Out Of Town Investors Stuck With Inflated Mortgages In Alleged Columbus-Area Real Estate Investment Scam

In Columbus, Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports:

• More out-of-towners have reported being stuck with inflated mortgages on houses in low-income Columbus neighborhoods, where they were directed by real-estate investment classes. A Virginia couple and their Maryland son took the advice of an investment club and bought four homes from Mid-State Homes of Columbus with the help of Summertyme Mortgage of Sunbury. The family has since sued Mid-State and Summertyme in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, contending that appraisers either negligently or fraudulently inflated the value of the properties so lenders would lend more than they were worth. The defendants then shared in the extra cash, the suit says.

For more, see Inflated mortgages: Investor property problem deepens.