Reid Brings Together Local and National Organizations to Fight Mortgage Fraud in Nevada

November 25, 2009

by Nevada RealEstateRama

Las Vegas, NV - November 25, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Nevada Senator Harry Reid today joined Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Tony West, NeighborWorks Program Director Marietta Rodriguez and the members of the Nevada Foreclosure Task Force to raise awareness about mortgage fraud and law enforcement efforts in Nevada to prosecute it. While mortgage fraud is a national issue that hurts Americans in every state, Las Vegas has become ground zero for the current mortgage crisis. The group addressed federal legislation to prosecute mortgage fraud against Nevadans and assist struggling homeowners in reporting scams and communicating with their lenders. Sen. Reid and his staff have taken on housing casework to help Nevadans who are struggling to stay in their homes.

“I have heard too many stories from Nevada families who are losing their homes, their equity and their fair share of the American Dream,” Reid said. “The last thing Nevadans need is to worry about scam artists waiting to take advantage of them. Thanks to the work of the people here today, and the work we’ve done in Congress, we are protecting families from perpetrators and stopping scams before they start. The laws we’ve passed and the programs we’ve created not only give the authorities the right tools to fight these con artists, they give homeowners the ability to stand up for themselves and fight back, too.”

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Comments

Comment by Ross Wolf on December 3, 2009 @ 2:10 pm

Senator Reid Won’t Discuss Economic Damage Forced Health Insurance Costs Will Cause Real Estate Industry:

After the Health Care Bill passes, the annual costs of Forced Health Insurance will disqualify millions of home buyer mortgage applicants, needed to support home selling prices and values; it is foreseeable Home buyers will increasingly qualify for smaller mortgages. For many, health insurance costs may equal their paid Income Tax increasing the risks of mortgage default. Homeowners who can’t afford health insurance or opt-out penalties, IRS can file liens destroying their credit; families deemed not poor by Government for subsidized insurance, may have to sell their homes or borrow money to buy health insurance or pay Opt-Out penalties with money needed for medical expenses.
Falling home prices and values continue to lower property taxes, forcing local governments to layoff workers and ask federal agencies for money; increasing federal deficits. Historically dropping home values cause unemployment in real estate industries, e.g. construction and manufacturing.

Comment by richard sacca on February 9, 2010 @ 12:31 am

SouthwestUSA bank had a parcle of land appraised for $850,000 to close on a loan and again 18 months later at the foreclosure sale for $200,000. Property owners had it appraised, at foreclosure sale, for $550,000. Properties did not devalue by 76% in surrounding areas. My question: when did SouthwestUSA bank fudge the appraisal? At loan origination or at foreclosure sale?

Comment by Ross Wolf on February 9, 2010 @ 6:03 am

If Reid has clout in Nevada, he should publicly ask the state legislature to repeal Nevada’s mortgage loan deficiency judgment law for purchase money first mortgages: Currently home mortgage lenders can sue homeowners after foreclosure to recover mortgage loan losses plus expenses. Many Nevadans don’t know they signed “recourse mortgages” that allow their lenders to attach their subsequent income and assets after foreclosure to reimburse lender losses not satisfied by foreclosure. Some Nevada mortgage borrowers appear to have had their home values shattered in part because their own lender continued to make mortgage and credit line loans to “unqualified borrowers” in their neighborhood, after having reason to know there existed already a high number of defaults and foreclosures. Such lender loan activities may have helped plummet neighborhood borrowers’ property value. Those lenders should be prohibited from suing Nevada homeowners after foreclosure to recover mortgage losses.

Comment by Ross Wolf on February 9, 2010 @ 6:18 am

To: Richard Sacca
In Regard to the Southwest USA Bank you referred to in making the Nevada $200K appraisal, apparently below market value, check FIRREA Mortgage Appraisal Fraud Laws. Also search the title of the conveyed property to determine who ended up with the property and or profited from its sale: determine if Insider Trading might have taken place.