Lenders are using a variety of tools to prevent mortgage fraud
Borrowers considering inflating their income, even just a tad, checking the box to indicate they plan to live in the home when they’re not, or exaggerating their job description better think twice. Lenders are turning to websites and other tools to help nab fraudulent borrowers and perjurers looking to bilk lenders out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Making sense of the story

• During the height of the market, borrowers could get away with lying about their income, debt obligations, and the like to obtain financing.  But not anymore.  According to a representative from the Mortgage Bankers Association, there are “more fraud checks than ever, and it’s on every loan, not just a sample.”

• More important, perhaps, the focus now is on preventing fraud rather than dealing with it after the fact.

• Sometimes the fraud check is as simple as a quick call to the customer right before the loan is closed to verify information supplied on the loan application.  Such a call to an otherwise unsuspecting borrower can sometimes uncover a lie perpetrated by a corrupt loan officer who’s in it for the commission – or more.

• In other cases, lenders are using sophisticated databanks to spot fraudsters.  One website, for example, provides salary data on various industry positions so the lender can determine if the borrower is overstating his income.

• Another site provides historical wage data, and yet another checks the information supplied by self-employed borrowers, including whether the borrower’s company exists, who the principals are, the number of employees, and the annual revenue.

• There are also sites that will tell lenders where there are judgments against the borrower or liens against other properties the borrower might own.

Read More from Los Angeles Times Real Estate

Stockton Real Estate – Dave Thurman

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• Has Mortgage Fraud Decreased?
• Mortgage Fraud Prevent Guide | MortgageRefinanceRates.org
• Jerry Brown: Countrywide Exploited the American Dream (TLR Note: Bet Tzedek’s Sandor Samuels Part of Countrywide; Cabal Positioned Holly Fujie at Cal Bar to “Fix” Loan-Mod Fraud, Client Security Trust, Retaliate Against Lawyers who Sue BOA / Countrywide)
• TurboTax – How Short Sales and Foreclosures Affect Your Taxes
• Deutsche Bank admits US mortgage fraud
• Lenders slower in handling mortgage refinancings

The Wall Street Journal

Just as in 2011, in 2012 many will be trying to figure out where housing is headed. While the housing market didn’t worsen in 2011, it also didn’t stabilize either. This year, the story will be about local markets. While many housing markets rose and fell together, they’re recovering at difference paces so talking about housing on a national level is not beneficial.

Making sense of the story

• Confidence and jobs: Housing is more affordable than it has been in decades, but many would-be buyers are worried about buying today if prices are going to be lower tomorrow. Still, others don’t want to buy a house until they have more evidence that they’re not going to get laid off or see their hours cut back.

• Foreclosures: Banks and other mortgage investors own around 440,000 foreclosed properties, but there’s another 3.4 million loans in foreclosure or serious delinquency, according to estimates by Barclays Capital. Because banks are faster to cut prices to unload inventory than are traditional sellers, home values can fall further as the share of distressed sales rises.

• Rents: If low mortgage rates aren’t enough to give urgency to would-be buyers, rent hikes could accelerate buyers’ decisions to take the plunge.

• Mortgage credit and rates: It’s still hard for many buyers to get approved for a mortgage because banks are demanding lots of documentation of borrowers’ incomes.

• Regulation: Many analysts don’t expect Congress to make major changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the election year, but several major regulatory changes could significantly reshape the future of the lending landscape in 2012.

• Meanwhile, the regulator that oversees Fannie and Freddie is revamping the way that mortgage companies are paid for collecting loan payments. This could lead to a broader shakeup in the mortgage industry that ultimately influences how much borrowers are charged for mortgages and how banks handle loans that fall into delinquency.

Read the full story

http://on.wsj.com/wHMaiG

For release:
July 21, 2011

Short-sale process broken, pushing Central Valley families into foreclosure,
REALTOR® survey shows
Latest lender satisfaction survey highlights glaring issues in short-sale process

FRESNO, CALIF.  (July 21) – More than half of Central Valley REALTORS® characterized closing short-sale transactions as “difficult” or “extremely difficult,” according to a Lender Satisfaction Survey conducted by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).  The survey gauges REALTORS®’ experience working with lenders in their most recent transaction.  The majority of those surveyed dealt with short-sale transactions – transactions in which the lender or lenders agree to accept less than the mortgage amount owed by the current homeowner.

“The survey results demonstrate the ongoing problems homeowners are experiencing with onerous short-sale procedures on the part of lenders and servicers,” said C.A.R. Treasurer Don Faught, who presented the findings today at a news conference in Fresno, Calif.  “Despite assurances by lenders in recent months that they would improve their short-sale processes, clearly, not enough is being done.  Lenders are out of touch with the realities of the market and the consequences to struggling homeowners, and the result is unnecessary foreclosures that only make California’s economic problems worse, hindering a desperately needed recovery.”

The top three obstacles REALTORS® most frequently cited in working with lenders and servicers during the short-sale process include lenders’ slow response time to a short-sale package,  repeated requests for documentation, and poor communication with lender representatives.  Some REALTORS® even indicated that the lender foreclosed on the home before the short-sale transaction could be completed.

Some specific REALTOR® comments from the survey include:  “Bank will not come down on price; home needs work, but the bank is being unrealistic.”  “Banks say they want to help work things out on short sales, but to be honest, I don’t believe they care.”  “The whole process is completely flawed.”   “The bank took over four months to give approval.  They refused to pay common seller closing costs and repeatedly demanded paperwork that had been sent previously.”

Nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of REALTORS®  said it took more than 60 days for lenders or servicers to return a written response on the approval or disapproval of the short-sale agreement submitted.  And, half of respondents said it took the lender more than five days to return any form of communication.

Overall satisfaction with the lenders REALTORS® worked with in their most recent short-sale transaction remains extremely poor, with 77 percent saying they were “not satisfied” or “not at all satisfied.”  Moreover, almost nine in 10 (88 percent) REALTORS® said they were “not likely” or “not at all likely” to refer buyers to the lender to finance future home purchases. [more from C.A.R.]

The above article was reprinted from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.)

Open House ~ My Office at 2652 East Main Street, Stockton CA 95205

Saturdays 11AM – 2PM and Monday Evenings 5PM – 7PM

You are invited to our Open Office at 2652 East Main Street in Stockton. If you are looking for residential, commercial, or investment properties in this area, don’t miss this opportunity to visit and meet with Dave Thurman, REALTOR®. Also, learn all about a Shaklee membership. Come Join Us! Appointments are not necessary!

• Pick up “Dave’s List” of homes for sale!
• Foreclosure auction dates & information.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan.
• Discuss agency and disclosure requirements.
• First-time buyers and investors are welcome.
• Get discounts & become a Shaklee member.
• Start your own business for only $299.
• Earn vacation trips, a new car & live healthier!

Stockton Real Estate – Dave Thurman

Here is an interesting article I found while searching the internet this evening.

Defaulted Owners Living Payment Free For…Years (and Years)

Millions of homeowners in distress are getting some unexpected breathing room — lots of it in some places.

In New York State, it would take lenders 62 years at their current pace, the longest time frame in the nation, to repossess the 213,000 houses now in severe default or foreclosure, according to calculations by LPS Applied Analytics, a prominent real estate data firm.

Clearing the pipeline in New Jersey, which like New York handles foreclosures through the courts, would take 49 years. In Florida, Massachusetts and Illinois, it would take a decade.

In the 27 states where the courts play no role in foreclosures, the pace is much more brisk — three years in California, two years in Nevada and Colorado — but the dynamic is the same: the foreclosure system is bogged down by the volume of cases, borrowers are fighting to keep their houses and many lenders seem to be in no hurry to add repossessed houses to their books.

“If you were in foreclosure four years ago, you were biting your nails, asking yourself, ‘When is the sheriff going to show up and put me on the street?’ ” said Herb Blecher, an LPS senior vice president. “Now you’re probably not losing any sleep.”

When major banks acknowledged last fall that they had been illegally processing foreclosures by filing false court documents, they said that any pause in repossessions and evictions would be brief. All of the major servicers agreed to institute reforms in their foreclosure procedures. In April, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other regulators gave the banks 60 days to draw up a plan to do so. [read more]   Real Estate Insider News

Related articles

• Lenders repossessed fewer homes in May
• Will Declaring Bankruptcy Stop a Foreclosure?
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• Pace of U.S. foreclosures slowed in April, but not in Puget Sound area
• Foreclosure mistakes occur despite promises
• Home repossessions slow, but market languishes
• Lenders repossessed fewer homes in May

Open House ~ My Office at 2652 East Main Street, Stockton CA 95205

Saturdays 11AM – 2PM and Monday Evenings 5PM – 7PM

You are invited to our Open Office at 2652 East Main Street in Stockton. If you are looking for residential, commercial, or investment properties in this area, don’t miss this opportunity to visit and meet with Dave Thurman, REALTOR®. Also, learn all about a Shaklee membership. Come Join Us! Appointments are not necessary!

• Pick up “Dave’s List” of homes for sale!
• Foreclosure auction dates & information.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan.
• Discuss agency and disclosure requirements.
• First-time buyers and investors are welcome.
• Get discounts & become a Shaklee member.
• Start your own business for only $299.
• Earn vacation trips, a new car & live healthier!

Stockton Real Estate – Dave Thurman

Open House – My office at 2652 East Main Street, Stockton CA 95205

On Saturday, May 14th, 2011 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, you are invited to our Open Office at 2652 East Main Street in Stockton. If you are looking for residential, commercial, or investment properties in this area, don’t miss this opportunity to visit and meet with Dave Thurman, REALTOR®. Appointments are not necessary!

• Pick up a free list of homes!
• Foreclosure auction dates & information.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan.
• Ask questions about foreclosures and short sales.
• Discuss agency and disclosure requirements.
• First-time buyers and investors are welcome.

Image via Wikipedia

The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR® (C.A.R.) published its findings of a survey this week, which show that tedious lender requirements and poor communication hamper short sales.

MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY

• Fewer than three of five short sales close in California, illustrating the complexity and difficulty of navigating lenders’ and servicers’ short sale procedures, according to C.A.R.’s survey, which gauged REALTORS®’ experience in working with short sale transactions – transactions in which the lender or lenders agree to accept less than the mortgage amount owed by the current homeowner.

• Although not every homeowner or mortgage is eligible for a short sale, those who are able to finalize a short sale avoid a foreclosure on their credit record and can move on with their lives.

• Banks are taking much longer to respond to short sale offers than those specified in government guidelines for banks. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said banks took longer than 60 days to respond to short sale offers. Often, this results in buyers walking away from the transaction.

• “Increasing the number of successful short sale transactions is one important way we can help California families avoid foreclosure and move our economy closer to recovery,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce.

• C.A.R. is asking government agencies, such as the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, to force banks to complete all short sales following HAFA guidelines and to comply with the program’s time frames.

Related articles

• Despite New Consumer Protection Law, Home Sellers May Still Owe the Difference in Short Sale
• Realtor group seeks to ease short-sale process
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Image via Wikipedia

Freddie Mac’s Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI) declined 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter.  U.S. home values decreased 4.3 percent compared with the fourth quarter a year ago.

The CMHPI Classic Series, which includes data on both home purchase values and appraisals, indicated that average U.S. home values declined 0.8 percent during the fourth quarter. Comparing the fourth quarter of 2010 with the fourth quarter of 2009, the Classic Series shows 1.1 percent depreciation.

In the Pacific Division, which includes California, home values declined 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. Over the last 12 months, home values decreased 6.3 percent, and during the last five years, home values have decreased 26.7 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s CMHPI.

More info

I found an excellent real estate article while surfing the net, this evening. I hope you enjoy it! …DaveThurman

Getting More Help With Your Down Payment

By AnnaMaria Andriotis          Published January 10, 2011

Home prices have dropped , and mortgage rates are low. For anyone with the tens of thousands of dollars now required for a down payment, it’s a pretty good time to buy a house. Now, it’s even getting easier without that hefty down payment, as governments step in to help out.

A growing number of state and local governments are now offering what are called “down payment assistance programs,” grants or low- and no-interest loans to first-time buyers or those who haven’t owned a house in a few years. The number of programs, now somewhere around 1,000 nationally, has increased 3% to 5% in the last six months alone, estimates Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals, an advocacy group.

And, in a stark reversal, some banks are now far more willing to work with borrowers who need down payment assistance, buyers who were considered too risky 18 months ago. State housing agencies say they’re seeing the biggest spike in lender interest since before the housing downturn. Florida’s down payment assistance agency now works with 65 lenders, up 12% from a year ago, says a spokeswoman; in North Carolina, the number of participating lenders has grown 22%. [Read More]

Related articles

• House prices down by 1.6% in 2010
• Delinquency Crisis Hits Reverse Mortgages
• CalHFA mortgage aid program for jobless begins
• Qualifying Elements with regard to Mortgage Loans
• Will Housing Prices Rise in 2011?
• How to buy a house with no money down
• Richard Maize: US Real Estate Trends For 2011
• Down Payment Assistance is Available But It Requires Homework