"No Cost, No Pressure", 1st time home buyer seminar

To be sure, there is not much good economic news these days. However, this is truly a unique time period for first-time homeowners. Home-ownership is more affordable because of the drop in home prices, the availability of short sales and REO properties and the fact that mortgage rates are still low.
One of the reasons cited for some of the current housing and mortgage problems facing the community is the lack of pre-buying education.
The Goal is 125 First Time Home Buyers by April 30, 2009, which is $1MM back in the Alachua & Marion County Florida economy.
Incentives:

• Each buyer receiving the $8,000 Tax Credit when purchasing their 1st home
• Great Time to buy a home
• Low Interest Rates
• Interest & Property Tax deduction

Attendees will learn:

• Why buying today will put $8,000 in your pocket
• Information on how to file or amend your tax return to receive your $8,000 check
• Which 100% financing options are still available
• Free Credit Report - Get Pre-Approved

That is $1MM back in the Alachua & Marion County, Florida economy.

Presented By:
Michael S. Richardson
Mortgage Banker
Preventmortgagefraud.com
Director/Forensic Mortgage Services
Author of "An American Epidemic, Mortgage Fraud a Serious Business"



Hosted By:
Security National Mortgage Company
Office 888-877-7951
Fax 888-745-1615
Twitter- loanadvisornow
Email: michael@loanadvisornow.com
Website: www.loanadvisornow.com

Location:
Library: Alachua County Library District - Headquarters
Room: Meeting Room A
Date(s): Thursday, December 10, 2009
Course: 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Q&A-(workshop time) - 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Register for this free event: E-mail- michael@loanadvisornow.com

If you prefer a face-to-face meeting outside of this event, call or e-mail today!

Mortgage Fraud, let's not just talk about it this time, take action!

By Michael S. Richardson - Author & Forensic Mortgage Fraud Expert

michaelr@preventmortgagefraud.com

www.preventmortgagefraud.com

            Once a white-collar criminal gets away with fraud, the process quickly becomes addictive. Success breeds more success, and before long such crafters of fraudulent mortgage loans clearly begin feeling that not only are they above the law but in fact, they are not doing anything wrong in the first place. Fraud can happen to anyone: loan officers, processors, underwriters, buyers, sellers, investors, owners, and management of mortgage companies. It can happen anywhere: big cities, small towns, storied and well-recognized firms, smaller mom, and pop businesses who just want to do the right thing for a would be homeowner or just have the need to make money.

            The Treasury Department provided a plan to collaborate with private funds to buy up to $1 trillion of "toxic assets." It is very unclear if these purchases will include foreclosed properties. The unlisted and unsold foreclosed homes are likely to further delay the recovery and destabilize lenders' financials further or increase the dollars needed to include the foreclosed properties.

            RealtyTrac states lenders may be holding up to 700,000 residential properties that are not on listed for sale yet, foreclosure properties. This supply of homes are not counted as part of the housing inventory, with 3.8 million existing homes for sale in February which is almost a year's supply of homes for sale. The foreclosure rates have remained somewhat the same recently although it could be due to government moratoriums or voluntary lender halts on foreclosures, however, eventually a large percentage of those homes will end up being foreclosed on. With that supply of existing home for sale homes and the foreclosed properties, values are going to fall further. When the foreclosed properties enter the market, the appraisals will negatively reflect values.

            Some of the positive news in February was that existing-home sales rose 5.1% and housing starts were up 22.2% from record lows. One of the issues surfacing is the so called specialists who are attempting to work a modification for borrowers are growing like springtime weeds most without the experience of needed to work the new programs or even understand the mortgage industry, thus fewer mortgages are actually being modified. Then there are the many new schemes these weeds (fraudsters) have developed preying on the homeowner once again.

            When the economy eventually picks up, many of these issues will not be as challenging to the lenders, and this leads to the concern of mortgage fraud. Mortgage Fraud continued to climb up by 26% in 2008, another record. The Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS) climbed by 44%, mortgage fraud which is the third most reported activity to Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) ,  Almost 900 filing institutions submitted mortgage loan fraud SARs and according to FinCEN, fewer than 200 institutions submitted 98% (60,800) of the total. The top 10 filing institutions submitted 57% (35,400) of these filings, compared to 30% for the top 10 filing institutions of all SARs.

            With fewer loan originations in the last year or so, some professionals reviewing the data may believe the increases are due to this very slow economy and shows signs of more desperation, causing more people than ever before to try to commit mortgage fraud. While that may have a some merit, mortgage fraud  statistics point, clearly ,point to nothing short of an epidemic for over 5 years now or longer.

            Yet, really, what do we know about fraud? In fact, it is not what we know about fraud that is dangerous; it is what we do not know. What is worse is the staggering amount of opportunity with which the American real estate industry provides those who commit fraud.

            Clearly, the amount of money to be made in real estate - both residential and commercial - lends itself to abuse. New employees mean new training, and lack of new training leads to old mistakes. The growth of fraud is insidious; it creeps up on us, taking us by surprise until, before we know it, someone we work with, someone we work for, or even those who work for us, is committing fraud.

             It is so easy, so slick, and until now so largely un-enforced. A number fudged there, a figure left out here, a bogus appraisal, a friend of a friend who plays it fast and loose with a client's verification of rent, a fabricated credit report, and soon enough a mortgage loan is fraudulent.

            Willful blindness is a legal term that skirts the boundary between neglect and culpability, and I wouldn't be able to talk about it if it didn't exist. The concept of willful blindness, which at its heart expresses the contention that the industry exhibited "willful blindness" to obvious fraud through ignoring it for so long, in so many cases, at the hands of so many fraudsters. To be honest, fraud does not exist in a vacuum. It arises from opportunity, and more often than not that opportunity exists because we are too busy minding the high-rise to success that we're working so hard to build to check on the rats steadily chewing away at our foundations.

            My personal experiences as a victim of mortgage fraud and the last five years attempting to prevent mortgage fraud have given me a doctoral degree from the "School of Hard Knocks". Much like you, I "never thought it could happen to me."

But it did.

It can.

In addition, if the statistics prove out, it probably will or has affected you...

Until we stop fraud on a loan-by-loan basis, establishing significant penalties and sobering preventative measures, fraud will continue to reach epidemic proportions in our industry. We must be vigilant against fraud, recognizing its signs and taking proactive, definite, and realistic steps to not only prevent it but also punish it. Let us be honest: we cannot always prevent fraud through proactive measures. While we are busy running our companies or processing loans, fraudsters are spending all their time - and I do mean all, as in every waking second - thinking of new, inventive, and difficult to detect ways to do what they do. It is nearly impossible to keep up with such dedicated, aggressive, and workaholic criminals. If we could somehow stop all fraud tomorrow I believe that, like cockroaches, these "bad seeds" would quickly find some other way to earn their ill-gotten gains.

We cannot turn a blind eye to fraud anymore. Not only does this make us an unknowing accessory but also it is the very reason fraud remains so rampant. Those who would commit fraud know that few will report it if they are discovered and, even if they do, by then they will have moved on to avoid penalty. The only way to stop such a widespread, global problem is to look ourselves squarely in the mirror and promise to fight fraud wherever, and whenever, we can, one loan at a time.

Let us not just talk about this time, it is time to take action!

It starts with me.

It starts with you.

It starts with us...

American Banker (03/18/09) P. 11
To compete with subprime lenders, HUD several years ago boosted the maximum loan-to-value ratio for FHA cash-out refinancings on one- to four-family properties to 95 percent. However, higher default rates and home-price declines have prompted the agency to lower the maximum LTV to 85 percent beginning on April 1. FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery says permanent changes will not be made until the agency has reviewed its portfolio and the housing and mortgage markets.

Bloomberg (03/19/09) Louis, Brian
The Federal Reserve has committed to purchase up to $300 billion in Treasuries and, now, an additional $750 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities, bringing its bond purchase commitment to $1.25 trillion. Officials released a statement following their policymaking session saying that the moves are meant "to provide greater support to mortgage lending and housing markets." Weiss Research property analyst Mike Larson says the purchases by the central bank could lower the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.5 percent, marking the lowest level since 4.7 percent in 1945.

MARI: Mortgage Fraud Up Record 26% in 2008

LAS VEGAS--

Reported incidents of mortgage fraud increased by 26 percent in 2008 to unprecedented levels, the Mortgage Asset Research Institute said yesterday in its annual report to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

MARI's 11th Periodic Mortgage Fraud Case Report to MBA found that Rhode Island ranked highest in incidents of reported mortgage fraud, with more than three times the expected amount of reported fraud for its origination volume. Rhode Island, making its first appearance on the MARI Top Ten list of states, was followed by Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Michigan, California, Missouri and Colorado.

"With fewer loan originations today, the data suggests that the economic downturn may have created more desperation, causing more people than ever before to try to commit mortgage fraud," said Denise James, LexisNexis risk and information analytics group director of Residential Mortgage Solutions. "Not only are we seeing traditional fraud trends, such as application fraud, but we are also seeing new types of emerging fraud occur. It is therefore imperative that the mortgage industry continue to share information and insights, and collaborate in the fight against mortgage fraud."

The report examines the current state of residential mortgage fraud and misrepresentation in the U.S. based on data submitted by MARI subscribers.

The top fraud incident type in 2008, representing 61 percent of all reported frauds, was application fraud, the fifth year in a row it topped the list. Second were frauds related to tax returns and financial statements, which jumped by 60 percent (from 17 percent) of reported frauds in 2007, to 28 percent of reported frauds in 2008. Additional documented fraud types included, in order of volume, frauds related to appraisals or valuations; verifications of deposit; verifications of employment; escrow or closing costs; and credit reports.

"Mortgage fraud is more prevalent today than it was at the height of the boom in mortgage loan originations," said MBA President and CEO John Courson. "Mortgage fraud continues to be a threat to our members and to consumers."

Courson said MBA continues to advocate spending in the federal government's fiscal 2010 budget that will increase resources for law enforcement . "We have to give law enforcement the tools and the funding they need to prosecute cases of mortgage fraud," he said.

James attributed one factor in the higher numbers to improved use of technology by lenders and servicers, who catch instances of fraud that they had not detected previously.

"Lenders are performing more due diligence and catching incidences of mortgage fraud before they go into the pipeline," James said. "But that is shifting cases of mortgage fraud to areas where there is not proper due diligence."

Other report findings:

--After improving in 2006 and 2007, Georgia jumped from seventh to fourth place in 2008;
--California, ranked fourth in 2007, declined to eighth in 2008;
--Maryland jumped from 15th in 2007 to fifth in 2008; and
--The volume of reported frauds related to credit reports dropped from 9 percent to 4 percent between 2007 and 2008.

Additionally, the report noted three "emerging" fraud schemes:

--Foreclosure prevention schemes, in which fraudsters pose as "professional, knowledgeable foreclosure specialists." These fraudsters promise to work out foreclosure problems or buy the home while offering the homeowners tenancy. In some cases, once documents have been obtained, the fraudster sells the property and evicts the tenants. "Fraud in the past has been a crime of opportunity," James said. "Now, it is emerging as a crime of desperation."

--Elderly and Immigrant Identity fraud, which the report notes is not new, but is gaining in notoriety. Fraudsters steal identities of elderly and immigrant consumers and use the identities is "straw buying" or other property transactions. "This is currently happening in reverse mortgage situations," the report said; and

--Builder Bailout Fraud, in which fraudsters secure funds for condominium conversions or planned community development properties that, unbeknown to the investor, will not be completed.

"To combat fraud, the industry must pay attention to details," the report said. "Mortgage bankers must act with a sense of constant vigilance to protect their pipelines from being tainted with preventable fraud risk by leveraging smarter technologies and acquiring more relevant information about their customers, employees and vendors."

The report is available on the MARI web site, www.marisolutions.com.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Richardson

www.preventmortgagefraud.com

1. Obama's plan appears to provide no relief for any homeowner whose mortgage exceeds the total value of his home.

2. About 20 percent of America's home mortgages are now worth more than the property they finance.

3. Obama rush to the aid of those who have been hurt in this bad economy, but exempting from his proposed relief anyone who has lost his job and seen a cut in income or whose property values have dropped below the amount of his mortgage.

Analysis
We have to solve the "F" word in the industry? Do you even dare to bring the "F" word up in polite conversation? After all, if you even mention the ‘F" word it makes any honest, hard working real estate professional quiver. The "F" word is a dirty word in the mortgage industry, and for good reason. So, have you guessed it yet? What, exactly, IS the "F" word? "Fraud." More specifically: "Mortgage Fraud."

Mortgage Fraud. Clearly, the statistics point to nothing short of an epidemic. And yet, really, what do we know about fraud? In point of fact, it's not what we know about fraud that's dangerous; it's what we don't know. What's worse is the staggering amount of opportunity with which the American real estate industry provides those who commit fraud.

If we are to see a light at the end of this tunnel the mortgage bankers are going to have to attack this problem head on.

The first thing that should be done is a "Forensic Mortgage Audit" on a higher percentage of loans, a comprehensive review of all loan documentation including legal documents, transactional data, and other evidence pertaining to your real estate loan that has been funded or about to be funded. Implementing this type of plan will accomplish two risk areas, existing loan issues and slow down the flow of new fraudulent loans into the funded pipeline. This process will also help flush out the fraudsters past and present.

The second area is that the government clearly knows there is a problem, but does not understand how to make whole, who could they? The government is not and does not think like a business.

A loan modification is then needed with a mutually agreed upon modification to a homeowner's existing mortgage note(s) that allows a homeowner to stay in their home, avoid foreclosure of the property and for the property to cash flow again for the investors.

It is also very obvious that most of the government people are looking for a fast fix for millions of people. The Real Estate and Mortgage Industry is a people business, the homeowners need and wants personalized attention. There is no other way than to talk with each homeowner individually.

There's a story often told about a solitary man out taking a stroll on the beach. Eventually he comes upon a portion of the beach where millions of dying starfish have been washed upon the shore by an unusually high tide. The man is shocked by the sheer number of starfish and how many will perish because of Mother Nature's folly.

As he continues walking he sees more and more starfish stretching as far as the eye can see. Step by step he becomes more convinced of the futility of it all. He begins to question his own mortality, and wonders if he and his vain attempts to find meaning in life aren't a lot like all those starfish.

Finally he comes across a little boy who, much like himself, is confronted with the massive proportions of those millions of dying starfish. The two stand side by side, silently contemplating the holocaust. Finally, the boy reaches down to pick up a single starfish, flinging it out to sea.

The man snorts and says, "Why bother? You'll never save them all. How can you possibly make a difference?"

The boy shrugs, reaches down to grab up another starfish and, before flinging it out to sea says, "I can make a difference to this starfish."

Preventmortgagefraud only helps homeowners that want to keep their home, we pass on the short sales and potential listings to our Realtor partners with the approporiate experience.

The ripple effect of fraud is as deep as it is far-reaching.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Richardson

FORENSIC MORTGAGE LOAN AUDITS

What is a forensic mortgage audit?

A Forensic Mortgage Audit is the comprehensive review of all loan documentation including legal documents, transactional data, and other evidence pertaining to your real estate loan that has been funded. A forensic mortgage audit identifies any illegalities performed by the lender, their broker, or other parties in conjunction with the mortgage. During the audit process, skilled professionals review all documents received from your lender from the date you applied to the date you funded your loan including any envelopes, faxes, and emails to ensure that your loan meets all legal requirements that were in effect at the time the loan was funded.

 What is a loan modification?

 A loan modification is a mutually agreed upon modification to a homeowner's existing mortgage note(s) that allows a homeowner to stay in their home and avoid foreclosure of the property. The process does not involve refinancing.

   EDUCATING AND PREVENTING MORTGAGE FRAUD ONE TRANSACTION AT A TIME!

An American Epidemic Mortgage Fraud - A Serious Business...the book! This book will help you understand the whole transaction and help you learn how to Prevent Mortgage Fraud

Mortgage Fraud. Clearly, the statistics point to nothing short of an epidemic. And yet, really, what do we know about fraud? In point of fact, it's not what we know about fraud that's dangerous; it's what we don't know.
What's worse is the staggering amount of opportunity with which the American real estate industry provides those who commit fraud. 

Homeowners need to be Proactive In Handling Your Mortgage Problems!

The first step you can take to stop foreclosure on your home is to avoid giving the bank any reason to believe it will not have its debt repaid!   Homeowners will often avoid notices from their lenders after they have missed a payment.  A bank, or other lender, seeks foreclosure when it has good reason to believe that it no longer has any chance of repayment of the debt it is owed.  This is understandable and usually driven by embarrassment or the sense of helplessness on the part of the borrower.  However, by not responding to the lender's notices, you are giving them their first reason to think you will not be able to repay your loan.  This is where Michael S. Richardson and his 25 years of mortgage and real estate experience come in.  Just because you are unable to make a payment on your mortgage does not mean you have to lose your home. Let Preventmortgagefraud.com help you.

Loan Modification Specialist can help you if: 

• You Are Behind On Your Payments
• Your Adjustable Rate Has Increased
• Your Adjustable Rate Will Increase
• You Owe More Than Your House Is Worth
• You Can't Afford Your Monthly Payment

Stop Foreclosure From Happening to You and Get Affordable Terms!

Homeowners need to be Proactive In Handling Your Mortgage Problems!

FORENSIC MORTGAGE LOAN AUDITS

What is a forensic mortgage audit?

A Forensic Mortgage Audit is the comprehensive review of all loan documentation including legal documents, transactional data, and other evidence pertaining to your real estate loan that has been funded. A forensic mortgage audit identifies any illegalities performed by the lender, their broker, or other parties in conjunction with the mortgage. During the audit process, skilled professionals review all documents received from your lender from the date you applied to the date you funded your loan including any envelopes, faxes, and emails to ensure that your loan meets all legal requirements that were in effect at the time the loan was funded.

 What is a loan modification?

 A loan modification is a mutually agreed upon modification to a homeowner's existing mortgage note(s) that allows a homeowner to stay in their home and avoid foreclosure of the property. The process does not involve refinancing.

   EDUCATING AND PREVENTING MORTGAGE FRAUD ONE TRANSACTION AT A TIME!

An American Epidemic Mortgage Fraud - A Serious Business...the book! This book will help you understand the whole transaction and help you learn how to Prevent Mortgage Fraud

Mortgage Fraud. Clearly, the statistics point to nothing short of an epidemic. And yet, really, what do we know about fraud? In point of fact, it's not what we know about fraud that's dangerous; it's what we don't know.
What's worse is the staggering amount of opportunity with which the American real estate industry provides those who commit fraud. 

Where are the honest ethical Real Estate and Mortgage professionals? When are the good, honest hard working professionals going to stand up and help put an end to these terrible crimes that fraudsters commit to steal homes from families.

I am an industry veteran that is a victim of mortgage fraud and our industry is saturated with “Willful Blindness”, and an “it is not my problem” mind-set. I know that the current fraud-prevention measures have a higher cost of doing business The price of detecting, reporting, and preventing fraud costs all of us more money, but if I would have had the tools available today to prevent mortgage fraud I would still be running my business, not out of business. It is sad that in my travels and at speaking engagements around the country, I hear the same degrading comments about how unethical and crooked the “Real Estate and Mortgage Industry” has become at numerous levels.

In the last few weeks I have received many desperate e-mails from homeowners that have been scammed out of their homes by Real Estate Agents, Attorneys and Lenders. The scheme is these fraudsters pretend they are going to help the homeowner save their home by doing a refinance of the home to catch up on payments or to make major repairs needed on the property.

This fraud scheme has surfaced in many different states with the same results to the homeowner. The result is a transfer of ownership not a refinance as they were advised, and while they did the paper shuffle at the closing the sale of the property occurs!

The transfer ownership turns out to be an immediate eviction notice to these families so the fraudsters can skim the equity from the property, not caring who they hurt!

In one case from New Mexico the homeowner wrote:

“One week later they re-keyed the house while I was gone, after the re-key they put a dumpster in the driveway and proceeded to throw everything we own from the house into the dumpster with the workers telling my daughter’s boyfriend they were trying to figure out what to auction off.”

In a second case from Las Vegas they wrote:

“The investor then (1) changed the locks at our home, (and barred our windows resulting in three broken blinds that can be seen from the street and screwed a wood bar into the garage door frame on either side;) (2)"gutted" our house of all our personal household belongings which are presently in two 40yard dumpsters in the backyard of the residence due to be removed and disposed of within one or two days of the date of this letter 9/26/06”

There is a current and repeated pattern of behavior for this organized conspiracy of real estate agent, broker, investor, the real estate company, and the title company and or its closing agent. There are companies teaching and even writing books on how to use these exact same illegal tactics. Some of these students are taught to believe it is a legal way in the communities to make huge profits. Unfortunately the conspiracy is just a way to commit mortgage fraud, equity skimming, and predatory lending by bullying and using aggressive tactics to impose their illegal actions. The tactic is to embarrass and humiliate the homeowner to the point that the homeowners give up in exhaustion. They concede to the terms due to emotional need to have financial situation fixed, save their home, only to find out later that they were scammed while they were in desperate circumstances.

Although this is a very upsetting and a sad situation for anyone to even think about, imagine what the two families above are dealing with as they are living this nightmare!

The vast majority of people are sincere, motivated, dedicated individuals making one of life’s most costly purchases. No matter how sophisticated a homeowner may be in his or her professional life, they are most often baffled by the endless forms, facts, and figures they must face simply to apply for the loan, let alone be approved for it and go to the closing table.

Thus the homeowner is unwittingly the first to allow for fraud, and the last to know about it. We know that fraud exists, we know who most likely perpetrates it and, in fact, the various ways in which they commit fraud. But how is the consumer to know, how is the potential homeowner, affected? Imagine the two family’s situation above, not only losing their home, but all of their personal possessions as well.

These people would not only like to have their own homes back but have told me they feel that there is a responsibility of honest professionals, friends, neighbors and the community to all do our part to eliminate these "Fraudsters". We need to prevent mortgage fraud, equity skimming, and predatory lending practices. Why do we consistently allow these types of fraudsters to affect elderly people who have nearly paid off their mortgages, veterans, legal immigrants, those below poverty level income, young couples with infants and small children, and people who just have the American Dream of owing their home.

The majority of people believe it is the responsibility of our local, state and national governmental agencies' to protect the American public from deceitful, fraudulent, dishonest, larcenous, embezzlement, unethical and misrepresentative practices related to real estate and mortgage fraud.

The costs are significant at the local level, like inflated appraisals, they really drive up the property taxes in a neighborhood or county. A lot of communities across the country have seen their neighborhood prices distressed and sometimes become a blight because of real estate fraud.

What about the bigger picture on the national level, you know when the government gets involved in a problem, not only is it big but very costly. Someone has to pay those agents to track down fraud, someone has to pay to the court costs all those fraudsters, and if convicted someone has to pay to feed, clothe, and shelter them. Who? Who will bear the brunt of these costs? You, me, and millions of unwitting homeowners who would never think of committing real estate fraud or even know how to go about committing fraud.

There’s no doubt that homeowners pay the price of real estate fraud emotionally and monetarily. The only way such costs can be avoided is to eliminate, or greatly reduce, the problem. That means you are going to have to start thinking about it, and thinking about it soon. The ethical honest “Real Estate Industry Professionals” need to step up and assist the “American Homeowners” that are being victimized and assist our governmental agencies from these fraudsters, if you do not know how, educate yourself, and then educate the homeowners!

The faster we all help prevent real estate fraud, the sooner all of these costs could be reduced, thus saving homeowners and tax payers money … and people will not be unlawfully evicted from there homes because of the paper work shuffle by the fraudsters at the closing table.

We can prevent mortgage and real estate fraud one transaction at a time!

Sincerely,

Michael S. Richardson

Managing Director
www.PreventMortgageFraud.com