Mortgage and Real Estate Fraud – Is Anything New?
by Lynn Wilburn The greed that causes people to commit fraud is nothing new. However, in real estate fraud schemes it is no longer one person committing the crime; there are groups of people involved. Learn how to spot them and avoid the risk of becoming a victim. The primary reason folks steal and commit fraud is greed. Why do they steal from mortgage companies and title agents? Willie Sutton, the infamous bank robber, was once asked why he robbed banks, to which he replied, “That’s where the money is.” Nowadays that also applies to the mortgage lenders and title companies that close the transactions. According to Fannie Mae, title agents handled upwards of $2.4 trillion in mortgage loans in 2006 on 1-4 family dwellings alone, not to mention the amount from commercial transactions. Many title companies handle more money in a year than a small bank. And the title industry has far less regulation than banks have — a fact that does not go unnoticed by the bad guys. >> A Prescription for
