After Michael Blomquist, a San Jose real estate agent, shut down his offices in January 2004 because he was unwilling to participate in “felony mortgage fraud,” he devoted the majority of his time and resources to expose “a criminal conspiracy to turn the housing market into a giant Ponzi scheme.” Now, at least he gets to say “I told you so,” and has deemed the housing market safe for reentry, reopening his offices now that “borrowers again must produce tax returns and other records to prove their incomes”[1].

Whether you believe in conspiracy theories or not, Blomquist’s past five years certainly seem to indicate that someone was refusing to listen to him. Not only did he dedicate his life to “futilely” trying to talk clients and friends out of putting their savings into “pricey homes,” but he wrote myriad letters to everyone from federal regulators to congressmen and congresswomen warning of the “perfect storm” to come in the housing industry. Additionally, Blomquist opted to act as his own attorney and fight subprime players in court. He accused not only lenders but a number of federal regulators of inflating home prices deliberately, and he asked the court to bar one type of risky mortgage entirely, all to no avail.

The quixotic real estate agent did get recognition: Dianne Feinstein assured him that she was “monitoring the situation closely” in a letter and assistant direct of the Federal Reserve’s Consumer Unit, Suzanne Killian, responded that the Fed would “consider” his concerns. In the end, however, Blomquist could do little more than remove himself from what he saw as a deliberate, vicious attack on the housing market and the buyers participating in the debacle. “I’m by no means a saint,” he told the Miami Herald, “but I’m not going to be the cause of somebody losing their life savings or becoming enslaved in a debt for a grossly overpriced house just to make a living.”

So maybe it’s safe to get back into the market now, because Blomquist is once again open for business.

[1] http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/10/1866564/real-estate-agents-warnings-of.html