The drug dealers are running the detox centers

One of the great things about blogs is that the material never goes away - it just stays there for years and years in searchable form so that, when someone sends you an email on a subject that sounds familiar, within about five seconds you can find something from years ago and create a whole new story that otherwise would have been impossible.

Such was the case earlier today when an incoming mail from someone in my old neighborhood of Ventura County, California asked whether I had any idea whether one Mike Hobbs was a reputable fellow when it comes to rescuing homeowners from predatory lenders.

A quick Google search on Mr. Hobbs led to the Mortgage Police website which carries the "Mortech" moniker that may be familiar to long-time readers.

For those not familiar with the Mortech Financial story, have a look at this post from January of 2006 titled "No Rules, Only Guidelines" to learn what Mike Hobbs and partner Dan Harris were up to a few years back as one of the leading local mortgage lenders with a popular radio talk show, catering to those individuals and families desperate to get in on the hot real estate market but without the requisite good credit, downpayment, or a job.

Fast forward a few years (through what must have been an exciting time for them) and the gigantic red Hummer shown above - then a symbol of real estate riches and borrow and spend overconsumption - has morphed into something of a firetruck/police car and the former lenders now bill themselves as consumer advocates.
Hey, you gotta make a living somehow - adapt or die, as they say, because the business of suprime lending is certainly dead.

Now, I don't claim to know anything about what sorts of things Mike and Dan are doing in their new role "sticking up for the little guy". For all I know, maybe they felt so bad about getting all those prior customers into loans they really couldn't afford they are now offering a genuinely good service at no charge.

Who knows?

Whatever their motives and whatever the quality of the services they provide, from here, it sure looks like the drug dealers are running the detox centers.