Foreclosure Eyesores May Be Tell Tale Signs Of Mortgage Scams In One Community

In Central Florida, the St. Petersburg Times recently ran a story on the 533 home, Venetian Isles subdivision, reportedly one of the most attractive waterfront communities in southern Pinellas County. The story reports on the eyesores being caused by three homes in the homeowner association-run community that are currently vacant, abandoned, and not being maintained, and the possible badges of mortgage fraud that are associated with each home.

The Times found that in one case, the homeowners are an elderly couple who say their signature was forged without their knowledge on $930, 000 in loans. The lawn is nearly dead and the house, now vacant, is in foreclosure proceedings.

In the two other cases, The Times found that the current owners of record can't be found, and that the former owners of each home both have said they dealt with a man named Tommy Watts who, according to The Times, has a criminal record that includes convictions for larceny, armed robbery and dealing in stolen property. Watts also couldn't be located by The Times. Along with the suspicious nature of the recorded transaction documents on file with the county involving these homes (which is described in detail in the article), the liklihood is that the two homes were used in a straw buyer mortgage fraud scam. Meanwhile, the plant beds are full of weeds and there are dead shrubs lining the sidewalk entrance.

For more, see Weeds sprout, as do suspicions.