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Thursday, January 14, 2010

Rod Flower No Longer Affiliated With SunTrust Bank

While I have information about this situation, I have chosen to keep my mouth shut and let the comments do the talking.

What I can tell you is, Rod Flower no longer works at the Salisbury SunTrust Branch. I have spoken to officials at the local branch as well as corporate and their response is, they do not discuss personnel matters. I can respect that.

OK Folks, let's see what YOU know.

58 comments:

Anonymous said...

if you do a search on the suntrust site, he doesn't come up..interesting

joealbero said...

He's also been removed, (two days ago, at least) from their phone system.

Give it time, you'll see what's up.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it is none of your business. For the most part, I do enjoy reading this blog however, I can't stand how this forum is used to gloat in the misfortune of others. I will say that I don't know Rod Flowers or anything about his employment with SUNTRUST BANK. I simply wish everyone or should I say "certain people" would realize that no one is perfect and that we all have skeleton's in the proverbial closet. Also, rarely do we get the chance to hear the other side of the story. Before everyone starts pointing fingers, how about we turn the spotlight on you first?

Anonymous said...

My,My what must be in this little box...

joealbero said...

1:08 sounds like they know a lot more about this then they're willing to admit.

Anonymous said...

I don't know him personally but some of his advertisements "In Rod we Trust" etc says his ego is huge. I never used that bank because I didn't want anyone to think he was the reason I banked there.

Anonymous said...

who said anything about gloating at someone's misfortune? you're the one who read in to it...he's a prominent figure in the community. why wouldn't we be interested? ESPECIALLY BY THOSE OF US THAT HE GOT A LOAN FOR, a shitty one at that. no one said anything about being perfect or skeletons in closet or anything like that. sheesh, get a grip!

Anonymous said...

1:13
or than they can legally disclose.

TDP said...

Joe , you are so bad !!

Anonymous said...

I am a former high school classmate of Rod's. I was not a member of the clique he was in, nor any clique for that matter. I guess you could say I am middle class (if it still exists)and don't hang with the high powered people of this town. All I can say is that Rod facilitated 3 mortgages on 3 homes for my husband and myself. He always returned calls, even if it was 9 or 10 at night, and treated us with utmost respect and professionalism. I will not stand in line to bash him, if that is what this turns out to be. None of us are perfect, and if he is having any problems, I will pray for him as he meets whatever challenges that might lie ahead.

I have seen a change for the better on this blog as of late, whereby the personal attacks on people seem to be decreasing and more discussion on the issues and problems. I hope that will continue.

Pamela

Anonymous said...

It is news when the most trusted loan officer in the area has multiple foreclosures and judgments filed in three states. The truth will come out about him, the previous reports here are only the tip of the iceberg.

Suffice it to say he is the poster child for the wrongdoings and greed of the mortgage industry and the disastrous impacts its had on the economy and people's lives.

joealbero said...

Pamela,

I can assure you, that is not where we are headd with this. The Bank knows what I know but could not comment on what's going on.

Others can tell you, we have already refrained from allowing certain comments to go through and I can also say I have had numerous telephone conversations with some pretty upset people out there who did not have a good experience with this gentleman. None of which has been published.

I have also respected the Banks position by not saying what I know, yet we will allow comments that are not personal attacks, just as we have done for quite some time now.

There are quite a few people who had working loans in the process that should be privy to such information. I also have not disclosed the letter recently sent out by SunTrust Bank.

Anonymous said...

the closest experience that I had with him was virtually non-existance. A couple of years ago I kept hearing how wonderful a mortgage broker he was and how "nice" he was. I called him and left my message, including of course, my name, address, phone numbers (all three of them - work, home, and cell) and he never called me back. Must not have wanted my business. Well, maybe it was for the better because where there is smoke, there is fire, and Joe is putting out some "smoke" for us.

Anonymous said...

I know nothing about these deals Rod Flowers has been connected to. I can say 25 years ago I started selling real estate in OC. And did until changing professions in mid 90's. Rod had a stellar reputation for dealing with all clients and Realtors and being above board in an industry that at times is lacking in morals and ethics. I financed 3 properties thru him at Loyola and later Sun Trust. Excellent service and true to his word. He was the top person to go to based more on integrity than the lowest "promised" rate.Please let's get the facts before you smear a person this way on strict here say.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Barry still has that shredder.

Anonymous said...

Banks have taken over this country and are the ruination of it.

Anonymous said...

1:43 Why should people with pending loans be privy to personnel matters? The loan is with SunTrust Bank, not with Mr. Flowers. I'm sure as is the case anytime leaves a position, there's someone else that will fill the spot and things go on. By the way, is this blog about news or gossip?

Anonymous said...

The bank cannot legally discuss an employee's file with anyone. If they did, they could get sued.
Personnel matters are private matters.
Like you said Joe, somebody will spill the beans, eventually.

Anonymous said...

For every glowing story about the great personal service of Rod Flowers there is another story of how he would blow people off , never giving them the time of day. Just depends on who you are.

Anonymous said...

Rod was always a true professional in my dealings with him.I don't know what sort of financial troubles he's going through, but there are lots of good people who are real estate investors who are being covered up with judgements and foreclosures right now due to market conditions.

Why is this an item of note? It's happening all over to people. Is there something particularly news worthy about his personal financial difficulties?

Anonymous said...

Is this the same Rod Flowers that has some connections to Shore Bank?

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:20. You are wrong. If one thing is the ruination of this country, it is career politicians.

Anonymous said...

Banks are 80 % regulated by the federal government so who is to blame ?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Flowers and his team misled me into an ARM few years back. They ASSURED me that that was just during construction and it could be altered at settlement and keep the low rate etc. Sure enough went to settlement and all they would do is wave the paperwork in my face and say too bad I signed the fine print. Needless to say I refinanced with another company. HE WAS A SLICK DUDE!!!

doug wilkerson said...

Did he play for west salisbury little league? If it was him he was a good hitter. He could hit the curve ball to.

doug wilkerson said...

These are the days of our lives, the ultimate reality show. How you all holdin up? It aint nothin but a thing. The economy does not dictate how many people love you, nor how many people you love. Its only so strong and love is stronger. You love long enough and follow honor you will make your own history. To get there the reflection is something you will have to deal with. Once you see you, you will understand what Im talking about. Its a place where everything you care about is not you. And your happy about that.

Anonymous said...

Gee Doug you still here after being thrown under the bus?? ROTFLMAO ! ! !

Anonymous said...

I've been a real estate agent for years, and have had many dealings with Rod. He's always so busy that sometimes it takes a few hours to get a return call, BUT I ALWAYS GOT ONE. As far as his integrity in business goes, I've never had reason to question it. If he's been doing something less than stellar, I've never seen or heard it myself. He's always done right by me and my clients. So far as I know, anyway.

Anonymous said...

Got a mortgage through SunTrust in August 2009. Great Service, Great rate. Completely satisfied. Enough said.

REH

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Gee Doug you still here after being thrown under the bus?? ROTFLMAO ! ! !

8:03 PM

How did he get thrown under the bus?

Anonymous said...

About a year ago I started calling Mr. Flowers at Suntrust to do refinance on my home. I left message after message on his voice mail for him to call me back as I was anxious to get a rate locked in for the refinance. Months passed by and finally I contacted another mortgage company here in Saiisbury. They immediately got the ball rolling and within one week, I was approved and settled in less than 30 days. It was not a million dollar loan, but they were more than helpful and very professional. Whereas, Mr. Flowers would never return my call.

Anonymous said...

He blew me off too. I left messages through SunTrust's website & on his voicemail. He never bothered to call me back. I went with National City / PNC. Brian Robertson...great guy, great company. SunTrust was our main bank at the time & I left them entirely after that R. Flowers thing. It left a bad taste in my mouth.

Anonymous said...

The FBI interviewed everyone in the office. This office may be the biggest morgage fraud in the country! Rod may be going to jail!

Anonymous said...

I was a first time home buyer a few years ago, a nervous one at that, and Rod was the man on the job. He always returned my calls and even called me as late as 9pm to make sure information was getting to me. He was full of helpful information that made everyting go smoothly. Hard to tell what's going on yet but be sure to keep an open mind about things.

Anonymous said...

Mortgages are so throughly picked through by underwriters, that a loan officer should not be put at fault for any wrong doing, and anyone who is not 'informed" enough about what kind of loan they are getting probably isn't ready to buy a home, like anything you should research all your decisions just like you would any other big purchase, would you check both toys r us and walmart to see who has the better deal?? All these adjustable rate mortgages, that people signed into, did you really not think your rate was going to go up??? did you read the three inches of paper your signed??

I knew rod, being in the housing industry myself, i had a question in regard to our situation once, and he was very helpful and honest, and i reached him on his CELL phone, which he gives to clients.

Maybe just maybe it was his CHOICE to leave suntrust?? why does this site do nothing but BASH people, like the sherwood blog, get a life people!!

Anonymous said...

Whether you knew the man or not, loved him or hated him - no one wishes things this bad on a person. Rod believed what he preached - that you could make money in real estate with leverage (borrowing $ rather than paying cash)- and he was highly leveraged and did make alot of money while it was there to be made. Unfortunately for everyone, the bubble grew too quickly and went too high and when it "popped" it destroyed alot of people - both investors and normal homeowners as well. That explains his financial situation.
His termination is a whole different story. Suffice it to say that in years past Volume and Production wrote the rules at SunTrust and almost every other mortgage/banking institution and those who did volume could do no wrong. Today, Compliance and Quality Control write the rules and run the banks and no one person is "too big to fail" in this environment.
'Nuf said.

Anonymous said...

Rod and Mary donated the money to build the parking garage at the hospital.

Anonymous said...

Joe, As we all can see by the previous comments that they all lack the story of what actually happened. What about letting us know what you know? I've heard all the glowing reports from his band of brothers in real estate on this blog and what a hard worker he is,but how were some of these loans actually approved? I think greed and ego were his motivation to put in all those long hours.

Anonymous said...

I have been in the Mtg biz for 12 years and still going strong. I do not know any info on Rod, but what I do know about the mortgage industry in general is that the banks love money regardless of how they get it. If I had 20 years experience and did $111,000,000 in volume last year, the only reason my company would get rid of me would be if someone outside our company caught me doing something wrong. There are a lot of crooks in our industry and do a lot of shady things that the bank will overlook, but when an auditor or someone outside the bank finds something wrong, the Bank says they had no idea, fire the Loan Officer, and move on. Most times they do not fire, but force to resign. Or if you are a well known person, they will let you "retire". That is how the game is played.
Again, I don't know any info on Rod, but I surely have the experience within the industry to read between the lines.

Chimera said...

He's so important I have never heard of him til now......

Anonymous said...

I dealt with him when I first bought my house back in 2001 and had no problems with him whatsoever.

Anonymous said...

I am also a mortgage banker and I have had dealings with Rod in the past. The only thing that I can say about this is that people should not gloat about someone elses misfortune. By the way what a tacky comment to add another mortgage orignators name while bashing Rod. Knowing the business it was probaly the person listed that made the comment. You know what they say about people in glass houses throwing stones!!!

Anonymous said...

Of course "greed is a motivation to put in long hours". The 10th Commandment is "Thou shalt not covet...". While there may be more than one way to interperet that, I think it means, dont envy your neighbors house, car, vacations, etc. If you see something that you would like to have, dont begrudge your neighbor for it (or take it from him like the government does!), go out there & get a second job, a better first job, or some other way to earn more money to afford those things that you want rather than just being envious of your neighbor's success.
"Greed", or rather, "the desire for more" is what motivates people to work more. Is it always healthy? Of course not, but neither is being jealous (envious, covetous)of someone else for having something that you would like to have.
I can assure you that Greed is a more palatable vice than laziness and a sense of entitlement like we see so much of today...

Anonymous said...

Why was The FBI there?????

Anonymous said...

Hey, the guy always called me back, seemed like a good guy, we didn't use him because we got a better deal outta' state though.

He gave me a good piece of advice that paid off for us.

It's a shame if he ran afoul of the law.

Anonymous said...

The FBI investigates fraud and other crimes that involve Federally Regulated institutions like Banks.

Anonymous said...

Years ago, my husband and I met with Mr. Flowers to try and purchase our first home. After talking with him he advised us not to go further, as getting turned down on a mortgage would look bad on our credit report. As we were leaving he gave us all the paperwork that we were filling out, so that a record of it would never show up. He acted as if this was a huge favor for us, dumb as we were then, we believed him. Later on I found out this wasn't true, so we have stayed away from Mr Flowers and his bank.

jillb said...

so now that i've read all the dealings with rod flowers, the question stands. what happened that rod flowers is not at suntrust anymore.

Anonymous said...

I worked with Rod at SunTrust. Many of the blog entries above mention the failures of SunTrust over the past year. These were of no fault of Rod, but upper management's failure to adequately staff in response to overwhelming applications. I do not know why Rod left, but my best guess is that it is related to SunTrust's problems, especially in Florida, and the desire to cut overhead by closing down markets where loan amounts are small, and therefore profits minimal. Larger loan amounts mean more profit for SunTrust.

Anonymous said...

6:52
If you worked with Rod then you know his volume more than made up for his average loan amount. People don't voluntarily "retire" at 4:15 on a Friday with no advance warning and after meeting with the higher ups in the company. You don't close down the office of your companies top producer and top producers like Rod, don't "retire" young when they have been making well over a million dollars a year. Nice try.

Anonymous said...

Over the last 5 - 7 years, mortgages became easier & easier to obtain. No Documentation Loans, Stated Income, Stated Assets... heck, the only thing left was Stating your credit score!! And Real Estate values were skyrocketing because of Supply & Demand - there were more people qualifying for these mortgages which meant that sellers could ask more & more because they had more potential buyers. During this time, a lot of mortgage bankers took "shortcuts". In hindsight its funny, because money was easier to get than ever before in history, and yet loan officers were taking "shortcuts" for people to get a mortgage. And while upper management would never authorize these "shortcuts" you can be assured that they new they were being taken - AND NO ONE CARED!! Why? Because they were making money hand over fist! And values were still going up, so the loans that went delinquent were not a problem because the customer could always sell the house for more than they paid for it & payoff the loan. Until the bottom dropped out. Now there is a headhunting expedition for all of the loan officers who did these "shortcuts" for their customers because these shortcuts were in actuality, mortgage fraud. And mortgage fraud does not get investigated by your friendly neighborhood police officer, but by people who wear badges & work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and could not care less who you are or how much money you made the company over the years. And trust me, they are looking to make examples out of some people for two reasons:
1. To show John Q. Public that they are pursuing, capturing and punishing those who they say created the economic disaster.
and 2. To scare the pants off of all of the other mortgage loan officers who may be tempted to take some "shortcuts"....
It is very important for these investigations to be high profile. The Federal Government wants the public to be able to put a face to the "Greedy Wall Street Bankers" who caused this economic crisis because it makes the Government out to be the "good guys" who are protecting everyone. Little does the public realize that more and more bureaucratic regulation is being pushed on to the banks & will actually hurt the public in the end as money becomes so much harder to get. The pendulum has swung back - and as always - it has gone way too far.

Anonymous said...

Rod was canned for cheating/lying on loan applications for himself and his clients.

Also he was advertizing loan products that were not available. I know this to be certain as I was about to be charged over 12k in mortgage fees for a simple refinance of my home.

Anonymous said...

I was told Rod retired. however is the the best guy in suntrust bank as far as I am concern

Anonymous said...

I have known Rod 25 years always very professional and very hard working would always find time to call you back. Recommended him severl times with no problems. Never heard a negative word about him. Dont know why there are so many negative posts, a guess there are many people who like to kick a person when they are down.

Anonymous said...

What happened to Rod?

Anonymous said...

I loved Rod thought he did a great job if I could find him now I would refi today!

Anonymous said...

Neither do employed crooks

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