It’s Not John Wayne and the Calvary: New Florida Mortgage Rules Kick In Januray 8, 2010 - 01/28/10 01:23 PM
Starting Friday, companies that provide loan modification services must be licensed or face a fine under a law that kicks in to further protect consumers from fraud when they refinance or renegotiate a loan.
 
Facing a rash of complaints from already cash-strapped consumers, lawmakers earlier this year made changes to the Florida Mortgage Brokerage and Lending Act, which regulates the industry, at a time when renegotiations, foreclosures and other loan modifications are at an all-time high.
 
“Our goal, along with the many other fine organizations who helped pass this legislation, is to ensure Floridians only pay for loan modification … (1 comments)

Avoid These Common Errors When Confronting Foreclosure - 01/26/10 11:26 PM
 
It’s hard not to become emotional when faced with the hardships that life throws at us these days.  When you have fallen on hard times due to a job loss or a mortgage issue, it’s very easy to feel depressed, helpless, and sorry for yourself.
 
 
But you must realize that there are many solutions available to avoid foreclosure and save your home!  I meet hundreds of unfortunate homeowners every month; and, 95% of them have made the same common mistakes when they are confronted with foreclosure.
 
I read this article last month from a real estate investor … (1 comments)

Top Five Dos and Don'ts of Loan Modification - 01/26/10 08:10 AM
I posted this article last year in January 2009. Since I receive a ton of mail with the basic question, "How can I get a loan modification?"  I felt compelled to re-post it again at the beginning of 2010.
Consumer Advocate Ralph R. Roberts Reveals the Top Five Dos and Don'ts of Loan Modification
DETROIT--(activerain)2009--Ralph R. Roberts, consumer advocate and spokesperson for Federal Loan Modification Law Center, LLP, today revealed the top five do's and don'ts of loan modification. Since losing one of his own homes to foreclosure in the late 1970s, Roberts has made it his life's mission … (3 comments)

Inspector General Report: Madoff and SEC Were in Bed Together - 01/25/10 03:00 PM
The Securities and Exchange Commission's inspector general on Wednesday released a scathing report finding that the agency failed to follow up on detailed complaints and missed exposing the biggest fraud in the history of the agency, a $50 billion Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernard Madoff.
"Despite numerous credible and detailed complaints, the SEC never properly examined or investigated Madoff's trading and never took the necessary, but basic, steps to determine if Madoff was operating a Ponzi scheme," the SEC Inspector General David Kotz said in the report.
Kotz found evidence of a failure to follow up on three examinations … (0 comments)

Philadelphia 2000 to 2009 Had Its Share of Real Estate Slippery Slopes: Ponzi Schemes and Smooth Talking Swindlers - 01/24/10 12:38 PM
 
That fatal slide occurred in the first half of the decade at American Business Financial Services Inc., a subprime-mortgage lender in Philadelphia that went bust in 2005 with losses of $700 million for thousands of mostly elderly mom-and-pop investors.
“If forced to choose one phrase to describe the U.S. economy in the 21st century's first decade, ‘Ponzi scheme’ would not be bad,” posed professor Frankel.
The bubble in real estate values that defined the period was not a Ponzi scheme in the traditional sense, but it still depended on taking money from one party to pay another.
As long as … (1 comments)

Federal Prosecutor to File “Clawback” Lawsuits to Recover Ponzi Victims’ Losses - 01/23/10 03:31 PM
 
 
Tom Petters, a Minnesota businessman, is planning to appeal his convictions in a Ponzi scheme that cost investors more than $3.5 billion.
Petters' defense team announced Thursday it planned to appeal his conviction on 20 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Efforts to recover money to compensate victims will likely net only pennies on the dollar, and prosecutors have not ruled out new charges against others. The fight over his future and how to compensate victims of the fraud will likely drag on for years.
"This fight is far from over as far as Mr. … (1 comments)

San Rafael Woman Tells Congress What Life is Like After Madoff - 01/21/10 01:24 PM
Two years ago, Jeannene Langford’s life in San Rafael, CA, came to a screeching halt. "I pretty much fell apart," Langford said. "I remember sitting down and crying on the phone to him. But there was not much to say, other than to explain that it was all a fraud."
Her financial manager was calling with news about Langford's account, and it wasn't good. "Our money was with Madoff," he told her. "It's all gone."
Jeannene Langford lost everything in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.  In Septmber of 2009, Ms Langford was asked by the US Congress to tell what her life … (0 comments)

Finally. It is now a Crime to Commit Mortgage Fraud in California! - 01/20/10 02:08 PM
The foreclosure crisis in California gave rise to mortgage fraud and loan modification scams. Lawmakers responded with legislation to attack the problems.
 
"The last two years, we've seen more legislation in the mortgage and real estate arena than we have in the previous 10 years," said Department of Real Estate spokesman Tom Pool.
 
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a total of 724 new bills for 2009, including a number of bills which will offer consumer protection to both home and car buyers in 2010 and beyond.
 
Senate Bill 239 makes it a crime to commit mortgage fraud. Previously, … (0 comments)

Mortgage Fraud Initiative Takes a $131 Million Dollar Bite Out of Real Estate Crimes - 01/19/10 08:31 AM
 
 
The joint Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Initiative since its inception in September 2007 yielded substantial results in its first year:  102 individuals had been charged for their involvement in mortgage fraud schemes and more than $131,000,000 in fraudulent mortgage loans.
Since September 2007, the Mortgage Fraud Initiative has resulted in charges against 264 individuals in schemes totaling more than $305 million in loans.
On September 27, 2007, U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta announced the Mortgage Fraud Initiative to combat the growing mortgage fraud epidemic in South Florida. The Mortgage Fraud Initiative brought together federal and state law enforcement  agencies to … (2 comments)

MORTGAGE FRAUD: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim - 01/17/10 11:26 PM
The FBI, of course, plays a major role in investigating mortgage fraud—and their caseload has more than tripled in the past five years. But while they are focusing on the perpetrators, here are some tips for you as a consumer to protect yourself from becoming a victim of mortgage fraud.
 
Special Agent Scott Broshears, a mortgage fraud supervisor who works at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. stated that there are plenty of tips to avoid being a victim of mortgage fraud.  “And while some of these steps may require you to do a little extra work now,” adds Agent Broshears, … (3 comments)

Ralph Roberts is the Foreclosure Expert for Oakland County - 01/15/10 02:18 PM
 
Sterling Hgts., MI - Time magazine’s “best-selling realtor in America,” is also today’s expert in preventing foreclosure.  Roberts is building a real estate agent force in every county, coast to coast saving the American dream of owning a home from foreclosure.
 
At a Sterling Hgts. meeting last week of his advisors and real estate associates, Ralph Roberts took the first steps towards his vision on foreclosure prevention in North America. Ralph announced that he would hire and appoint his first agents to represent the Michigan counties of Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Washtenaw, Livingston and St. Clair.
 
Roberts went on … (0 comments)

NC Attorney General Nails Down Deceptive Home Sales with Lawsuit - 01/15/10 09:33 AM
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper filed a lawsuit filed this week charging the officers of three companies to an elaborate conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud.  Their deceptive scheme duped consumers into buying overpriced manufactured homes and agreeing to loans they couldn’t afford.
 
“People who need an affordable place to live don’t deserve to get trapped in a tangled web of deception,” Cooper said. “Dishonest sales practices and tricky financing often leave consumers stuck with payments they can’t make on homes that are worth less than they paid for them.”
 
Cooper is seeking to stop the scheme permanently and … (1 comments)

Florida Takes Right Course of Action to Protect Home Owners from Mortgage Fraud - 01/13/10 11:37 PM
As of Jan. 1, 2010 individuals or companies providing loan modification services must be licensed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR).  The days of simply hanging out a shingle and opening up a loan modification business is ending in Florida.
 
The law was sparked by hundreds of complaints filed with the state attorney general’s office. Just last week, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum’s office announced it had filed a lawsuit against three Miami-Dade County companies charging them with taking part in a foreclosure rescue scam. The companies, identified as Kirkland Young LLC, Attorney Aid LLC and ABK Consultants, … (1 comments)

Did We Learn Anything in the Last Decade? Sheila Bair’s Reaction: Hey Toto. We’re Not in Kansas Anymore! - 01/12/10 04:28 PM
 
The tech commodity and real estate bubbles, fraud at Enron and WorldCom, audit failures, moral hazard, the rise of derivatives, the failure of financial institutions to manage risk, “to big too fail,” the market's failure to produce any gains, regulatory failure, the greatest wave of job losses in seven decades. 
Ultimately, none of these stories of the decade are compelling when stacked against the "Real McCoy:"  The Wall Street collapse.  Investors lost bundles, especially when factoring inflation. Executives made bundles, but in doing so, as an industry, Wall Street stands at a post-1930s low in the public consciousness – … (1 comments)

Congress Mortgage-Bankruptcy Relief Bill Defeated by Banks, Credit Unions and Lender Industry - 01/10/10 10:44 PM
 
 
Mortgage “Cram-Down” Bill, HR 1106, would have given bankruptcy judges the ability to change the terms of a mortgage for the benefit of homeowners who had filed for bankruptcy.
The “Mortgage Cram-Down” legislation, re-introduced by Barney Frank (D-MA) to the House of Representatives December 14, 2009, was rejected by a vote of 188-241, just in time for the holidays.
The bill would have allowed bankruptcy judges to unilaterally rewrite mortgage terms for strapped homeowners who file for bankruptcy protection and ultimately help them avoid foreclosure. The mortgage cram-down bill is part of the Obama administration’s efforts to stem … (3 comments)

Vultures over Wall Street Could Leave Washington Holding the Bag - 01/08/10 11:19 AM
Leave it to Wall Street to find a way to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat.  As millions of Americans struggle to hold on to their homes, Wall Street has found a way to make money from the mortgage mess.
 
Lender institutions, mainly banks in trouble, are selling distressed mortgage loans in $100 million-dollar blocks to investment funds at bargain-basement discounts for as low as $40 million.
 
But as part of these deals, the mortgages are being resold and refinanced through lenders that work with government agencies like the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). For instance, a … (0 comments)

New Opportunities Coming with New Worchester Loan Center - 01/07/10 08:50 AM
Worchester, MA - A new loan center in downtown Worcester, Mass., the Bay State Savings Bank, hopes to better serve the local community and change the public’s opinion of the banking industry.Paul Gilbody is the Bay State Savings Bank executive vice president who came up with the new loan center idea. “The public’s perception that banks are not lending inspired me to prove that Bay State Savings was different,” said Gilbody.  “We looked at our main branch and said ‘let’s make a statement and emphasize our interest in doing small business and home mortgage lending in the community.’”   The new loan … (1 comments)

Improving Your Credit Score - 01/05/10 02:06 PM
I just received my personal credit report. I notice that I have things on my report that were paid years ago, and still they show on my report. Is there anything we can do to get those things removed and in turn improve our credit score?
 
The answer is a very loud:  YES, we can!
Improving your credit score is always a good idea. However, it can take a period of time, persistence, and discipline to improve your score. Improving a score can involve correcting errors, getting delinquent accounts current, and/or restructuring your debts. Also, many individuals can prepare … (0 comments)

FHA Insurance Fund Holding onto $696 Billion - 01/04/10 03:48 PM
In an interview with CBS News, November 29, 2009, former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Investigator, Dr. Gary Lacefield, predicted that, “Sometime in the next 15 to 18 months, you’re going to see a major hit on the Federal Housing Association (FHA) insurance fund.”
FHA-insured loans are for single family, owner-occupied residential properties with 30-year fixed rate mortgages.  FHA loans have been helping people become homeowners since 1934. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) – which is part of HUD – insures the loan, so a lender can offer the buyer a better deal with lower down payments (3.5%), lower closing costs … (1 comments)

Internet Marketing and Real Estate is a Marriage Made in Heaven - 01/02/10 10:39 AM
Real estate investment property has always been coveted by the rich and the famous. If you have a real estate business, you are well aware of the importance of marketing. Internet marketing is an excellent solution for real estate. By using the internet to market your real estate business, you can reach people who would not be reachable otherwise.
A colleague of mine, Robert Bradd, who specializes in homes in and around the Grosse Pointes was taking a college course in Internet Marketing earlier this year.  Evidently, he had been taking good notes, because during a class break, Bob received an … (3 comments)

 

RALPH ROBERTS

Sterling Heights, MI

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RALPH ROBERTS REAL ESTATE MACOMB COUNTY

Address: Macomb County Real Estate Broker, 12900 Hall Road Suite 300, Streling Hgts., MI, 48313

Office Phone: (586) 751-0000

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FlippingFrenzy.com is your source for news, information and commentary about Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud. FlippingFrenzy.com has quickly become one of the leading online resources for following the crusade to spot, stop, and report real estate fraud. acticerain acticerain acticerain acticerain acticerain


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