Foreclosure Listings A Wide Range of Excellent Housing Choices

Writen by Ernani Uchoa

Because foreclosure listings include so many different types of foreclosures, they are a very good way to get a good idea about the foreclosure market in a target area. It is possible to find one or several of each type of foreclosure listing that is within both your price range and your desired criteria of things that are required in a new property along with the things that you would like as possible extra amenities. Foreclosure listings give anyone a great way to compile a realistic list of possible properties to check out.

There are, of course, many ways to get foreclosure listings, but by far the best way is to find a good online listing service that offers top of the line foreclosure services. This does not mean that all online servers of foreclosure listings do the same thing. Some offer more up to date listings than others, and the best ones offer additional helpful information and articles about how to buy foreclosures, tips and helpful hints about the different types of foreclosure listings and other tidbits that will help you feel comfortable with purchasing a foreclosed home. A good listing service will also have customer support to answer your questions, and around the clock access to the latest foreclosure listings all around the U.S.

While there are several good foreclosure listings services available to the discerning consumer, Foreclosure Data Bank gives you the best service for your time and money. We have very satisfied subscribers and feel that our service is one of the best you could possibly want. We urge you to view our site today for all kinds of foreclosure listings that may be right for you.

HUD Homes - Special Deals for Those in Certain Professions

Have you ever thought about buying HUD homes? Many people have. HUD homes are traditionally cheaper than other homes that are similar in size and location. The good news is that there are HUD homes in practically every city and town in the U.S. One thing that a lot of people may not know about HUD homes is that the government provides programs that are designed to help sell HUD homes to deserving recipients at a bargain price.

One such program is the Good Neighbor Next Door Program. This is a program designed to help firefighters, EMTs, police officers and teachers purchase HUD homes at discounted prices in order to encourage them to move into a neighborhood. The theory behind the Good Neighbor Next Door program is that it is highly beneficial to have people in these professions in neighborhoods. The government also believes this will help to build strong, safe neighborhoods. Firefighters and EMTs can contribute their knowledge and expertise to the area. It has always been a good thing to have police officers in a neighborhood, as it tends to make the area safer for other residents. Teachers are also another valuable public employee, and it is helpful for both the teacher and the neighborhood for them to purchase a home at a discounted price.

Anyone who is a full time firefighter, EMT, police officer or teacher in any public or private school can qualify for this program. They do not even have to be first time home buyers, although they cannot already own a home to be eligible for this program. The best part of it is that these professionals can purchase HUD homes in certain revitalization areas for half of the asking price. This means that if the asking price on a HUD home is $100,000, these people can purchase the property for $50,000. This is an amazing bargain, and people in these professions are well deserving of such a deal. To make it even better, these professionals can also apply for an FHA mortgage loan, which requires only a $100 down payment, and the closing costs can be financed with the mortgage instead of having to pay them up front.

If the home is one of the HUD homes that needs some repairs, then these professionals also have the option of getting an FHA 203(k) mortgage loan, which allows them to finance both the mortgage loan and the costs for repairs into one low monthly payment. Since some HUD homes do require some renovations, this is an excellent option so that the renovations can be done right away, and simply financed into the mortgage loan. This prevents a lot of out of pocket expenses.

HUD homes are an easily affordable option for these professionals, and the federal government is anxious to have these people in neighborhoods where they can help improve the community. Searching for HUD homes that qualify for this program can be done at Foreclosure Data Bank, which has plenty of listings of HUD homes in every part of the U.S.

http://www.foreclosuredatabank.com

Homes With Acreage Ann Arbor Real Estate

Writen by Clint Hunter

Some want to leave the big city and find a home with a lot of acreage. Others want to stay in the city, but would like some land to garden, or for privacy. Whatever the reason, there are many homes with acreage for sale. There are many ways to find and pay for such homes.

How much land is an acre, exactly, and how much is it worth?

An acre is equal to 4, 480 square yards or 43,560 square feet. An acre’s worth depends on a variety of factors. The most important of these factors include location and development potential:

Location: The location of the home is important in determining the value of the house and the acreage. Oftentimes houses that sit on a lot of acreage are located in scenic areas, including mountains and near the ocean. Of course, homes with acreage are also located in large and small cities. Some come with farmland. Find a location that meets your needs, and then search in that area.

Development potential: Some people purchase a home with a lot of acreage because they want privacy. Others want the acreage so that they can develop it. Of course, there are some plots of land that would be impossible to develop, (like the side of a hill) but other plots of land have the potential to be developed. Development potential may increase the worth of the acreage.

Do you need help finding and buying your dream home?

A realtor with Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) or a Certified New Homes Sale Professional (CSP) designation will be able to help you find and move into your dream house. Certified Residential Specialists have 10 years or more of home buying experience. If you are looking at new homes with acreage, then you may want to find a Certified New Homes Sale Professional (CSP). They are specially trained in every aspect of buying, building, and selling a new home.

Paying for your home and the acreage:

Homes with acreage are often expensive. There are a couple of types of loans you can take out that will help lower your monthly paymentsat least initially. Two of these loans are an adjustable home mortgage and an interest only loan.

Adjustable home mortgage: One way of getting into a large home with a lot of land, if you don’t have the money now, is to get an adjustable home mortgage. The interest rates start out lower than most fixed rate mortgages, and so will allow you to make lower payments. Just make sure that you’ll have enough money to continue making your mortgage payments when the payments rise, as they probably will.

Interest only loan: Because you will only be paying the interest on your loan, the payments are smaller than they would be with a standard loan. The theory behind an interest only loan is that you will save the money you are not paying on the principal and invest it. If you are planning on a significant raise or an increased income, they you could use an interest only loan to get by with your large house payments. This is risky, however, for obvious reasons.

Of course with any loan, you must qualify. If you don’t make enough, then start in a smaller home with smaller payments and work your way into a home with a lot of acreage.

Inside Ann Arbor Real Estate is a network entirely devoted to real estate information. The entire Inside Real Estate network has more than 100,000 pages of real estate for cities allover the United States. Inside Real Estate covers serveral topics from the basic “how to’s” of real estate to city specific real estate information.

New Technology Simplifies Searching for Mission Viejo Real Estate

Writen by Vincent Bindi

Searching for real estate in Mission Viejo can be a trying and frustrating experience. Financing, researching schools, determining the best neighborhood, evaluating if home is priced fairly, and missing out on great new listings or price reductions. Working with a good local Mission Viejo realtor can make this easier, and using today’s modern computer and internet technologies can also greatly simplify the home searching process and assure that one will not miss out on a newly listed home for sale in Mission Viejo.

Years ago, a home buyer had to rely on the diligence of their Mission Viejo Real Estate agent to search the market every day for newly listed real estate. But even the best agents are still human… they need some time off, go on vacations, work with other clients, etc. These distractions can sometimes result in the perfect listing being missed and purchased by some other buyer.

Today, a typical internet based new listing email alert service never sleeps, never rests, and can work with hundreds of clients at that same time and never miss a newly listed real estate in Mission Viejo. These computer systems are programmed to seek out newly listed homes that match a buyers criteria, such as: price range, city(s), type of property, bedrooms and baths, living area, age, lot size, etc. It then compares each new listing to these filter parameters, and if a match is found, these systems email a notification to the prospective buyer. The email contains all the detailed information about the new Mission Viejo real estate listing, or a listing with a new price reduction.

When using these services, it is a good idea not place to many restrictions on the search criteria, and here is why. Some listing agents will leave out information from a new listing for various reasons, such as lot size, home living area square footage, downstairs bedroom, etc. If these parameters are missing from the listing, and the automated home finding service is programmed to filter out a new Mission Viejo listing if these parameters don’t match up, then one may miss out on a potentially great home to buy. Therefore, it’s a better idea to minimize the search parameters and manually review each new real estate listing found by the system, for the other less prominent features.

Mr. Bindi is a licensed Real Estate Broker in Orange County CA. He’s sold over 700 homes, and has Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees. For more information about Mission Viejo Real Estate, visit his website: http://www.Search OCHomes.com

Rental Property Management Key in Costa del Sol

Writen by Chris Robertson

Once you’ve taken the leap and purchased a villa or apartment in Spain’s beautiful Costa del Sol, you face another crucial decision: finding a company to look after your property when you are away. Whether your villa is in Fuengirola or Marbella, you need to ensure that the rental property management company you select will provide you with the service, maintenance, and oversight that give you peace of mind.

The right rental property management company gives owners of Costal del Sol property who are interested in letting their villa or apartment the confidence of knowing that they can gain the financial rewards of short or long term rentals while protecting their assets. If you are looking for a rental property management company to oversee your villa or apartment in Fuengirola or Marbella, here are some tips to find a good fit:

Property inventory A reputable rental property management company will go through the property with you, taking a thorough property inventory and using that as the basis for checking the apartment or villa after guests have departed.

Regular property inspections Ideally, the company you select should perform a weekly property inspection. The inspections should include a check of all plumbing, making sure all showers, baths, toilets, and other fixtures are in working order. It should also include an inspection of electrical outlets and small appliances, again to ensure that they are in working order.

Outdoor inspections The rental property management company should inspect lawns, gardens, and the pool for damage and to make sure that sprinkler systems and pool filters are in working order. In addition, the company should regularly inspect for pests and vermin.

Mail pick up The company should offer regular mail pick up and a forwarding service.

Property administration Ideally, the rental property management company will ensure that utility payments, taxes, and other bills are paid in a timely manner. They should also provide you with a monthly report on the status of your property, as well as a line item list of any maintenance issues that need to be addressed.

Cleaning Prior to guest arrival, the rental property management company should arrange to have your villa or apartment cleaned and prepared for letting. Some companies may, for an extra fee, also offer greeting services to and owner’s renters.

When you find the right rental property management company, owning property in Fuengirola or Marbella and be both a personally and financially rewarding experience.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Visit this Real Estate Website and Majon’s Real Estate directory.

The Single Biggest Mistake Real Estate Investors Make

Writen by Derek Pierce

Before you even think about becoming the next real estate tycoon, you’ve got to be disciplined to learn the basics. What you’re about to read may come as a surprise to you, but there is a single mistake among real estate investors, especially new investors that literally can cost you thousands of dollars and could even potentially put you out of business for good. Now, I am certainly not trying to scare you, I simply want to make you aware of the number one potential pitfall to investing in real estate because it is totally avoidable. And contrary to popular opinion, this isn’t something you can pick up from watching late night television or at a weekend seminar. The one common mistake that I’ve seen that puts investors out of business revolves totally around doing their due diligence or lack of due diligence.

As your just starting out and sometimes even after you’ve completed several deals, your adrenaline is pumping every time you look at a deal. You’re hungry, maybe even a little desperate to get a deal done. Your hearts pumping from the excitement to make that offer, and all you can think about is buying this property. And as a result of your eagerness, you tend to slip up and make mistakes. The one critical mistake that will cost you your business comes from simply over valuing a property. You analyze the deal’s numbers, slightly exaggerating the property’s “as is” value and it’s true potential. In other words, you appraise the property value for more than what you’ll ever be able to sell it for. Now, there’s some good news to all this: I can show you exactly how to keep from making this one critical mistake. This is not information that is optional; it’s vital to your business that you get this right.

So, here are three bulletproof ways to evaluating properties to keep your property values in line:

1. The tax accessed value. For every piece of real estate, there is a tax parcel id that reveals the tax value of the property. The owners pay tax every year based on the current value of the property shown at the tax assessor’s office. This information is freely available to the public in every market. In some areas, tax assessors only access property every three or four years, therefore these values can be drastically off from fair market value. You’ll need to find out when the latest assessment was performed in your area. You can go to http://www.netronline.com for a list of all the county recorder’s offices and tax assessors.

2. Comparable Sales. This is exactly what licensed appraisers use when evaluating a property’s value. They will look at the property; it’s current features, and the condition. Next, they will go to the MLS (this is the listing service most commonly used by real estate professionals) to pull all real estate sales surrounding the home within the last three to six months usually within a half a mile of the subject property. You can perform the same exact exercise with the help of a realtor. Simply call a realtor and ask them for the listings and homes sold for that compare to the house that you are looking at. Now, you want to get a list of the homes sold and the ones that are on the market. After all, you’ll want to know who your competition is when you start marketing the property for sale. You’ll want to compare the square footage, the age, the roof’s age, and all the features that are available. How does your property stand up to the market? Does it have more or less to offer for the money? Also, pay attention to how long the properties are sitting on the market before they sell.

3. Drive By. That’s right, get off your butt, get out there and drive to learn your current market. The fact is that there is no better way to learn your current market conditions than getting out to look at what the market has to offer. Currently, there are tons of websites that you can subscribe to that will give you comparables, however, knowing your market from simply going neighborhood to neighborhood is priceless. Buy yourself a cheap map with a yellow highlighter. Now, start in one area of your market driving the neighborhoods and you’ll work your way until you’ve looked at every neighborhood in your market, highlighting the areas you want to work. When you are driving these neighborhoods, you’ll want to record every house for sale and collect every flyer that is advertising a home for sale. Next, make some observations about each house. Look at the structure, at the rooflines, whether the houses are in good shape. On every property, guess the age, the square footage, and the price, recording all of this information. Then compare your answers with the information you collect from the real estate agents, the seller themselves, or the flyers that you collect. This method alone will get you totally familiar with your market in a very short time frame.

You must understand how significant this one step is in evaluating your deals; otherwise misjudging one property value can take you out of business for good sending you back working for that dumb dumb of a boss of what some call a job. Your goal is to learn everything about your market so that when you get a lead, you’ll have a good estimate of what the house values in the area are before you ever leave the house. Start today using these three methods to evaluate your market and you’ll build your business on a solid foundation avoiding the common mistake of over valuing properties that many investors make.

Derek Pierce, full time Real Estate Investor, shows you the exact strategies to his success in his Free Book: “How I Went From Corporate Guinea Pig To Real Estate Success”. Get your copy by going to http://www.thereisecrets.com

How Can the Average Person Build Wealth in Real Estate?

Writen by Dan Auito

Books on real estate are a dime a dozenand most focus on taking advantage of someone else’s misfortune. They frequently describe lofty methods for buying and selling properties no ordinary citizen can be successful using.

Real estate professional Dan Auito has had enough of books that waste people’s time, money, and effort, and sap their will to believe in their abilities. So he has written “Magic Bullets in Real Estate: Your Guide to Understanding and Using Real Estate to Your Best Advantage,” which reveals how every person can live a life of prosperity and security. It describes in detail a concrete plan to find, negotiate, contract, buy, sell, rehabilitate, and flip propertiesas well as manage tenants, taxes and tradesmen.

“The book gives strategies on how to zero in on specific real estate,” explained Auito, who has bought, sold and rented many properties over the last fourteen years. “It gives practical, affordable steps for achieving resultswithout paying commissions or management fees.”

This common sense, enthusiastic guide dispels the myth that investors need agents and managers to work on their behalf. It describes how to use mentors, appraisers, real estate attorneys, title companies, lenders and a supportive group of educated parties to inform, educate, guide and encourage. Auito said that by reading about what has worked for him and seeing how it has worked, individuals can save vast amounts of money and frustration.

“I don’t want to waste people’s time with philosophical tales of how I or someone else made it in real estate,” Auito said. “I want to give people the real facts so they have a clear understanding of how things are done.”

Money and finance play a critical role in real estate and this invaluable resource offers insight into the many financing alternatives available. The author describes insider tricks of the trade for first time buyer strategies, long term investment planning, negotiation basics, lending guidelines, networking principles and more.

There is even a road map for dealing with setbacks along with the way. Problems, Auito explains, are only temporary.

“Simply proceed and take corrective action based on what caused the failure. Action cures fear!” He emphasizes.

He encourages readers to take the bull by the horns and wrestle with the problem to the point that it can be overcome. Persistence and perseverance are key.

Auito promises that readers will be able to set their real estate goals and achieve them after reading this book. “I even offer a money back guarantee,” he said. “People have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

*Magic Bullets in Real Estate* is available online at: www.magicbullets.com/home.php & can be purchased in bookstores or by sending $19.95 (plus $4.95 shipping and handling) to BookMasters Inc., 30 Amberwood Parkway, Ashland, OH 44805. Call credit card orders to 1 800 247 6553; fax 419 281 6883.

About The Author

By Dan Auito, mailto:magicbullets@alaska.com, http://www.magicbullets.com/home.php. Dan has been a real estate investor for the past fifteen years & has bought, sold, and rented seventeen properties to date, totaling more than $1.3 million all on a blue collar salary before the age of forty.

Five Tips to Help You Sell Your House Now

Writen by B Shelton

Even if a quick home sale isn’t a do or die necessity, it is in your best financial interest. Surveys of real estate agents and popular knowledge make it clear that the longer a house lingers on the market, the lower the price will fall. Most homes that sell for their full asking price sell within two weeks of being listed. These five tips will help you sell your house NOW.

Tip # 1: Hire The Best Real Estate Agent You Can Find

and then follow his or her advice. Real estate agents are trained professionals whose business is selling homes for people. They can help you set the right price for your home, tell you what repairs and cosmetic changes you can make to help you sell faster, and guide you through the process step by step.

Tip # 2: Set the Right Price

The rule of thumb for selling a house fast is a price that’s within 5% to 10% of other homes in the neighborhood. If you’ve hired a real estate agent, they’ll know what other houses in your area have sold for. If you’ve decided to sell your home yourself, you can find information on recent home sales in your area online (www.housevalue.com ).

Tip # 3: It’s All About Curb Appeal

Most buyers who DON’T buy have already ruled out your house before they ever set foot through your front door. Don’t underestimate the value of the cosmetic appeal of the outside of your home. No matter how wonderful the inside of your house is, if it’s wrapped up in a shabby package and poor surroundings, then you’ll have a much more difficult time selling it. Take the time to fix up the outside of your house to show its best face to the world.

And don’t underestimate flower power! A small investment in a few plants to stand on the front steps or perk up a lawn border can make a huge difference in how your house is perceived.

Tip # 4: Make It Easy For Potential Buyers to Picture Themselves in Your House

Start by giving your house a thorough cleaning. Get rid of all clutter whether it’s visible or hidden in a closet. No one wants to buy a dirty house! Next, you should put away all of your personal belongings. You want your prospective buyers to see THEMSELVES in your living room, not you.

Another great trick when selling your home is to use a little psychology. If you’re repainting in summer months, consider using ‘cool’ colors. In winter, use warm ones. Make people feel happy in your house and it will sell faster!

Tip # 5: If you’ve Decided to Sell on Your Own, List Your Home with An FSBO Web Site

FSBO (For Sale By Owner) web sites are an excellent way to advertise your property. Most FSBO sites (http://www.forsalebyowner.com/, http://www.fiftystatesfsbo.com/) will tell you how to set up a Flat Fee Multiple Listing contract with a local Realtor. That will get your home listed in your local MLS service and dramatically increase its visibility.

If you’ve done your preparation work well, set the right price for your home and made sure that your house is as appealing as possible, you WILL sell your house NOW.

Brian Shelton makes it easy to sell your house fast. To claim your free

report entitled “How To Sell Your House In 7 Days or Less“, visit the

http://www.HouseSoldIn7Days.com/

A Tip On How To Get Offers When Showing Your House

Writen by Raynor James

You are in the process of trying to sell your house and have your marketing up and running. So, how do you convert callers into offers? Here is one method.

A Tip On How To Get Offers When Showing Your House

Once you have decided to sell your home, there are a couple of steps you have to take. The first is to get the home ready to show by doing repairs, landscaping and so on. Once you are ready to go, you have to start marketing the home. Assuming you have done all of this, the house is in good shape and you are competitively priced, you should start getting calls from potential buyers. These calls then turn into appointments and buyers come to see your home.

At this point, you probably expect that I will start writing about how to negotiate or accept offers. Wrong. The next step in the process is often one of frustration. The frustration arises from wishy washy buyers. They come and see the home, but leave without making an offer. They may come back a couple of times, but they simply never get around to doing the deed as they say. Simply put, this is because you have failed to address the issue of motivation.

Buyers need to be motivated to take action. The more motivated they are, the faster they will move. For instance, consider the holiday shopping season. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is out browsing in the malls. Why? The buyers are highly motivated to buy because there is a deadline and they probably have more than a few people to shop for. Simply put, they are highly motivated to do the deed.

Returning to our scenario above, what motivation do the buyers have to make an offer? Do they feel any pressure to do so? Unless there is something particular to their personal situation, the answer is that they do not. You must provide the motivation. Here is how.

One of the complaints of sellers is that they feel like they are constantly showing their homes to potential buyers without getting an offer. They may show the property three, four or even ten times a week. If this is your situation, you are doing it wrong.

The way to motivate buyers to make an offer on your home is to show it only once a week or two weeks if the market is slow. Set aside an hour or so on a particular day and make all the potential buyers come at the same time. By putting buyers together, you create the motivation that simply does not come with individual showings. In such situations, buyers are much less likely to be wishy washy. If they like the property, they inherently worry about one of the other buyers making an offer. You now have motivation and a perceived time limit.

If you have are getting interest in your property, but no offers, give this a try. You might be shocked how much of a difference it makes.

Raynor James is with the site FSBOAmerica.org visit us to read more real estate articles.

Rancho Santa Fe Real Estate Upscale Real Estate

Writen by Mike Hohmann

Located about 25 miles north of the heart of downtown San Diego and four miles east of the Pacific Ocean, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. represents the more upscale end of San Diego County and Southern California. With home prices ranging from $1 million to more than $22 million this city’s real estate market does not have a high turnover. It does, however, have a steady growth trend like the rest of California.

The weather makes Rancho Santa Fe ideal. The city has more stable temperatures throughout the year than the U.S. The temperatures range from the mid 50’s to mid 70’s year round. The almost 7000 Rancho Santa Fe residents enjoy more sunshine and less wind than the nation’s average.

Nearly two thirds of all Rancho Santa Fe residents live inside “The Covenant” or the original Rancho Santa Fe development. Owning property inside of “The Covenant” requires an extra 15 cent tax yearly for every $1,000 of their purchase price which helps maintain beautifully landscaped roadways and public areas. Residents of The Covenant also enjoy exclusive privileges to tennis, golf, and garden clubs in the area.

One of the six private golf clubs, The Crosby at Rancho Santa Fe, is named as “the most upscale and exclusive private golf club in San Diego” according to SanDiegoGolf.com. A 722 acre luxurious golf resort, The Crosby plays off a theme of legendary actor/singer and passionate golfer, Bing Crosby, who used to live in the area. Dan Klunk, membership director at The Crosby, said membership fees are $140,000 if you live outside the gates with $575 monthly dues. The club has more of a resort feel to it with a ballroom, restaurants, a courtyard, and kids activities.

In August, 2005, the average home in Rancho Santa Fe sold for $574/sq.ft. and sold in 114 days. The average lot size is slightly more than two acres. Outside of The Covenant, there are approximately 27 33 planned communities. With upscale communities that provide some of the finer things of life, it’s no wonder that Rancho Santa Fe is one of the ten wealthiest communities in the U.S.

Inside Finances Rancho Santa Fe Real Estate is a network devoted to financial information such as real estate. The Inside Finances network has 10,000’s pages of real estate information for cities all over the United States. Inside Finances covers several topics from the basic “how tos” of real estate to city specific real estate information.

Recognizing Real Estate Fraud

Writen by Ralph Roberts

Knowledge is power, and it’s the best way to eliminate fraud in the real estate industry.

Recognizing Real Estate Fraud

by Ralph R. Roberts

Every day, in every city all over the country, real estate industry professionals participate in fraudulent transactions.

Many are fulfilling a carefully orchestrated scheme, while others are sincerely unaware that their actions could bring them fines, loss of licensure, or even jail time. They believe what they’re doing is legal and condoned because “so many established people are doing the same thing.” The key to preventing and detecting fraud is knowledge by understanding what fraud is and how it works you can protect yourself, your business, and your customers.

No matter what your role is in the deal, you have the unique opportunity to affect the validity of a homeowner’s real estate transaction, simply by touching the application. Each one is an opportunity for an honest loan, and each person your customer works with has a responsibility to continue that transaction with the same integrity. As the borrower is handed off from Realtor to loan officer to processor to underwriter to lender to title and escrow, there are hundreds of occasions for fraud. When you know what to look for (and refrain from infringing on the law yourself), you can have a significant positive impact on the quality of your business.

Although mortgage fraud evolves and becomes more complex as technology improves and forgeries are harder to identify, there are still two basic types of real estate fraud: fraud for property and fraud for profit. In a fraud for property transaction, the loan application is completed with falsified information, with the purpose of getting someone into a loan who wouldn’t otherwise qualify. For example, a borrower might provide altered pay stubs, “enhance” their credit score, or claim that their down payment was a gift when in fact it was a loan from a third party (also called a “silent second”). Some applicants commit this fraud on their own and may or may not realize the seriousness of their actions, while others are “coached” by their real estate agent or loan officer to distort the facts. It is often (and erroneously) considered a “victimless crime” because the end result is someone getting the home of their dreams. This is a romanticized notion to say the least. When borrowers purchase homes they can’t afford, they are at an elevated risk of defaulting and foreclosures. True, maybe one delinquency won’t topple the real estate market but consider that in the last quarter of 2005, the MBA reported a national delinquency rate of 4.44 percent, out of nearly 41 million loans. That’s a big hit for the industry to take.

Alternately, a fraud for profit scam is usually designed to manipulate the lender by conspiring with appraisers, straw buyers, or other insiders. These schemes are more difficult to detect because there are often several people involved, and you may not know who’s on the “up and up.” This is why it’s so important to always work with associates you trust and feel confident in. Choosing your appraiser, title company, or other industry party based on price alone won’t help you gauge their values; as in most aspects of the real estate world, strong, reliable relationships are essential. In addition, before you join a new company or meet with a recruiter, try to get an idea of their ethics, procedures, and fraud knowledge. Even if you’re an established figure in the industry, don’t assume that the person you’ve been referring business to for 15 years is immune from fraud. Know your associates and don’t be afraid to tell them when you feel their actions violate the law.

Four common schemes to be on the lookout for include:

Appraisal Fraud: A property is over or undervalued, often due to pressure from loan originators and real estate agents to alter appraisal reports. This pressure can be negative (yelling or threatening) or seemingly positive (gifts and other illegal kickbacks).

Flipping: A home is purchased and “flipped” or sold immediately for a severely inflated price, often upwards of 30 to 50 percent of the original selling price. That initial transaction is often concealed from the lender. The loan is never repaid and the lender is left high and dry.

Identity Theft: This can range from stealing a customer’s identity, to using false names to take out loans, to appraisers using another’s name to make false valuations. Identity theft happens swiftly, and finding someone who’s real identity you may not know after the loan is completed can be nearly impossible.

Straw Buyers: One person (or company) pays someone else to pose as the home buyer, using their own information and credit score to purchase a property. The scammers then take over the title and mortgage. Essentially, the lenders think they’re loaning money to one person, when in actuality, the home will be owned by someone else.

Preventing Fraud
In 2005 there were over 21,994 suspicious activities reports filed within the real estate industry, yet only three percent were ever investigated. Imagine if you only completed three percent of the items on your to do list you’d be frustrated, scrambling for resources, and in need of serious help. That’s how the Financial Institution Fraud Unit of the FBI feels. Without adequate resources, or an agreed upon way to fund all of these cases, the FBI and other enforcement officials are left treading water.

So what can you do? Take action when you suspect fraud. Do your due diligence on every single real estate transaction that comes across your desk to catch false information before a loan closes, whatever the likelihood of fraud. You never know who else is involved in the deal, and what ulterior motives they may have. Check the property’s background, look for recent sales, and get a second appraisal if you feel the numbers just don’t add up. Ask for back up verification on any questionable information.

If you know someone has committed fraud, report it. If you let it go, you can bet that person will go on to take advantage of another unsuspecting company. I recently spoke with a mortgage broker who found that one of his originators was going back through old files and enhancing the clients’ credit scores using his personal credit. The loan officer was fired, and he promptly went down the street to set up business again. The broker chose not to report the fraud because he “didn’t want a state investigation.” He ended the loan officer’s career within his company, but allowed him to go on to presumably continue his fraudulent practices and teach others how to do the same thing. This is why it is crucial that you file a fraud report without fear of retaliation or “making waves.” While you won’t necessarily be considered an “accessory” to the crime simply by looking the other way, you will be effecting the industry as a whole, now and into the future. The FBI stresses that self policing within the real estate world is the best defense we have against the influx of fraud that threatens every deal we make.

Knowledge is power, and it’s the best way to eliminate fraud in the real estate industry. Go to http://flippingfrenzy.com/report.html for fraud reporting information, or http://MBAFightsFraud.MortgageBankers.org for tips, news, and links.

About the Author: Ralph R. Roberts is a Realtor and fraud expert based in Warren, Mich. 586/751 0000, ralphroberts@ralphroberts.com, www.ralphroberts.com or www.flippingfrenzy.com

For more than a quarter century, Ralph R. Roberts has helped thousands of consumers realize the dream of homeownership. Dubbed by Time Magazine “the best selling REALTOR