Mortgage Fraud
The FBI has reported a variety of mortgage fraud cases since 2004 to the present days. According to the reports presented, the majority of fraudulent cases have been committed by a number of professionals within the Real Estate industry: Mortgage lenders and Brokers, Home Appraisers, and Real Estate agents.
The most common scams have been perpetrated by home appraisers who over-inflate a property value in order to ensure a larger loan amount. The buyer, ( a fake buyer ) uses a false identity along with credit history to get a fraudulent mortgage loan. The combination of identity theft and mortgage fraud is used to cheat the seller and also the lender. This fake buyer will offer the seller more money than the home real value in order to secure a loan for the over-valued price. Then, he/she will pocket the balance. In other cases, the fraudulent one induces the seller to finance some of the mortgage costs for a property this buyer never wished to buy.
Identity theft is like a constant in mortgage and foreclosure fraud. Check your credit report from two to three times in a year. If you are determined to sell a home, ask your Real Estate Agent if he/she is a Realtor and make sure that he/she is a member of the National Association of Realtors. Protect yourself and ask as many questions as you can to prevent a big headache. No one will charge you for asking.
