Upside Down Mortgage

Archive for the ‘Mortgage Fraud’ Category

Mortgage Fraud For Housing

Identity theft professionals are becoming greedier and more proficient at their "game." Identity theft is no longer limited to unpaid credit cards, small credit loans, but with the booming real estate market there is fast cash there for the conniving individual to make.

Mortgage fraud through identity theft is the second most common mortgage fraud scheme. The FTC reported in 2004 that $429 million dollars in damages for home mortgage fraud hoaxed and approximately $1.1 million dollars lost on commercial loans.

Mortgage fraud through identity theft occurs in several different ways. First a person may apply for a loan for a new home or for a home equity loan using your personal and financial information. The home equity loan is most often on the house that you are residing in, thus making this the easiest hoax to commit. Knowledge of an individual's date of birth, social security number, as well as address makes it easy for victimization to occur.

Secondly, mortgage fraud may occur in a fake sale of your home. One thief will assume your identity and "sell" the property to another thief. With mortgage loan money in hand, both thieves get away and no real sale occurs. However, there have been instances where the homeowner's identity was stolen and the home was sold to a legitimate buyer and the thief gets away with the money, the buyers have no new home and the original homeowner is left with the messy business of re-establishing his identity and his credit.

In most cases, the banks are the ones most damaged by these types of schemes. A legitimate homeowner did not take out the loan, so may not be held liable, but they don't get off with out any damage at all. Many hours and much money may be required to correct the credit problems that are a result of identity theft, particularly when the theft results in large sums of money being stolen. Then there is the additional effort to protect their future credit and personal information.

Those most likely to be victims of mortgage fraud are the elderly, established homeowners, and those who have a great deal of equity in their homes. Equity information is readily available through an online title search and the use of tracking property values in the area.

Homeowners need to do the following to protect their homes and their credit.

- Monitor your credit report, receive regular updates, and stay informed;

- Immediately contact any lenders that provide information on your credit report when you discover pieces of information that are mistakes of fact or that you don't know or recognize;

- Read your social security benefits statement when it comes in the mail to determine if anyone has already claimed your benefits.

- Be wary of communications regarding your home, real estate, personal or mortgage information including special "offers" to help you with your mortgage or interest rate.

- You may need to educate your parents or other elderly individuals with their credit protection plans.

- Install an anti virus and spyware software system on your computer to protect your personal and financial information.

Early detection and reporting of mortgage fraud schemes is important. With mortgage fraud, consumers may lose their property, their savings, and their credit rating. Secondly, lenders are affected by the loss of money, security, and assets in their company, not to mention the lack of trust resulting from these types of rackets.

If a victim of this type of crime, it should be reported to The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) http://www.fbi.gov/ (202) 324-3000 - National FBI Financial Institution Fraud Unit. However, there are a possible 18 other government agencies, banking, consumer, and fraud reporting agencies as well as other consumer resources available to consumers depending on the type and method of mortgage fraud that occurred. For a complete list of resources, visit Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/Mortgage_Fraud/National_Resources.asp

Consumers can try to stop identity theft before it happens by being forewarned and vigilant. If you are a victim of identity theft, in particular mortgage fraud you will have the information you need to correctly and quickly report the theft and take the steps necessary to begin to repair your credit.

About the Author:

Lisa Carey is a contributing author for
Identity Theft Secrets: prevention and protection
. You can get tips on Identity theft protection, software, and monitoring your credit as well as learn more about the secrets used by identity thieves at the
Identity Theft Secrets blog

Source - What Every Homeowner Should Know About Mortgage Fraud And Identity Theft

Mortgage Fraud: Save the Homeowner Save the World HD

If you're new around here, you might want to subscribe to our Upside-Down Mortgage RSS feed. It's quite likely the only feed of it's type on the internet!

Mortgage Fraud Lawsuits

Question: who is responsible for a fraudulent appraisal?

Our mortgage was approved based on a fraudulent appraisal. We signed the note believing we had 50 thousand in equity, now we find out that we actually owe more on the home than it is worth. Does anyone know of a lawsuit that has gone in favor of the homeowner in this circumstance? I believe the broker shoud be held responsible, as they are the ones that hired the appraiser, who, by the way, is not allowed to renew his license due to another case of fraud.
appraisal saying home is worth 185 thousand, new appraisal? 95 thousand, sorry I know the market is bad, but my house did not depreciate 90 thousand dollars., the comparable photos do not match the addresses, my home is 100 yrs old, the comparables say they are the same age, when upon my investigation, the homes are actually brand new. I signed these papers believing I had 50 thousand in equity, when in reality, I have $0.

Answer: Sue everybody in this order: The Appraisal company, the appraiser themselves, the Broker, and the Mortgage company. Go to your state's Attorney General's office and file a complaint for everyone of these entities. There appears to be so much fraud in your case that you need to pursue this.

Depending on your area, the value of your home may have dipped, even significantly, but not 90 k...

Good Luck...

FHA Shady Mortgage Fraud National City Part 2

Mortgage Fraud Resources

Question: Realtor/Mortgage lender fraud? PLEASE HELP!!?

I had a very bad experience with the mortgage lender and realtor. I believe I got screwed on my house. I'm young, and they knew it. I want to post my story but its too long. Anyways, this has been eating me up for so long, and now i'm ready to take action. Does anybody know of any resources where I can look up illegal/legal lender/realtor practices in TEXAS. I don't need the code of ethics. I need solid law. I'm about to lose my house and this gave me enough courage to move forward. I've googled and looked at so many places and can't find anything. Please help. I have no money or time for legal consultation right now. I'm very depressed. I work 2 ft jobs, have a baby, and cant pay my bills anymore. Please help me!!!

Answer: There is a huge difference between fraud being committed by a Lender or Realtor and a Buyer who didn't have a clue as to what they were doing getting in way over his or her head.

The fact that you are young has nothing to do with anything. There are plenty of young people who research what they are doing before they do it so that they don't enter into a deal that isn't in their best interests.

The Texas AG's Office has a Mortgage Fraud Task Force that you can contact if it indeed was fraud.

Here is a link to the Texas Office of The Consumer Credit Commissioner that lists what is considered predatory lending practice in Texas, along with the Texas Code that addresses the issue:

http://www.occc.state.tx.us/pages/agency/strat05/pred.html

I hope you work things out. Good Luck.

Rocky Delgadillo, Fighting Mortgage Fraud 5