Minnesota Mortgage Broker Pleads Guilty In Cash Back Fraud
See also, Another Prior Lake mortgage broker pleads guilty to fraud (Shakopee Valley News).
Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
The article gives a brief explanation of what the elements of a rent-to-own contract are. For more, see Rent-to-own gains appeal in slow market (Nontraditional option can benefit both sellers and buyers).
Editorial Note
What the article doesn't emphasize is that, as "rent-to-own offers" gain in popularity, so will "rent-to-own scams." One common scam is using a "rent-to-own offer" as bait to lure an unwitting tenant/prospective purchaser into an equity skimming / rent skimming scam. In such a scam, the property owner (either a "professional" equity skimmer, a participant in a straw buyer, mortgage fraud scam, or an honest real estate investor or homeowner who simply got in over his/her head) is either in, or about to go into, foreclosure and is trying to squeeze every last dollar out of the house as possible before unloading the home on the mortgage lender, leaving both the lender and the "rent-to-own" victim holding the bag.
Homeowners can unwittingly find themselves with problems as well if they are not careful both (1) with the paperwork that is signed when doing one of these deals, and (2) in who they select as their prospective tenant/homebuyer. For example, if a rent-to-own offer is structured as purchase contract with a "deferred or delayed" title closing (say 1 to 3 years, for example), whereby the rent-to-own purchaser gets immediate possession of the home and agrees to make monthly payments to the selling homeowner until the deal ultimately closes and the "legal title" is actually transferred, the law in some states (I suspect many states) treats the arrangement as a transfer of "equitable title", and the unwitting selling homeowner is treated, not as a landlord, but as a lender holding a "seller financed" mortgage with a "balloon payment" due on the date set for closing in the contract. In such a situation, if the rent-to-own purchaser decides to stiff the selling homeowner on the agreed upon monthly payments, the selling homeowner will not be legally able to evict the rent-to-own purchaser. The selling homeowner's only recourse would be to initiate a foreclosure action (the same way any mortgage lender would) to regain possession and legally wipe out the rent-to-own purchaser's "equitable title."
In the meantime, the rent-to-own purchaser has use of the home until foreclosed upon, during which time he can use the home to live in, or find an unwitting tenant and pocket the rent money. For the selling homeowner's sake, just hope the rent-to-own purchaser doesn't use the home as a marijauna grow house. In that case, the rent-to-own purchaser may actually pay the monthly payments for part of the time, and when the home can no longer be effectively used as an indoor pot farm because of the mold contamination in the home common to these illicit operations, the rent-to-own purchaser can simply stop making the payments and let the selling homeowner take the house back, mold and all (with the possibility of having to explain his/her negligence to the mortgage holder as to why the loan collateral was allowed to be destroyed).
In my view, entering into a rent-to-own arrangement is much more complicated than getting a mortgage. It should go without saying that to thoroughly perform all the necessary due diligence that such a deal requires (ie. review recent sales history for the property for evidence of flipping, title search to determine who actually has title to the property and that it is not currently in foreclosure - look for recorded lis pendens, notice of default, etc., prepare the terms of the deal which are unique to lease-purchase, rent-to-own transactions) will probably require the assistance of an experienced, competent real estate attorney (not one whose law practice consists primarily of "doing simple house closings" or "selling title insurance" in the capacity of a title insurance agent - common for attorneys in some regions). The paradox here is that the consumers who are the most likely to be offered rent-to-own opportunities are probably the least likely to be able to afford the services of such an attorney.
I think it is reasonable to predict that, at least to the extent that the people to whom rent-to-own offers are targeted have the same level of business, legal, and financial sophistication as the people who recently got hammered in the subprime mortgage debacle, we will be starting a new chapter (actually, we'll be re-starting a very old chapter) in the "Book of Real Estate Scams" (You don't need to be clairvoyant to see this coming, folks - just a novice real estate "historian").
For more on equity skimming / rent skimming, For posts on other stories of tenants unwittingly renting homes in foreclosure, go here and go here, and go here; and also, see Equity Skimming Foreclosure Rescue Scams. alpha
One member of the Florida Real Estate Commission, who is also managing broker of Coldwell Banker in Coral Gables, Florida says that the practice has become alarmingly common. For more, see Real estate sales listings are easy targets for abuse (Real estate professionals say the Multiple Listing Service can be manipulated by unscrupulous agents).
Source: Clear Lake broker charged with fraud (2nd story from top).
See also, News Release, U.S. Attorney's Office (S.D. Texas).
Stonewood Consulting and Montecastro are also targets in several civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud. Richard Ackerman, a lawyer for many of the plaintiffs, said hundreds of investors in California and several other states were defrauded. For more, see Murrieta company, broker to forfeit licensese.
Go here for other posts on this story.
Now that both Houses of the State legislature have agreed to and passed the bill, the final stop for it is the Governor's desk for his signature. For more, see N.H. bill aims to stop foreclosure rescue scams.
The inflating of real estate appraisals is referred to as "hitting the number", and how often an appraiser can "hit the number" may determine how much work comes his/her way from unscrupulous mortgage brokers and loan officers. For more, see Appraisers push for real estate fraud rules (Testimony before Senate subcommittee reveals pressure placed on appraisers to inflate valuations).
The legislation, currently referred to as Senate Bill 163 is reportedly based on similar laws in effect in other states. For more, see Senate bill to protect Del. homeowners (With scammers capitalizing on rising foreclosure rate, lawmaker wants to crack down on fraud).
For story update, see Law Regulating Foreclosure Rescue Among Financing-Related Homeowner Protection Bills Signed By Delaware Governor.