Mortgage Fraud - The Appraiser’s Role

Posted by charles dennis

May 11, 2007

DirtLaw Blog has a very interesting post regarding the uptick in Mortgage Fraud:

As real estate values have risen, so too has the wealth of elders who have owned their homes for many years. Additionally, as they have retired from the work force and have more time — they are more likely to answer telephone cold calls or read their “junk mail” advertising mortgage schemes.

Often, elders are receptive to the thought of converting the equity in their home into an income stream and think the “reverse mortgage” sounds right for them.

Not surprisingly, most of the time the “reverse mortgage” solicitication is an outright scam, where the fraudster takes title to the home, either in his or her name or LLC or through a straw buyer with good credit. The elder is fed a volume of confusing information and at close of escrow believes he or she is going to receive payments from this “reverse mortgage loan” or that somehow the home will be deeded back to them. Read More.