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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C.A.R. Newsline is a weekly e-newsletter covering vital industry information including economic reports, legislative developments, and new real estate products and service.

Asking prices on for-sale homes rose 0.5 percent in April compared with March on seasonally adjusted basis, according to the latest report by Trulia’s Price Monitor. Together with increases in March and February, asking prices in April rose nationally 1.9 percent quarter over quarter, seasonally adjusted.

Within the largest metro areas, asking prices rose year on year in some neighborhoods, but fell in others. Rents, however, rose in nearly all parts of these major metropolitan areas.

In Los Angeles, asking prices increased only in the downtown area. Prices fell elsewhere throughout the region, most of all in Long Beach, where rents also fell.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, prices rose most in San Francisco and fell furthest in Alameda County.

Dave Thurman Real Estate

WASHINGTON (April 25, 2012) – Potential home buyers rely on open houses to help them find the home of their dreams. This weekend buyers can have a greater chance of doing just that during Realtor® Nationwide Open House Weekend, which is organized by state and local Realtor® associations across the country. This Saturday and Sunday, April 28-29, Realtors® from coast to coast will host thousands of open houses while engaging consumers on the benefits of homeownership and bringing buyers and sellers together.

“Realtor® Nationwide Open House is a fantastic opportunity for those interested in homeownership to connect with a Realtor® who can offer expert guidance and advice on the home buying process,” said National Association of Realtors® President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami. “During the weekend Realtors® will be on hand to answer questions about the local housing market and provide insights into the social and financial benefits of homeownership. Open houses are also a great way for potential buyers to get a feel for what is available in their local market.”

According to NAR’s 2011 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 45 percent of all buyers used open houses as a source in their home search process. This figure suggests the value of open houses even in the Internet era. In addition, buyers in the Northeast region are significantly more likely to use open houses, followed by those in the Midwest region. Women are more likely to use open houses than men, as are buyers who were not born in the U.S. or whose primary language is not English. Older buyers rely more on open houses than younger buyers, and buyers with higher incomes are also more likely to visit open houses.  [Read More]

Dave Thurman’s Open House – 5430 Tommy Way, Linden CA 95236

California home sales slipped in March, declining 4.5 percent from February, but prices were up 9.2 percent in the same month.

“Tight inventory and robust home sales, particularly in the Bay Area, fueled the substantial increase in the March median home price,” said LeFrancis Arnold, president of the California Association of Realtors.

The statewide pattern was essentially flipped in Stockton, where existing home and condo sales jumped by 37 percent in March compared to February, but the median price increased by only 0.8 percent to $120,000.

However, compared with March 2011, Stockton home sales in March fell 10.6 percent while the median price gained 1.7 percent year over year.

Prices in Manteca fell in March but were up from a year earlier; prices in Tracy were up in March but virtually the same as the March 2011 median. Sales in both cities climbed in March but were roughly equal to March 2011 sales.

Statewide, the median home price snapped a 16-month annual price decline and posted its first year-over-year gain, according to CAR figures.  [Read More]

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

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Number of Homes for Sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

November 2010 there were 1262 homes for sale in Stockton, California in comparison to November 2011 where there was a decrease to 919 homes for sale. The number of homes sold in November 2010  was 385 and in November 2011 the number of homes sold decreased to 354. In November 2010 there were 362 pending sales which increased to 494 in November 2011.

More graphs and charts from our MLS and  TrendVision Reports

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices continued to sink in the third quarter, falling to levels not seen since early 2003.

Home prices dropped 3.9% year-over-year during the three months ended Sept. 30, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index. On a quarterly basis, prices were slightly higher, squeezing out a 0.1% gain. [Read More]

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• FHFA home-price index climbs 0.9% in September