We haven't heard anything about short sale fraud in a while - here's the latest:
Perp Walks?
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Ethics
Now You Step Up
Now that he is has left the Fed and has written his book, Bernanke says more individuals should have gone to prison: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/04/ben-bernanke-execs-jail-great-recession-federal-reserve/72959402/ With publication of his...
Fannie’s 20-Day First Look
Fannie Mae has been over-pricing their REOs by at least 10% since 2012, and have been getting away with it because buyers think that because it's a foreclosure, they are getting a deal, and because Fannie provided 'HomePath' financing where no appraisal was required....
Off-Market-Listing Clubs
From the San Jose Mercury News: http://www.mercurynews.com/my-town/ci_25718492/off-mls-listings-debated-at-silicon-valley-realtors An excerpt: According to MLS Listings, off-MLS activity in the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey,...
Escalation Clause
In the spirit of fair play, this isn't right. But in a market where buyers get tired of losing, you can't blame them for trying alternatives. Agents should have a standard policy/strategy on how to handle the escalation clause - get good help! From the Boston Globe:...
HUD and Short-Sale Dual Agency
Received today from the National Association of Realtors: NAR members recently received word that the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development would be implementing a new policy on Oct. 1, 2013, that would prevent dual agency agreements in FHA...
Realtor Titles
The State of California has already been cracking down on real estate "teams" or "groups" (click HERE), now New York has objected to the phony-baloney titles used by realtors. Hat tip to Sol for sending this in from the nytimes:...
Manti Te’o and Journalism
The Manti Te'o hoax exposes how journalists rush to publish a story. The public has come to accept the shallow, TMZ-type sensationalism, and rarely do you see any in-depth examinations of topics that deserve such. Here are real estate topics that should get more...
Short-Sales Slowing
Those paying attention are seeing realtors continuing to commit short-sale fraud, and about the only hope for it to end is for short sales themselves to run out of steam. If the debt-tax relief doesn't get extended (unlikely but possible) and those underwater sense...
Water Feature
On the tax rolls, it looks like they facilitated a short sale without having to put the house on the open market - there were no previous listings in the MLS:
