New York, NY (PRWEB) September 06, 2012
Mortgage and Real Estate Fraud is at an all time high. In 2008 The United States economy nearly collapsed. It’s no secret that the greed and corruption mitigated by Big Banks and Wall Street decimated the U.S. Real Estate Market and almost completely destroyed the economy. Most have heard of the various deceptive practices Wall Street used to defraud millions. The manipulation of CDO’s was a primary method of deception, credit default swaps were another.
Homeowners throughout the United States were enraged over this; millions are still being kicked out of their homes due to foreclosure. On the other hand, trillions of dollars went into the pockets of these crooks on Wall Street and for the most part many, to this day, have not been held accountable for their actions.
This corruption on Wall Street has been well documented. However, much less attention has been paid to the actions of those on Main Street. Main Street consists of Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Brokers, Loan Officers, Loan Processors, Title Companies, Loan Modification Companies, Real Estate Appraisers, and others, all operating in a neighborhood near you.
The Top “Main Street” Mortgage and Real Estate Scams of the 21st Century exposes the fraud and scams used by these Main Street players. Anything goes in this world of falsified documentation, identity theft, lying on mortgage applications, bank and wire fraud, embezzlement, and coercion.
Paid too much for your home? – Real Estate Agents. Refinanced your home and got robbed at the closing? – Mortgage Brokers, Loan Officers. Mortgage Loan Application exaggerated your income? – Loan Processors. Refinanced your mortgage and found out that it was never paid off? – Title Companies. Paid someone to represent you to negotiate a restructured mortgage, and you are still in foreclosure? – Loan Modification Companies. Way upside in your home due to inflated values? – Real Estate Appraisers.
One of the most amazing things about these scams is the fact that in most cases multiple players have to be involved to pull it off.
For example, In this scenario a homeowner with very little equity unable to sell his home is approached by a Realtor offering to represent this seller. As the Seller Agent he guarantees that he can sell the home; under certain “conditions.
THE PLAYERS
1) The Homeowner-Agrees to the scam
2) The Seller Agent-Originator of the scheme
3) The Buyer Agent-Brought in by the Seller Agent to make the transaction look legitimate
4) The Loan Officer-Provides the identity of the Straw Buyer
5) The Loan Processor-Submits the fraudulent mortgage application
6) The Appraiser-Inflates the value of the property
7) The Title Company-Conducts the fraudulent closing
In this scam, the Homeowner agrees to let the Real Estate Agent represent him because the sale is guaranteed, for a price (kickback). The Seller Agent contacts an Appraiser who will inflate the actual value of the property (for a fee of course). The Seller Agent pulls in his friend the Buyer Agent, to represent the buyer. There really is no buyer. From his rolodex, or the rolodex of his friend, the Loan Officer, emerges the “loan applicant” (stolen identity). This applicant has no intent to occupy the property; this person is totally unaware that they are in the process of applying for a mortgage. The loan application is submitted by the Loan Processor. The Title Company conducts the closing; the buyer is not present. How could he be? Once the deal closes the Real Estate Agents split the commission, the additional money now available due to the inflated property value is divided between the remaining participants. Incredible, but true.
About the Author
After witnessing this excessive fraud, greed and corruption in his 10 years experience in the industry, D. Lance Roberts decided to write this expos