaults. It didn’t begin when Greenspan was discussing the housing market ‘conundrum’. It wasn’t caused by the real estate ‘bubble’ popping. It wasn’t terrorists, the war in Iraq, inflation or increased cost of barrel oil. While none of these things caused the current credit crisis, they certainly may have contributed to it. In addition, so did mortgage lenders, underwriters, appraisers, real estate agents, title companies AND consumers.

The responsibility for the current credit crisis can not be unilaterally assigned to one or all of the groups referenced above, moreover, it is an effort in futility. The road to recovery from this crisis and addressing the pervasive effect it is having on multiple levels within the economy must be focused on finding appropriate, lasting solutions. Not quick-fix, self-serving band-aids and/or rhetoric from lenders, brokers, appraisers, realtors, title agents and government agencies. We don’t need anyone else to tell us what’s wrong and who’s responsible–we need solutions. We need education and information; not legislation.

Consumer protection laws, disclosure documents, etc. have been around for years, yet it wasn’t sufficient to shield us from this crisis. We need to lift the veil of complexity and mystery rampant in the mortgage process. We need better education, information and training at all levels to both recover from the current crisis and produce lasting solutions for the future.

For the last several months, I have been talking with a number of consultants, industry experts, legislators, regulatory agencies and members of Congress about the current credit crisis. With the hope of providing you with a better understanding of the crisis, how it’s progressing, how it could affect you and resources that are available to those that need assistance, I am starting a series of posts.

The focus of these posts will be to identify what the root problem(s) are, the symptoms which may or may not be part of the root issues, and ideas for positive long-term solutions. So far, I’ve found that those willing to discuss the crisis are more focused on ‘assigning responsibility (to others)’ than on addressing the issues and looking for solutions. As with any crisis, resources need to be pooled from all areas and people will have to work together to establish positive lasting results.

Due to the far-reaching effects and consequences of the credit crisis, the series of posts will appear here and on www.protectyourgoodcredit.com.