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Another CORRUPT Lender is Sentenced!

By
Real Estate Agent with Leigh Brown & Associates, RE/MAX Executive

And if I knew how to highlight another blog, I'd grab the one that Ken Cook posted about the fact that the corrupt lenders ought to be named and not just the industry as a whole! 

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/15870426.htm

This is the article, posted in the Charlotte Observer on Saturday 10/28.  I know that mortgage fraud has appeared all over the country, and in Charlotte we've had 4 full-time FBI agents working the backlog of cases, and trying to ferret out the corrupt lenders, attorneys, appraisers, etc.  Nothing has pleased me more than seeing so many of the overnight shops closing up and vanishing.  They have stained the mortgage industry and have destroyed property values in several neighborhoods throughout our area.

Moral of the story?  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!  Buyers, ask your agent to run comps on the house you plan to buy-this is a simple task and part of our fiduciary responsibilities.  You should know that what you're paying is supported by the neighborhood as a whole.  A lot of these incidences wouldn't have happened if buyers were properly educated in HOW to select the right agent. 

Comments (3)

Kristal Kraft
Novella Real Estate - Denver, CO
Selling Metro Denver Real Estate - 303-589-2022

Leigh, I so agree with you on the wisdom of choosing a good agent.  Most agents truly want to do a good job for the client, because in doing so they are working on a relationship for life.  I tell my buyers I don't want them to make a mistake, because I am hoping when it comes time to sell they will call ME!  At that time I don't want to have to tell them "we made a mistake."

Our business is built on repeat business and you don't get a second chance if you mess up the first!

Great post!

kk

Oct 30, 2006 01:04 AM
Leigh Brown
Leigh Brown & Associates, RE/MAX Executive - Charlotte, NC
CEO, Dream Maker - Charlotte, NC
Amen to that, Kristal!  I remind them from day one that i plan to sell their home again, be it in 1 year or 20-and i want to have the pleasure of telling them how much it's worth and have them celebrate-not throw up.
Oct 30, 2006 01:11 AM
Kristal Kraft
Novella Real Estate - Denver, CO
Selling Metro Denver Real Estate - 303-589-2022

No kidding! It doesn't always happen perfectly because we cannot predict the future, but with certain cautions, we can do a pretty good job of protecting them.

What worries me most about this current generation and how they "love to do things" for themselves, like buy fsbos or properties without representation.  Who is guiding them?  A novice has no benchmark to work from.  Just because someone sets a price doesn't mean it's a good price!

Just think if we let the inaccurated data from say "Zillow" be used as the pricing benchmark...what would happen then?

Oct 30, 2006 02:49 AM