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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

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Prime Vs Subprime Mortgage

The nationwide mortgage crisis, coupled with the economic recession, has forced many homeowners into foreclosure. For many, losing their home is just the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place once they have either lost their job or experienced a huge rise in their mortgage payments, thanks to adjustable rate mortgages and subprime mortgages.

For many homeowners facing foreclosure, there are solutions to stalling or preventing the foreclosure process. The key, however, is to recognize a potential problem ahead of time and begin to take preventative measures to ensure that you and your home don’t become yet another statistic.

How to Protect Yourself against Foreclosure

There are several steps which typically take place before the lender begins the process of foreclosing on your home. In fact, receiving a notice of foreclosure can take several months, and having that foreclosure hit the court system could take several more weeks. With that said, there are steps you can take to handle your financial situation before the judge issues an order of auction:

1. If you foresee a problem, don’t wait until the problem is staring you in the face. Instead, make a call to your lender, explain that you anticipate having difficulty making your mortgage payment, and begin working with the lender to modify the original loan agreement. Many times, you may have the option of refinancing. Many lenders are also working with homeowners to extend loan repayment terms, among other things, so that homeowners can prevent foreclosure. Remember: your lender doesn’t want you to go into foreclosure either. You can work hard to resolve the issue so that you can keep your home and prevent foreclosure.

2. Make a payment so that your mortgage remains current. For many people, making a payment is next to impossible given their current financial situation, but keeping your home loan current is vital if you want to keep your home and obtain some type of loan modification with your lender.

For many homeowners, making a payment can be accomplished by taking out a short-term loan, also known as a payday loan. A payday loan can be extremely helpful for homeowners looking for instant cash, and it is often a responsible decision for those homeowners that find themselves falling behind on their mortgage payments.

3. Use the extra time allotted to you by keeping your home loan current to consider all of your options. For many homeowners, a payday loan can keep the lender at bay while they review all of their options and map out their next step.

In addition, payday loans may be a more realistic solution to short-term cash flow problems than other types of secured or unsecured loans. Many of the homeowners who find themselves struggling in a sub-prime mortgage have low credit scores, which strongly impacts their ability to obtain credit through traditional bank avenues.

Payday loans, like any other type of short-term loan, should not be considered a cure-all to a mortgage crisis; instead, it should be used to maintain your credit, appease the bank and bide you time to consider all of your options.

About the Author:

Learn more about how a payday advance can help you through any financial difficulty. Take advantage of guaranteed payday advance rates through PayDayOne to quickly obtain the funds you need before your next pay check arrives.

Source - Payday Loans vs. Home Foreclosures: Protecting Yourself and Your Home

"The Sub-Prime Mortgage Mess and Federal Reserve Policy" - Notre Dame's Saturday Scholar Series

Subprime Stories

Question: Who's to blame for the subprime meltdown?

The lenders or the consumers? Or is it a little of both? I, frankly, am somewhat saddened by the tighter mortgage standards. My husband and I have credit "issues" that happened in our twenties and doomed us to credit ratings below 650. A "second chance" mortgage was extended to us and we paid a little bit higher (6.6% vs. 5.75%) but we weren't made to put a gazillion down and be forced to take ARMS. Since we've purchased the home (my second, his first), we've been on time, every time. We've even refinanced. The moral of my story is had it not been for second chance loans, people like us wouldn't have been able to purchase a home. However, the same gift also can be a curse since I've seen neighbors go into foreclosure because unscrupulous builders push 3000 sq ft homes on people whose budgets couldn't afford it. What do you think?

Answer: The lenders are the ones who took the risk of lending money to people who cannot afford to repay the money. It is that simple.

Subprime crisis explanation by The Long Johns