I get abuse for telling it like it is ...but you can’t just keep things you can’t pay for

We are seeing more of outspoken financial pundit KARL DEETER these days. The Irish Mortgage Brokers compliance manager airs his tell-it-like-it-is views regularly on TV and radio. He occasionally co-hosts The Tonight Show on Virgin Media One and will do so again tomorrow night. A keen musician, Karl has three albums available on iTunes and Spotify with another two due out this year.

What’s up in the mortgage-broking business?

I’m working on a ‘self-driving mortgage’ system which is an online mortgage application driven by artificial intelligence and mobile banking – it’s going to be a really interesting new area.

You have argued in favour of property tax and water charges and suggested too few homes were being repossessed. Does this win you many fans on social media?

Mostly it results in abuse, but real people in real life know that you can’t keep things you can’t pay for. It’s an adult conversation that many people find painful but it’s the way the world works. I think that the truth matters. You can be wrong and still be trying to be honest.

Do you always end interviews (off mic) with ‘don’t make me seem too heartless’ as you did the last time we spoke?

No, just ones talking about repossessions because I talk about them in a factual way and it’s like talking about cancer facts. The data side of it can make you seem removed from the human story.

Why, do you think the law is relatively lenient in general, whether it’s fraud, white collar crime or insurance compo payouts?

I think there is a tacit acceptance of rule-breaking. I’m convinced it has to do with a post-colonial view of ‘getting one over on the man’. People here are also very forgiving once you say sorry.

One of your social media ‘fans’ suggested you are not a real person but an AI persona constructed by the military/industrial/neoliberal/ fat cat bankers elite. Is this true?

Yep, I’m a Russian bot, I was initially meant to swing an election but failed so I went into financial commentary instead.

But you also play bluegrass music?

Yeah, I’m a huge music fan and play guitar and upright bass.

Only an evil genius could invent a bluegrass-playing anti-populist financial commentator?

My inventor was particularly devious in creating my cover story!

Seriously, why do you love bluegrass – and what the heck is it?

It’s American folk music, it has lots of vocal harmony, strings, it’s got great soul and energy. I still like punk and techno and anything that gets a person going, bluegrass is just one of the genres I like, it is one I often gig so that’s why I’m more known for it. I can sing, badly, but well enough to still get asked to do shows.

Your name seems Germanic, your accent slightly American – where are you from!?

Irish mother, American dad of German descent. Born in Los Angeles, live in Ireland now.

Best investment?

Starting a business has been a regular income for me for 15 years. Other than that I was fluky when I bought and sold bitcoin.

Worst?

I held on to some Bank of Ireland shares, that was a mistake.

Any weird former jobs?

I’m also a gymnastics coach and used to train dogs before getting all boring and serious. Best advice to a first-time buyer? Save as much as you can and don’t overextend yourself.

Guilty treat?

I have a huge sweet tooth, other than that clay pigeon shooting and dirt bikes. Oh, and playing festivals but technically that’s work in a way.

Best piece of financial advice?

Spend less than you make.

What would you do to solve the housing crisis?

Relax any rule that constrains supply. Make dividing homes and granny flats allowable for room rental and planning exempt. Ensure that objectors to planning permissions have to participate in the cost (ie, if you stop a €20,000,000 project for a year and you’re wrong then you should pay some of the costs.)