Tampa-Area Real Estate Agent At Center Of Suspicious Transactions

In Tampa, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports a story of an anonymous letter accusing local real estate agent Lori Polin of contributing to the alleged mortgage fraud that has resulted in nine homes going into foreclosure. According to the story:

• In a letter to Re/Max's Denver headquarters, the Pinellas Realtor Organization and many of her fellow agents, an anonymous sender claims Polin "artificially inflated" the prices of nine homes in Tampa and North Pinellas so buyers could get larger loans.

• Most of the houses were mortgaged for far more than the actual sales price, with the buyer or a third party pocketing the difference. Except for well-documented renovations, such "cash-back-at-closing" transactions can be a sign of mortgage fraud. In one transaction, $109,000 went to a construction cleanup company although there is no evidence of any construction or cleanup up since the run-down Clearwater house sold last year.

• That house and the others listed by the anonymous sender are all now in foreclosure proceedings, contributing to a Florida foreclosure rate that is the nation's third highest.
  "The buyers purchased multiple properties in short periods of time to avoid lenders detecting multiloan transactions and fraud," the letter charges. "Lori's contribution to this fraudulent activity has distorted property values and undermined neighborhoods."

For more, including reported details of several of the identified home sales which, on their face, doesn't paint Polin in a good light, see Unsigned letter accuses agent of mortgage fraud (Real estate agent says it may be a rival using smear tactics).