Real Estate Mortgage Fraud and Investor Show Scams Disappoint Texans
As an investor, it's tough hearing about unscrupulous investors. There are a few recent cases that are notable. A story that's been covered extensively on REIClub.com is the Flip This House case.
Not to be confused with Flip That House, Flip This House follows one or two real estate flippers each season. The original show was started by Richard Davis of Trademark Properties, who has filed a lawsuit against A&E.
The recent season of Flip This House features investors from Atlanta and San Antonio. Residents in the Atlanta Area quickly noted that Sam Leccima had lost his real estate license and accused him scamming buyers. Both Leccima and the Montelegos of San Antonio have been accused of allegedly lying about their volume of transactions as well as how quickly properties sell. In fact, some properties still haven't sold, but the show presented them as if they had.
In other bad news, it was reported that 9 Texans were indicted in a mortgage fraud scheme just last week. Mortgage fraud is serious because it affects unsuspecting buyers and/or sellers as well as lending institutions. You can read more about the Texas mortgage fraud case at the Mortgage Fraud Blog.
Read also onHoustonRealNews.com - Fox News Breaks "Flip This House" Case.
Learn more about real estate investing in Texas.
Got to plug you on Inman! http://blog.inman.com/inmanblog/2007/05/is_there_any_tr.html
Posted by: Austin Realtor's Wife | Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 09:44 PM
Why is it house flipping is so widespread in Texas? Even California doesn't exceed Texas' rate of this kind of real estate dealing. Makes one wonder, what's going to happen when variable resets meet subprime?
How is this going to affect house flipping?
--Jack Payne
www.sixhrs.com
Posted by: Jack Payne | Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 01:27 AM
Texas is pretty affordable. Cities like Houston and San Antonio don't have harsh guidelines for building or rehabbing, so it's fair game for most house flippers.
Agents who don't specialize in working with investors are having a tough time getting construction loans since the subprime fall-out. In our case, we have a private lender network, so trusted investors utilize that.
Posted by: Dee Copeland | Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 07:19 AM