The Mortgage Bankers Association of America recently reported information gathered using FBI and private industry data indicating that mortgage fraud of all types is on the rise in across the country.  Currently California and Florida have leap-frogged to the top of the list of the states most mired in the fraud.  This fraudulent activity consists of lying about income, assets, employment details, taxes, etc.  It’s anticipated that loan fraud will continue to rise steadily in the wake of the sub-prime melt down.  Mortgage payments for many Americans are rising as […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is on a major offensive against predatory lending practices, which it gets complaints about all too often.  One major concern that they’re pressing currently is with the present mortgage disclosures.  The standard disclosures used in closings today were designed more than 30 years ago and have proven confusing for even experienced home purchasers and investors to understand at times. FTC chair Deborah Platt Majoras recently made comments indicating that she’s aware that today’s loan products are much more complicated than those in use some 30 […]

What has happened since my last posting? Where to start? Let’s see…. The one thing effecting the investment market in single family homes in the last month is the fall out of the sub-prime mortgage market. Lenders have closed thier doors! Others hanging in there have severly tightened their underwriting policies. Investors are screaming for tighter controls and accusations of fraud are everwhere. This fall out is also effecting loans that are not in the sub-prime market. Underwriting of all loans is becoming tighter which is effecting the entire market. […]