I think I was I who said, "we'll have less sales and refinances and more fraud" in reference to changes in the lending environment. Trust me - I'm not making excuses for these scumballs and thugs - it's just common sense. Make the dream harder to acheive and people are going to take more risks and break more rules (and laws) to acheive it.
According to a report in National Mortgage News "Florida led the states in mortgage fraud, accounting for 24% of all properties with material misrepresentation for loans originated in the first quarter, according to the MARI Quarterly Fraud Report." Well, housing values are still fluttering, lenders do not want to lend there and people need a place to live. So guess what? Right! Lie, cheat and steal!
MARK THESE WORDS: Just wait until there is no more seller funded down payment assistance and see what happens to fraud numbers. We're talking about eliminating over 1/3 of all FHA loans from people who actually can afford the payments but simply have not, for any number of reasons, saved enough to pay the newly required 3.5% from their own funds. I'm telling you all right now we will have to even more closely check employers (Loan officers/Processors: do you investigate employer licensing/addresses and phone numbers already? You should!) to make sure they aren't shell companies or websites who offer VOE services AND W2's. They disappeared for a while but you can bet your brown eye they are coming back. And THIS time they will be funding the DPA because employer's can still do so. Again, ending seller funded DPA is the most boneheaded, asinign legislation I have seen in this whole debacle. Well, next to the crap that keeps coming out of North Carolina. (North Carolina is the first state to ban YSPs - and don't comment some BS you don't understand about how that's a good thing. Politicians who take illegal kickbacks, job opportunities, speaking engagements that pay thousands of dollars, telling honest workers they don't deserve their pay. Marxism.)
If you want to be a mortgage fraud fighter you can. There are many types of fraud perpetrated by many individuals. Almost all fraud you hear about is insider fraud but there is a lot of ousider fraud as well. If you know of an appraiser, a banker, a real estate agent, or a buyer (or anyone) who is making a false statement or creating documents in order to get a loan closed you can try the FBI but they will tell you (A) we're too busy to handle just one case but we'll keep their names in case we see them again or (B) do you have any evidence a real crime has been committed? Or, you can contact Rachael Dollar who, among other things, operates the Mortgage Fraud Blog.
See you at the polls in November. I dare you to vote for inexperience in a time like this.
THE OPINIONS IN THIS COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY KEN COOK's PERSONAL OPINION AND NOT REFLECTIVE ON ACTIVE RAIN, NOVATION MORTGAGE, or ANY SPONSOR OF THIS WEBSITE.
EDUCATION BEATS LEGISLATION EVERY TIME. Get your clients, friends and family members to a LENDER RUN home mortgage seminar as soon as possible.
Copyright©2008 Ken Cook. Georgia and Florida real estate investment loans, FHASecure and FHA Home Loans, nationwide commercial hard money and small business loans, non-recourse loans for real estate investors
Novation Mortgage, 2501 E Piedmont Road, Suite 201, Marietta, GA 30062 Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee 20014. Florida Mortgage Broker Business MBB 0703760 FHA Lender - Equal Housing Lender
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