Troy Perkins Loses His (Second) Job
(By Kevin Clark - TWP)
Troy Perkins knew what was going on in the mortgage industry, of course. His mom's spent 25 years in the business, and he'd spent two years working part-time in the industry himself, starting off as an entry-level loan officer and moving his way into management as a project specialist. His employer--The First National Bank of Arizona--had already gone through a round of layoffs. And as the industry crumbled, Perkins, who worked from home, no longer had the same volume of correspondence.
"There were days I would just go home and there would be no e-mails at all, so I would just turn the computer off and just sit there and watch TV," he said. "That's just the way it was. There was nothing going on."
Still, the end came as a shock. Early last month, he went into the company's Northern Virginia office to get a new phone, and he saw somber faces everywhere. Security guards asked to check his ID badge.
"I walk back and people are just crying, and they're like 'We're closed.' And I'm like 'Holy...,' " he told me. "I felt terrible. A lot of these people had been there for five years, six years. That's the only job they had, and then they get dumped. And what are they going to do?....Honestly, it took me about two weeks to realize, 'We're done, just like that.' Two years of working there...."
"It didn't hit you as hard as it hit a lot of people," noted teammate Brian Carroll, who was listening in.
"And that's the worst part," Perkins agreed. "There's people there that have kids, rely on their health insurance there. I was looking at the numbers; for some of these people to keep their family insured until they get another job was like $1000 a month. People who just had kids. It was really bad. Fortunately, I've got [soccer] to fall back on right now. It opens your eyes to reality."
And so now, after two years of spending much of his free time processing paperwork and checking in with brokers around the country for his bank, which specialized in wholesaling Alt-A loans, Perkins suddenly has time on his hands. I asked what he's been doing.
"Nothing," he said. "Dude, I lose my mind. I mean, I walk my dog like 10 times a day."
He has found some diversions. He realized his two-bedroom condo is remarkably spare, so he's been shopping for furniture online. He's been drawing again; the one-time fine arts minor is influenced by Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt, although he uses non-traditional oil pastels in his work. He's planning a backpacking trip for himself and his wife in the Southeast after the MLS season. For a while he was watching hours of TV a day--The Simpsons and Futurama and Family Guy and That '70s Show--but he decided that was a poor use of time and so he's trying to limit himself to no more than an hour a day.
But the turmoil caused by the mortgage-fueled credit crunch hasn't made him lose faith in the industry. Making a bid to one day replace Robert J. Samuelson on our op-ed page, he explained why he believes the business will recover.
"I mean, people want to buy homes," he said. "And [brokers] made it available. And it's up to [customers] to make those payments. People are constantly blaming the mortgage companies for doing this to people, but they signed the papers, they looked at everything. There were no tricks or anything. It's all in black and white, you can read it. So what are you going to do? From '03 and on, the privilege of buying a house was kind of lost. You didn't have to earn it any more; you could just go buy it instead of saving up. People think now it's like a right they have to own something. It's really not that way; it's an honor and a privilege."
So Perkins still keeps in touch with his business contacts, and he thinks he might re-enter the industry one day, after things settle down. In other words, no regrets.
"My resume shows two years of working at a big bank, learning everything that I did about the business, and just about being in business, period," he said. "It was a great opportunity. It opened a lot of doors down the road."
Also, he's been given a massive raise by United since he first started the part-time work--he was the league's Goalkeeper of the Year in 2006--and he's doing fine financially. In other words, you won't see him bagging groceries at the Safeway any time soon. Although....
"Starbucks offered me a job," he joked. "I told them they could pay me in coffee."
[Thanks to Reader Kim for reminding me to do this.]
By Dan Steinberg |
September 20, 2007; 4:39 PM ET
D.C. United
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Posted by: Arrrlington | September 20, 2007 5:02 PM
So does this mean there will be or there won't be a collection for Troy next Wednesday?
Posted by: sitruc | September 20, 2007 6:04 PM
Let's hope he's only influenced by Klimt's art and not some of the other stuff he got up to.
Posted by: Chest Rockwell | September 20, 2007 6:39 PM
good article, a bit harsh on the title though to be honest
Posted by: Anonymous | September 20, 2007 7:28 PM
"Remember kids, you need to keep up with your sports so you'll have something to fall back on when your business career falters."
I think Troy's got a future as a motivational speaker -- hired by kids to talk to their parents.
Posted by: bbarrie | September 20, 2007 7:28 PM
I think Troy wants to play for Ajax!
Posted by: RK | September 20, 2007 7:50 PM
what a jerk! Oh yes, I am sure the brokers were completely upfront and made it clear to people with very marginal credit that what they were offering was very risky. Troy, stick to being a goalie and stay out of the "apologist racket" for the brokers.
Try reading a book or two, you dolt
Posted by: crowbar | September 20, 2007 7:56 PM
This isn't anybody's business but Perkins and a waste of our time. And the title is bush league.
Posted by: Come On | September 20, 2007 8:15 PM
Wow, you attracted some idiots today Steingoff.
Keep 'em coming as far as I'm concerned.
Posted by: viv | September 20, 2007 8:20 PM
Yeah, the title to this article was a bit harsh. My jaw dropped until I started reading!!! Maybe you should specify which job he's losing!!
Posted by: kristin | September 20, 2007 8:21 PM
Since, from reading this thread, I believe the NIH has finished all work for the night:
Hey, BSPN decided to begin Blanco's lovefest. We get a Blanco-cam and everything.
Posted by: B.A. | September 20, 2007 8:23 PM
Dude, the title was perfect.
It's an eye catcher: it makes you read the article.
Jeebus.
Posted by: viv | September 20, 2007 8:27 PM
Seriously, anyone who didn't know that he'd be referring to his part-time job as a Mortgage Analyst is a moron.
Bog-Man, if Troy's looking to hike any part of the Appalachian Trail in Western Carolina let me know, I live and go to school within 20 minutes of the trail down here in Asheville.
Posted by: AlecW81 | September 20, 2007 8:44 PM
Sigh.
Posted by: Dan Steinberg | September 20, 2007 9:10 PM
I'm with viv's recent post...lighten up people. That's what a good headline is for to get you to read it.
"Come on", i respect your opinion, but if Perkins wanted to keep this to himself he wouldn't have done the interview in the first place.
Posted by: mikemc | September 20, 2007 9:15 PM
Aww, D-Steinz, how could you?
Posted by: B.A. | September 20, 2007 9:31 PM
Lighten up and get ironic, people. You're bringing this thread down.
Posted by: Arrrlington | September 20, 2007 10:10 PM
Thanks for following up on the story suggestion - It was interesting to read Perkin's perspective on the situation.
I think one can read the wrong tone into his statements. It seems like he really is making a point on society and the "entitlement complex". Also, he points out how the whole situation is effecting his former co-workers. It's not like Enron where the bigwigs benefited and the employees had their retirement funds taken away. Lots of good people have lost their jobs and are facing difficulties making ends meet. The individual workers didn't have a big scheme to screw people out of their homes. They couldn't force the housing bubble to burst.
Posted by: Let's Stick to Soccer Related Topics | September 20, 2007 10:12 PM
I guess that people in the US can just blame anyone they want. HEy everybody should read what they sign PERIOD, or else I can sell you a ---- in a box, would you sign that? SIMPLE its call literacy buddy.
Posted by: crowbar who? | September 20, 2007 10:15 PM
Guy lost his job... nothing bigger or smaller than that. It takes DC short-timers to try to make hay of it, and for that, I feel bad for you real District folks.
Posted by: Haig | September 20, 2007 10:32 PM
crowbar, it's called basic comprehension and personal accountability. sock puppet.
Posted by: chris | September 20, 2007 10:56 PM
Crowbar,
I happen to know that Troy Perkins is actually very well read.
Thank you
Posted by: p | September 20, 2007 11:28 PM
wow - reading to rules above - shouldn't crowbar's comments be removed? I vote he gets banned too :)
I can hook troy up with a job if needed but doubt he needs help!
Posted by: bobf | September 21, 2007 8:34 AM
Interesting story; the kid's obviously smart. I think his take on the whole mortgage issue is a bit naive. While he's probably is smart enought to have read the contracts and terms of loans, there are a lot of folks out there who just put their faith in their lender and assume they aren't getting put in a bad position. There's plenty of blame to go around, but it's kind of hard to defend the industry. They knew exactly what they were doing.
Anyway, having said all that, maybe he could use all of his free time and do something worthwhile. There sure are a lot of places in the city where he could contribute.
Posted by: Hacksaw | September 21, 2007 9:26 AM
"there are a lot of folks out there who just put their faith in their lender and assume they aren't getting put in a bad position."
Posted by: Hacksaw | September 21, 2007 09:26 AM
Sorry, dude, but you are responsible for your own actions. If anyone got a bad mortgage, no one was forced to sign. What does the referee say in boxing? Protect yourself at all times. Too many Americans don't take responsibility for their own actions. It's not hard to do some basic research. Troy's right.
Posted by: Research | September 21, 2007 10:05 AM
Wow. A Sports Bog cross post on the Soccer Insider with comments like it's a Raw Fisher post.
Way to hit the Tri-fecta Dan!
Now let's see if we can get this on LaCanfora's blog or Ivan's blog.....
Posted by: Kim | September 21, 2007 10:32 AM
Don't forget the requisite Steven Pearlstein column, Kim.
Posted by: DCBird | September 21, 2007 11:53 AM
this is almost as outrageous as the post running scores on-line before I have had time to watch the games I recorded!
Posted by: seanT | September 21, 2007 3:20 PM
Well, to defend the illiterate...
I actually am quite intelligent and well-read, but have no experience with mortgages. I could read the entire contents of those papers I will be forced to sign with my first home (over the course of several days) and be none the wiser. I don't know what's standard in the industry and I don't know the rules. That's why I would hire someone like Troy.
So let's not pick on people who really are victims of predatory lending, et al.
Posted by: viv | September 21, 2007 9:12 PM
Dan,
I have to commend you on the work that you and Nunzio have done while Goff's in China. This is really interesting stuff. I'm going to have to make more time to read the bog. Thanks!
Posted by: AlexandriaDan | September 21, 2007 10:45 PM
Thanks Goff for the article, although Perkins is extremely naive about the lending industry's role in the mortgage foreclosure crisis and collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Many of these posters talk about "personal responsibility", but that cuts both ways - the subprime lending industry knew EXACTLY what it was getting into, and when tens of thousands of these loans went into default (which was always bound to happen given the loan terms - economists and housing experts have predicted this for years), the subprime lending industry was going to take a beating. It's sad on a number of levels, but Troy, wake up and try to get a better understanding of the issue before you make ignorant statements like these.
Posted by: DavidNYC | September 22, 2007 1:35 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Ran this through babelfish...
"Esky thinks now it's like a right he has to score PKs on me. It's really not that way; it's an honor and a privilege."