Entries from Searchlight Crusade tagged with 'fraud'

Straw Buyers and Straw Purchases are Always Fraud

I've gotten several emails to articles recently having to do with straw buyers, and more search hits. Straw buyer fraud is popular because people want a better loan and many don't see anything wrong with it since "we intend to...

Why All The Fuss Over Real Estate Transactions?

Why doesn't real estate just sell for the asking price instead of having to go thru all the paper work...? Wouldn't it be easier to just put a price on it and sell it for that price? We don't...

Cash Back From The Seller to the Buyer in Real Estate Sales

A while ago I dealt with a very disturbing phone call from a would be client. He was very happy with the way I found bargain properties, and wanted me to find him such a property. All very well and...

How Agents Should Respond To An Appraisal Below Purchase Price

It really helps my perspective in a lot of ways to be both a Realtor and a loan officer. Just the other day, I had a loan only client where they were already under contract to buy a property...

Rental Fraud, Landlord Fraud, and Prospective Tenant Scams

I don't do rental agency, but I do I work with people to get them to the point where they are ready to buy. I recently got this email from a single mother I'm trying to get into a position...

How Easy Real Estate Scams Are

Hi, my name is DELETED, I need help. I bought a house (a few months ago) because my boyfriend persuaded me to. This was supposed to be a real estate investment between us. I put the house in my...

Title Deeds And The Form They Should Take

On a forum I frequent, someone posted this advice for prospective property purchasers: At closing, at the title office or bank, when signing the title, contract for sale or any transfer instrument (use a single obliterating line) mark out the...

There's No Real Way to Take The Complexity Out of Real Estate

Every so often I get e-mail asking why real estate transactions are so complex. Matter of fact, I have this discussion with most clients at some point. The answer is, "Because real estate transactions for a lot of money, and...

Straw Buyers and Their Liabilities

During the Era of Make Believe Loans, a lot of folks got used to zero real scrutiny of transactions. With values increasing rapidly, it was hard to lose money on real estate, whether you were purchaser or lender. One of...

An Apparent Red Flag that Isn't

For all of the rants I post about bad business practices, there are a lot of things the mortgage industry gets right. One of these looks like a red flag not to do business with them, and may seem like...

Asset and Income Rentals - Borrowing Trouble at Usurous Rates

This was originally published in 2005, but is one facet of the meltdown that is still going on, unfortunately. I found this article by Ken Harney in the paper. WASHINGTON - Call it funny money for the housing boom: Now...

Real Estate Transactions: If You're Spending Money, Make Sure You Get Something Valuable For It

Most days I get loan wholesalers coming into my office. I'm always happy to talk with them, providing they want to talk about what I want to talk about. They usually want to talk about this gimmick and that gimmick...

Be Careful Not To Commit Fraud With Rebates

With many people pushing various "cash back to the buyer" schemes in real estate, a note of caution is needed. Actually, it's more like an entire symphony of caution. Because if there is a loan involved, you run the risk...

Termite Work, Wood Destroying Pest Agreements: Avoiding Fraud

Every purchase contract I write includes an addendum for Wood Destroying Pests. In California, this is accomplished via form WPA, a one page addendum that requires an inspection and details responsibility for who makes repairs. The work needed is separated...

Real Estate Sellers Giving A Buyer Cash Back is Defrauding the Lender

When we sold our home just over a year ago we were talked into selling for a bit more than the original offer so the person could get money back to do renovations... I objected based on percentages and...

Mortgage Fraud Is Still Happening - What To Do About It

You would think these nitwits would learn. You would think they'd all be out of the business. Sadly, that is not the case. It started innocently enough. It always starts innocently. This was an email I got (specifics redacted). Hi...

Why You Should Not Walk Away From Real Estate Because You Owe "More Than It's Worth"

I keep reading stuff on the internet advising people who are upside down to just walk away if they are a upside down on their mortgage. This has got to be right up there with the worst financial advice...

"Buy and Bail" or Buying One Home Before Foreclosure on Another

This has been a noticeable phenomenon for quite a while in San Diego. I've been loath to talk about it because I didn't want to be giving fraudsters ideas. Most lenders have now put into place safeguards against this measure....

Short Sales of Real Estate, aka Short Payoffs

A while ago I wrote an article called, "What Happens When You Can't Make Your Real Estate Loan Payment." This is kind of a continuation of that, as I got a search that asked, "What is necessary to persuade a...

Loans On Related Party Transfers of Real Estate - Family, Corporate, or Partners

One of the things that has a lot of issues is any transaction between related people. This is not limited to purely family transactions, but applies also to transfers among partnerships and their partners, corporations and their officers. The market...