The Foreclosure of America: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Countrywide Home Loans, the Mortgage Crisis, and the Default of the American Dream

The Foreclosure of America: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Countrywide Home Loans, the Mortgage Crisis, and the Default of the American Dream

by Adam Michaelson
The Foreclosure of America: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Countrywide Home Loans, the Mortgage Crisis, and the Default of the American Dream

The Foreclosure of America: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Countrywide Home Loans, the Mortgage Crisis, and the Default of the American Dream

by Adam Michaelson

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Overview

Now in paperback-an inside look at Countrywide Home Loans and the mortgage crisis, from a former mortgage lender executive.

In July 2004, Adam Michaelson attended a high-level meeting at Countrywide Financial headquarters about a new loan product that would allow borrowers to pay less than their minimum monthly payment. The "finance jocks" believed that the booming housing market would only get bigger, supporting homeowners in a cycle of borrowing against their houses and refinancing later. They were wrong. And when the bottom dropped out, Countrywide suffered the consequences-as did millions of Americans.

With an insider's knowledge and thorough reporting on the impact on American families and the ripple effects on the economy, Michaelson examines the marketing of a mirage and the bad business decisions that destroyed a company, confronts the ethical questions that have arisen in the wake of the foreclosure crisis, and offers creative proposals to prevent such a meltdown from ever happening again.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781440661938
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 01/06/2009
Sold by: Penguin Group
Format: eBook
Pages: 384
File size: 421 KB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Adam Michaelson is the author of The Foreclosure of America: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Countrywide Home Loans, the Mortgage Crisis, and the Default of the American Dream. He is also the Chief Marketing Officer of Michaelson Marketing, a premier marketing and advertising firm specializing in driving profitable Customer Acquisition, Retention, Branding, Online Marketing and the User Experience for large and small clients across the US. His clients include DiTech, HouseValues.com, HomePages.com, magnify360, Reunion.com, and others.


A 20-year veteran of the advertising and corporate marketing community, Adam spent the first 15 years of his career at global advertising, direct marketing and online agencies in NY and LA, such as Grey, Ogilvy, Dentsu, Hill Holliday and others. His diverse expertise across many types of media is broad and deep, including TV, Direct Response TV, Print, Direct Mail, Data Modeling and Prospecting, Online Media, Paid and Organic Search, Radio, Outdoor, etc.


Most recently, Adam was SVP of Marketing at Countrywide Financial, once the nation’s leading mortgage lender and the 11th largest Bank in the US. During his over three years at Countrywide, Adam developed their Online Marketing programs, built their Prime New Customer Acquisition Group, launched the Bank’s highly successful online savings product, SavingsLink, and much more.


Adam’s career client list includes:


American Express, Nestle, Microsoft, Infiniti, Mazda, Pioneer, Nintendo, Hilton, Luxor Las Vegas, Ballys Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Asiana Airlines, Peninsula Hotels, The City of Beverly Hills, Six Flags, GTE, PacifiCare, Mattel, Sony, Sesame Street, Canon, The Auto Club, City National Bank, Bank of America Online Billpay, Sparkletts, Autobytel.com, Warner Bros, and others.


A frequent speaker at industry conferences, Adam earned his MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Boston University. He resides in Santa Monica, California.


Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 The Vault, and the Meeting That Changed America 1

2 Agency Man 33

3 Punching the Corporate Ticket 51

4 Welcome to "Countrywide 101" 80

5 A Corporate Dream Factory 100

6 Idol Worship 139

7 Building a Better Housetrap 148

8 The Art of Not Lying 182

9 The Doomsday Scenario 199

10 Taking My Concerns All the Way to the Bank 209

11 No More Options 242

12 A Kingdom Conquered 256

13 A Train Wreck in Slow Motion 279

14 The Great Debate: What Do We Do Now? 293

Afterword 336

Acknowledgments 343

Index 345

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