Big lenders and Wall Street
investors are going after Arizona mortgage brokers, appraisers, real
estate agents, title firms and home buyers for fraud, reports Catherine
Reagor of The Arizona Republic:
continue reading
Print this
Buy a $2 million dollar house for
$1.5 million? That's what some con artists would have you believe in a
fairly common illegal house flipping scheme that targets novice real
estate investors.
continue reading
Print this
Thousands of people visit this site
each week, which makes for some interesting comments. From Cindy
Schnackel of Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, commenting on
"Cash Back at Closing Deals Lead to Mortgage Firm's Closure in
Arizona":
continue reading
Print this
Still want to argue with me about
the legality of Real Estate deals involving cash back at closing?
That's fine because now I am going to bring the Arizona Department of
Financial Institutions' superintendent, Felecia Rotellini, to the
table.
continue reading
Print this
Last week, the Federal Reserve Board
alerted the public to instances of questionable solicitations directed
at homeowners. The Federal Reserve has received inquiries and
complaints from recipients of direct mail solicitations that suggest
there is a "Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) program" that entitles
certain homeowners to cash grants or equity disbursements. Some of
these solicitations may be read to indicate that the Federal Reserve
endorses or supports the offers they contain. These solicitations
appear to be a deceptive effort to encourage consumers to apply for a
mortgage loan secured by the consumer's home.
continue reading
Print this
Everybody knows that discriminating
against anyone based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex,
familial status, or handicap (disability) is illegal and immoral, but
discrimination continues. The passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1964
curbed some of the abuse, but it simply forced a few holdouts to be
more careful and subtle.
continue reading
Print this
There was an interesting article in
yesterday's Wall Street Journal about how efforts by major U.S. banks
and investment firms are trying to unload bad housing loans, and about
its speeding up a shakeout in the subprime mortgage industry. Excerpted
from the Wall Street Journal:
continue reading
Print this
Earlier this month I wrote about
First American Real Estate Solutions' strategic alliance with CoreLogic
Systems. Another company strategically aligned with First American is
BasePoint Analytics, a provider of scientific fraud analytics and
consulting services. Yesterday, BasePoint released the results of a new
study that shows that up to 70 percent of early mortgage payment
defaults can be linked to significant misrepresentations on loan
applications.
continue reading
Print this
It took nearly 13 months and a
change in administration, but Florida's Attorney General's Office has
finally issued an official consumer advisory warning Floridians of
common mortgage fraud scams. Back in January of 2006'as evidenced by
this
blog entry, I sent a letter to each and every states' Attorney General
warning of the growing problems associated with real estate and
mortgage fraud.
continue reading
Print this
The First American Corporation'one
of North America's largest providers of business information'today
announced that it has merged its Real Estate Solutions division with
Sacramento, California-based CoreLogic Systems, Inc., a provider of
mortgage risk assessment and fraud prevention solutions for the Real
Estate industry. In 2006, First American's Real Estate Solutions
generated $252 million in revenues, while CoreLogic pulled down
approximately $74 million. The merger is the largest transaction in a
series of acquisitions completed by First American in recent years, and
is a part of a larger domestic and international mortgage risk
analytics strategy.
continue reading
Print this
My apologies for sharing this
information so close to the time it's scheduled to occur, but in about
30 minutes I will be interviewed by Matthew Bronson, host of AM
920/WMEL's "At Home" in Melbourne, Florida, about flipping houses
continue reading
Print this
A former Spokane, Washington,
Realtor who claimed she was just following widely accepted practices in
the real estate industry has been sentenced to serve two-and-a-half
years in federal prison and pay $264,406.00 in restitution for her role
in a $1.4 million mortgage fraud scheme.
continue reading
Print this
I field a lot of phone calls from
newspaper reporters trying to understand the 3 S's of real estate and
mortgage fraud: Size, Scope, and Specifics. Any mention on my part that
"credit enhancement' is one specific we should all be concerned about,
and I am usually greeted with uncomfortable silence followed by
something along the lines of, "What's credit enhancement'
continue reading
Print this
A report released yesterday by
RealtyTrac shows more than 1.2 million foreclosure filings were
recorded nationwide in 2006, up 42 percent from 2005. The 2006
RealtyTrac Foreclosure Market Report also revealed that there is one
foreclosure filing for every 92 U.S. households.
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
On the heels of
The Arizona Republic's ground-breaking article
on cash back at closing schemes, an Arizona State Senator is attempting
to revise a state statute to make it a crime to misrepresent financial
information when attempting to purchase a home or obtain a home
mortgage. AZ State Senator Jay Tibshraeny (R, 21st Dist.) yesterday
introduced Senate Bill 1221, which states:
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
Left unchecked, cash back at closing
deals cost homeowners and lenders millions of dollars, and according to
an in depth article in yesterday's
The Arizona Republic, could erode confidence and values in Arizona's real estate market. From yesterday's online edition of the
Republic:
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
The United States Attorney for the
Southern District of Texas, along with special agents from the Federal
Bureau of Investigation combined efforts to convict a Houston, TX, man
for his role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. At a
hearing held last Friday before a United States District Judge,
Lawrence Benham was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to
wire fraud and mail fraud involving a financial institution.
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
At industry events lately, real
estate professionals gather to talk shop and discuss market trends for
2007, but I notice that nobody's talking about the elephant in the
conference hall. We're predicting the health of the market. We're
exploring new technologies. We're trading secrets. We're swapping ideas
and business cards. But the silence over what I believe is a looming
foreclosure epidemic, is deafening. Nobody utters the words "flipping,"
"fraud," or "foreclosure." It's almost as if these three words have
been banned from the industry.
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
In an ongoing effort to curb
mortgage and foreclosure fraud in his state, Colorado's Attorney
General announced yesterday a legislative proposal that targets
appraisal fraud and mortgage brokers who engage in deceptive trade
practices.
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
Last night I hosted a teleconference
call with consumers and real estate industry insiders from across the
country. The topic: How to avoid real estate and mortgage fraud, and
what to do if you believe fraudsters and scammers have targeted you.
The teleconference, attended by nearly 45 people, was the first in a
series of free calls I will be hosting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time the
first Tuesday of each month.
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
Have you ever heard of Second Life?
For the uninitiated, Second Life is an online subscription-based 3-D
virtual world where registered users can explore, meet new people,
participate in individual and group activities, and
buy, build, and sell real estate (among other things). Second Life has
its own economy and a currency called Linden Dollars (L$).
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
After considering the developments
of the past year, I am admittedly concerned about the real estate and
mortgage fraud outlook for 2007. Real estate and mortgage fraud is a
complicated issue, one that presents a spectrum of societal challenges
in the form of costs and consequences.
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
Earlier
this month, Robert S. Mueller, III, Director of Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) appeared before the United States Senate Judiciary
Committee to discuss the progress of what he called the FBI's
transformation efforts. From the Director's December 6, 2006 testimony:
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Fraud
In the real estate business, we tell our clients think of a wish list
as criteria for the perfect home. While it's rare to find everything
they'd like in the house they finally purchase, sitting down and making
a wish list will help them find the house which most closely matches
their dream.
continue reading
Print this
Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors issued a
press release voicing the organization's concern
""'over the rising rate of defaults and foreclosures occurring in many areas around the country."
continue reading
Print this
Posted in: Legal/Fraud
