Without excusing schemes to defraud mortgage banking, I must point that the industry itself has engaged in a series of schemes designed to take advantage of homeowners. Those schemes are commonly called predatory lending and also involve the manipulation of credit histories onto "credit scores" that plunder thousands of homeowners in the Twin Cities by forcing them into high cost mortgages.
For a flipping scheme to work, it requires the participation of one or more mortgage lenders to engage in this despicable practice. The mortgage industry in Minnesota fought most of the anti-predatory legislation that the Ventura Administration sought which would have made life much easier and fairer for homeowners in Minneapolis and elsewhere. The mortgage industry itself is rife with abusive and unsavory business practices designed to enrich the lender at the expense of the borrower. These include trolling for victims with promises of "no closing costs", charging exorbitant premiums for title insurance, pre-payment penalties, interest rate come-ons, and single premium credit insurance among the most deceptive or unsavory practices. Much - but certainly not all - of the mortgage fraud against the industry and by the industry could be could be eliminated if the industry would accept licensure for practitioners and not just brokers. This is the practice that is used in the real estate industry. While there are some mortgage lenders who support this simple reform, virtually all of the largest players are opposed. Shameful. Jim Bernstein Minneapolis -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Victoria Heller Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2004 11:39 AM To: Mpls Forum Subject: [Mpls] FBI: Mortgage Fraud Is Rampant in U.S. "Our lenders have seen an increase in the number and variety of fraudulent schemes over the last several years committed against them," Crouch said. "It has cost the mortgage banking industry and other financial service providers billions of dollars." [Heller here] Not to mention the Minneapolis taxpayers! "One common mortgage fraud scheme is "property flipping," in which property is purchased, appraised fraudulently at a much higher price and then quickly sold. The mortgage holder is then left with property worth much less than the loan it issued." [Heller here] Hmmmm.... - sounds like Brookfield/City Center. http://www.startribune.com/stories/709/4987596.html Relayed by Vicky Heller North Oaks and Cedar-Riverside REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
