Fraud in Real Estate?

Great post, Gena, but scary. And things don't seem to be getting better, although we are at least seeing more investigations adn crackdowns on fraudulent conduct. BTW have you written to Roberta Murphy?

Brian - love your comments (and love SB). Would be great if you could stop by my blog at Fans Of Coastal San Diego sometime and add your comments where appropriate. I am fairly new and still getting acclimated, but love hearing from others about their favorite haunts, beaches, etc.

Dave, You're very welcome. We all continue to learn each day and the most important thing we can do for our clients is to continue our education and familiarize ourselves with what is currently going on. Glad to have been of service.

Brutus, Meant to say Bryant (sorry, I owed you one!) You have no idea!!! I hate to admit this but after working on this for a very long time and research as well as attending seminars and writing a bit on it here and there...I managed to delete my work and had to start all over again. It was truly a blood blog from me.

Mariana, I'm hoping that my explanation was clear enough for all to understand but I know that so many times we write or speak in a language that is not understood. I hope that I was able to make it as simple as possible.

Tony, you are absolutely correct. However, this has a direct impact on all of us and I am ever so thankful that the FBI is involved and indicting those that are found guilty. I don't wish to be penalized for those that set their goal in life to defraud.

Suzanne, thank you for reading and commenting. I do hope that it is helpful and useful for you and potential clients.

Eddy, Yes isn't it a shame that there are those out there that don't follow the same ethics that you and I have. Glad to hear that you are keeping your area clean of this mess.

Kaushik, You're very welcome...it was a lot of detail...glad you could get through it all. I thought of making 2 posts from it but decided that we might be able to handle a long read.

Doug, Just keep your eyes open...there's a lot out there and the FBI doesn't care if you play dumb to it.

Lenn, Yes and more and more of these folks think this is easy money. I haven't noticed a reduction on the advertisment for these seminar predators. Definately, a case of buyer beware!

Renee, you are so welcome and yes, it took an incredible amount of time. My time however on the dashboard was very brief!

Brutus I mean Bryant, thank you for the blog on my blog...all my points exactly! The FBI doesn't care if you play dumb or not and if it aint on the HUD, consider it fraud. Plus the key here in your blog, as I'm sure you are very aware is that although the house may have appraised...was it a legitimate appraisal. A home in my neighborhood appraised quite high and would have not been a problem in the past but now, it sticks out like a sore thumb...appraisal fraud...very likely!

Jeff, you are absolutely correct. You guys have taken a lot of heat on Lender fraud and Mortgage fraud but that's unfortunatley not all there is and yes, it took me an incredible amount of time to write all of this in what I hope is easily understood. But, alas it was only on the dashboard an ever so short amount of minutes.

Roberta, Thank you. It certainly took some time to accomplish. As far as the seminars, I hope you are referring to the education about fraud versus the "get rich quick" seminars...just joking!

Nima, You're very welcome and glad to hear that you say "NO"

Gabriel, yes it would be great tool. Maybe someone could make the recommendation to them...how about you?

T. Baker, yes I referenced the Foreclosure and how the homeowner is left holding the bag so to speak. In answer to your question about do lenders run a credit check again before closing...yes they run the credit check just before the docs are issued. And if you represent a buyer, I would make sure to reaffirm with your buyer not to put any money on a credit card, withdraw money from savings etc. before closing. Even though many Lenders let the borrower know this, sometimes the excitment of a new home and items that are on sale, seem to take upper stage. It is your job to remind your clients.

Leo, they are finding them and what resounded in almost all of my research was the words that the FBI is "following the money" and all will be prosecuted. Many of the Real Estate offices that also dabble in loans are being evaluated. One in particular, I noticed lately changed their name and apparently no longer are doing loans. I had heard that they were using white-out quite freely on their clients loan applications. Interesting what goes on, isn't it?

Dave, I think the people that do it definately know what they are doing. Some of the strawbuyers may not especially the ones whose identies have been stolen but event the strawbuyers who are illegal aliens know that they are doing something wrong. It's back to the old sayings...you don't get something for nothing buyer beware...if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Jeff, yes it is scary and there's plenty of it. No, I don't know if BTW wrote to Roberta. YOU MUST HAVE WONDERED WHAT I WAS SAYING ABOUT BTW-SHOWING MY AGE! NOW, I KNOW THAT YOU WERE SAYING BY THE WAY (SORRY). YES, I DID.

Michael, the FBI is opening offices all over. You're talking about a lot of money that Lenders are loosing and it's having a real impact on neighborhoods and tax base which I didn't get into in my blog due to its length. I will check out your blog on the seminars. Thank you for sharing.

TLW that I thought was BTW. Oh to be young again and have all this just magically sink in. I do feel slightly foolish but oh so glad that you let me know before I continued on that merry path.

And as for Brutus...oh my gosh...where was my mind? Obviously not with my typing fingers!

Thanks.

TLW that I typed LTW...thank you...sometimes I need to be saved especially with all these letters. It could be seriously hazardous if choosing the wrong letters that might mean something else...could get someone into some serious trouble.

Angus, I too am glad you are back! Oh yeah, oh yeah and how's the herd doing???

I know what you mean about those getting what they so deserve. What's worse is when you see them with nice clients that are being taken down the primrose path.  Hope they aren't out there hurting folks and neighborhoods anymore.

I don't remember if I touched on that or not with the post but many of those investors owned property in and around each other which then caused an entire neighborhood to have what I would consider a blight. Has the neighborhood that you are referring to, come back to life yet?

TLW, thanks for understanding. Didn't know how all that came about in the first place but it appears to have stuck!

Toby, thanks for taking the time to read it. As you can see, a seller read it and found that what they are going through can very easily perhaps qualify for fraud. So, even though it didn't win anything, it helped someone out there and that's really why it was written. Thanks again.