Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna announced that much of his 2008 legislative agenda has survived the 2008 Legislative session.

Mortgage foreclosure fraud:

House Bill 2791, sponsored by Sen. Pat Lantz, D-Gig Harbor, helps reduce foreclosure rescue schemes, including those with an option to allow the original homeowner to buy or lease back the property. The bill has passed the Senate, 39-6.

Identity theft:

Bills giving ID theft victims more tools in the fight to clear their names are now one step closer to the Governor’s signature.

House Bill 2637, which allows records provided by out-of-state businesses to be authenticated by affidavit rather than in person in criminal cases, has passed both houses and now heads to the Governor’s desk.

HB 2637, sponsored by Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, was recommended by the Law Enforcement Group against Identity Theft (LEGIT). LEGIT was a workgroup convened after McKenna’s 2005 ID Theft Summit formed to identify ways to better ensure successful identity theft prosecutions and reduce the number of crimes that occur in Washington.

Senate Bill 5878 incorporated two proposals requested by the Attorney General’s Office, one requiring police reports for victims of identity theft and the other clarifying that each act prohibited by the identity theft statute is a separate unit of prosecution. The bill, prime-sponsored by Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, passed the House of Representatives 95-0 on Tuesday.

Source

In 2008, mortgage fraud cost homeowners approximately $2.5 billion. According to the IRS, in 2008, there were 349 real estate fraud cases investigated and 136 convictions. There have been 2,268,108 foreclosures this year and counting. Over 360,000 foreclosures occurred in the month of July. Approximately 618,217 people have filed for bankruptcy so far this year.

Lawmakers are trying to change the mortgage buying process to make it easier for homebuyers to understand the process and reduce fraud and corruption in the industry. Well, it’s about time! The process would be revamped by the proposed new consumer protection agency called Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Some of the things that would be eliminated are the use of fine print and the thousands of papers to read and sign. This would provide complete visibility for homebuyers into the mortgage process and ensure that homeowners purchase homes with no hidden fees, gimmicks or mortgages that they can’t afford. Other things that would be eliminated under the revamped process are: complex mortgages that make mortgage companies the most money would be offered last, simpler less expensive mortgage would be offered to potential homebuyers first; prepayment penalties would be banned or restricted; mortgage brokers will be held accountable for accurately determining if a homeowner can afford to purchase a home; and better disclosures which includes identification of all fees associated with a mortgage loan.

This all sounds good but there is always a catch. Home buyers might have to pay more for their mortgage to ensure that mortgage companies don’t lose any money by changing their processes. Previous proposals by some members of Congress for one-page mortgage forms have not been successful. If you would like to see a change to the mortgage process contact your state congressman and depend easier, fairer mortgage loan processes.

Here are 5 ways to protect yourself from mortgage fraud:

1. Go with your gut. Go with your gut instinct, if you feel like the deal is too good to be true or if you feel like something is not right with the loan, don’t sign it.
2. Ask questions. Ask lots of questions; have everything explained to you prior or during settlement.
3. You can change your mind. If you sign the settlement papers and feel like you made a bad decision, you have 3 days to notify the mortgage company that you wish to cancel the loan.
4. Do research. Do lots of research on the home buying process before you go to settlement so that you are an educated homebuyer which also minimizes chances of fraud during your settlement. Visit the hud.gov website for great tips on the home buying process.
5. Take your time. This is one of the most important decisions of your life. Don’t rush through the process. Don’t let your emotions cause you to make a bad decision. Talk to family or friends who have bought a home and get advice which will help you learn from them their mistakes.

First, report what had transpired and everything that happened to your local police department. Second, tell your lawyer and adviser about what happened and scrutinize them by asking what steps you should make and inquire on what concerns you.

Lastly, contact your Local land registry officer as soon as possible as to prevent further harm.
You can also consult with someone at your bank, if you want.

Image Source : scamhunters.blogspot.com

Like many new waves, it seems to have started in California. About six years ago restaurant owner Jake Stockwell decided to retire and put his popular wharfside seafood bistro on the market. Six months later he was a disappointed man, frustrated with flaky would-be buyers, who misrepresented themselves and their means and intentions, and predatory property developers who only wanted the site, not the fine restaurant he’d put twenty-five years of his life into building up.

So he decided to raffle it off to his customers. For $100 per ticket they could take a flyer on becoming the owner of a thriving business. Thousands took up the offer and six months later Mr Stockwell retired with a smile on his face, having turned the bistro over to a customer who vowed to keep it going in the style that had originally attracted him to eat there.

Since then, hundreds if not thousands of sellers have taken the raffle road, and some charities, like the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Society, have come to depend on raffles as a main source of income. The Society has raffled a million dollar house for each of the past three years and has always sold out the full allocation of tickets. Similarly, a number of developers have found it advantageous to promote new projects by raffling off one of their showcase homes. It draws people to the developments and raises the profile of the company.

In general, however, raffles have had mixed acceptance. First of all, there are legal pitfalls for anyone trying to hold a lottery in some states, so many have taken the form of a contest, with the property as the grand prize. Some people have done simple quiz contests, some have required letters to be written, all of which in practice go into the drawing from which the winner is selected. Others have found alternative and ingenious ways to avoid the onerous paperwork of the gaming laws requirements for running a lottery in some states.

But a few sellers have turned out not to be legitimate, or have offered unattractive properties in insalubrious areas, or were so underfunded personally that they were unable to promote the contest sufficiently well for people to even know about it. Some have failed for the sellers, who sold fewer tickets than planned, but have done well for the lucky ticket buyer who won at advantageous odds. Still, things can go badly for ticket buyers. In one case, people who bought $500 tickets for the raffle of a $400,000 house in Wisconsin discovered that the seller had defaulted on his obligations and the house was repossessed by the bank before the raffle could take place.

In spite of any potential drawbacks, in markets on both coasts where prices are so high, or in areas where prices are weakening, the idea of owning a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar home for the price of a ticket, anything between $50 and $150, seems a reasonable risk, especially since the odds are usually very good compared to, say, any of the lotteries.

One current raffle that seems particularly attractive is that being run by Scott Properties, Inc., a Delaware company that restores historic buildings and runs hotels in Spain. They are offering ten vacation properties in one of the most attractive areas of Mallorca, Spain, and at about $190 for a ticket – less than $20 for each of the houses and studios on offer – the odds of ten in 33,333 tickets seem an attractive wager compared to what’s on offer. One of the houses, for example, is valued at around $600,000 and has rental income potential in excess of $45,000 a year, based on a six month season, which is conservative. More information can be found at http://www.winaholidayhomeinspain.com.

So far, raffles haven’t taken off on a large scale, but the involvement of charities and legitimate well-founded property companies would seem to be straws in the wind for a future of more houses being offered in this pioneering and innovative way.

An important step in protecting yourself from real estate fraud is safeguarding personal information.

Source

Finding hot leads is the main challenge for any real estate investor. One of the most popular and effective ways to find wholesale deals is called “driving for dollars,” which simply means driving around targeted neighborhoods to locate ideal wholesale properties. Another option you can resort to is to have someone drive for you – a bird dog or a property scout. Good thing is that either way will work out depending on your resources or in other words how much time and money you have.

Gaining success in finding the right deals also depends upon how willing you are to go all the way in real estate investing. Also, you need to consider your situation. Let us say if you’re a full time realtor, you can do the search yourself, find the deals on your own and discard the idea of paying a bird dog. On the other hand, if you are employed full-time, it would be difficult for you to drive for dollars and in this case you may have to hire a bird dog to do that job for you. But what really are Real Estate Bird Dogs and how can you find one?

In the real estate domain, a “bird dog” is someone who identifies a good quality real estate investment opportunity. He puts the property under contract with the sole intent of assigning that contract for a fee to a rehabber to repair and resell it. The primary goal for the real estate bird dog is to help the investors save time, effort and money- undeniably a crucial part of success in any business. A bird dog’s valuable efforts in finding the quality deals will one way or another result in earning many excellent referral fees. Most of the successful real estate bird dogs are making good money by locating deals for their investors regardless of good or bad times.

At this point you may want to know how to find a bird dog. Bird dogs can range from casual contacts to professionals. A casual contact is someone to whom you simply say, “Hey, I’m looking for vacant houses to buy etc etc. If you find any, please let me know.” Depending on your area, it could be a pizza delivery person, pest control operators, meter-readers, delivery drivers, mail carriers, service people (plumbers, HVAC specialists), etc. Let them know you’ll pay them a fee. It could be a referral fee or a per-lead fee. An effective method of finding bird dogs is to advertise in the newspaper. You can write a simple classified ad for this one. Professional bird dogs on the other hand are people who are trained to scout for properties. One source for this is high school or college students who want to earn extra income. Another way is to look for new investors who are trying to break into the business.

You may wonder why would investors hire and pay a real estate bird dog for leads. The truth is that a lot of real estate investors count on the contributions from real estate bird dogs since finding qualified property leads is a very valuable service, that most investors would love to have giving them many benefits aside from the great amount of time and effort they can save once the bird dog finds qualified deals.

Have you ever wondered how your real estate agent gets paid? Sure, there is talk of commission, percentages, fees, closing costs- all of these are broken down at closing. But, what does he actually get? Surprisingly, you do not pay your agent a commission. Only a licensed broker can get paid a commission and he is the one who pays your agent. There are also a number of ways to divvy up the pay. The person who worked so hard to sell or find your house may not be making as much as you think. Here are some of the ways the money makes it to your representative:

A real estate agent works for a licensed broker or brokerage house. When he brings a client to the table, either for buying or selling, an agreement is signed between the client and the brokerage house. Typically when a sale is made, an average of 6% of the sale price is commission for the brokers. It is not always a straight split, but close to half, which goes to the broker representing the seller and the buyer.

Once the commission is divided up between the houses, the brokers then decide how much to pass down to the agent who actually did the leg work. This amount varies depending on experience, time with the company and the productivity level of the representative. A brand new representative may only get thirty percent of the cut where as a seasoned pro that brings in a ton of business, may get half or more of the proceeds.

Another option is that the agent gets all of the commission, but pays a monthly fee to the brokerage house. This is sort of a rent. He gets an office and uses the company name to back his reputation. This is an attractive deal to many representatives, because they pay the same amount every month, no matter how much they make. For new people to the business who have not built up a client list and do not benefit from word-of-mouth yet, the traditional split is usually preferable, because they may not make enough every month to make the set payment.

There are some factors that eat into the final profit made by the brokerage house and the representative. If the house is a franchise, there is a fee that must be paid to them out of every commission. Sometimes referrals come into play as well. If a brokerage house sends a customer to you, they will want a referral fee. There is a percentage that also comes out of the commission.

Typically, this commission is paid by the seller at closing. However, depending on the type of market, this is negotiable. Another negotiable point is how the commission is divided. If you are having a difficult time in selling, because the market is flooded with houses, you may want your representative to offer a bigger cut of the commission to the buyer’s representative. This may help close the deal.

So, as you can see, there is more to the payment than simply figuring 6%. After everyone else gets the money, your real estate agent is then paid the amount.

A woman in Seal Beach, Orange County, California was recently indicted for trying to impersonate an FBI agent so that she can cover up a real estate fraud.
The suspect, Karen Hanover, conducted real estate seminars with pricey premiums and offered investors buy various commercial and residential real estate. She offered a money-back guarantee to her clients but she never honored them when they tried to claim this guarantee. She then created an FBI caller ID using spoofing software in order to harass the complainants and prevent them from making a complaint.
She has now been indicted on federal charges.

Tampa is a city that presents variety in the way it offers something for everyone. For sports aficionados, Tampa has professional football, arena football, hockey and baseball teams to go see. For the party lovers, Tampa has Channelside, Seminole Hard Rock and Ybor. With respect to scenery, Tampa offers well kept community parks, beach fronts, and gardens. Entertainment ranges from the sophisticated type found at the Performing Arts Center, to the popular type shown in St. Pete Times Forum, Ford Amphitheater and Tampa Convention Center.

Generally, Tampa Real Estate market has been seeing trends that are consistent with the Real Estate market all over Florida in the last couple of months. There is an inherent shift from a seller to a buyer’s market. The inventory piles up steadily, thereby lowering sale prices. Tampa is clearly presenting a great deal opportunities for real estate investors. As of July 2006, 510 homes have been sold in Tampa at a median price of $245,000, whereas Florida’s overall median price is $257,800. Hence, Tampa Real Estate is still relatively affordable in comparison with other metropolitan areas around Florida. Comparing with 872 homes sold during the same period in the previous year, a marked decrease of 42% is evident in the number of homes closed. By the end of the month a total of 4413 homes were for sale in Tampa Real Estate. This is even less than 15% of the available homes that were sold last month. The Tampa Real Estate area is clearly becoming a buyers market with several opportunities for real estate investors.

Tampa Bay Real Estate has been experiencing this year a significant shift from a “red hot sellers market (1 month inventory)” into a more “normal real estate market (6 month inventory),” effectively posing some great oppportunities for buyers and investors. Tampa Bay Real Estate continues to attract a large number of families and professionals as indicated by the boost in sales price from $225,000 to $243,950. Most of this growth took place during the summer and autumn of 2005. In most areas, the prices stabilized and have even, in some cases, started to decline as compared to the end of 2005.

The number of homes for sale has boosted dramatically over the last few months, The factors the brought about such increase in inventory are investor homes that are flooding the market, home builders offering deep discounts and incentives to keep new home sales moving, and typical summer home sales. Clever buyers look for home sellers who offer buyer incentives. In addition, buyers are making offers that are typically several thousand dollars below the asking price in order to see how willing these sellers are to negotiate. Generally, buyers are being more selective this year than last year because of the relatively greater variety of homes to choose from. The rate at which homes are being listed for sale outpaces the rate of sales approximately 2 to 1.

The next several months are going to be very favorable for buyers because interest rates are still relatively low, and sellers are showing more than usual flexibility in terms of price negotiations on their real estate properties because sales are slowing down. This trend in the Tampa Real Estate market will probably persist for another six months before the market equilibrates again.

By Earl Juanico

Tampa Real Estate

Learning how to become a real estate appraiser starts with an introduction to the work itself. Real Estate Appraisers will either work for themselves or are part of a larger company. Many work for lending institutions, including banks and mortgage companies. Appraising property is necessary before a bank or other lender will approve a mortgage for a home buyer. Appraisers will look at many factors when examining a properties value. These would include:

Size of the home and the land Age of the home General condition of the property The surrounding area and neighborhood Market value of similar homes in the same area

A real estate appraiser needs to pay attention to detail and be good with numbers. Gaining expertise through experience and training is the key on learning how to become a successful appraiser.

Training to become a real estate appraiser

Each state has criteria that must be met to become a state licensed appraiser. Most states require work experience and educational requirements, including passing state exams. Many states allow for appraisal online course learning. Taking an online course offers the flexibility to study on your own time.

Most states require a minimum 90 hour pre-license course, followed by a proctored exam. This means that after you have completed the appraisal course, the school administrator will arrange a local proctor to arrange a test setting under that person’s supervision.

These appraiser courses follow the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices (USPAP) and their rules and guidelines. The majority of the appraiser course will teach the fundamentals of real estate appraisal and how to evaluate properties effectively and professionally.

Continuing education is required after you are state licensed. Many of these courses can be delivered online. State requirements for initial training and continuing education vary.

Real estate Appraisal Job Demand

Gaining real work experience is the most important part of becoming a real estate appraiser. The competition in this field is growing, but the real estate market continues to grow and the opportunities are there for the right person. Real estate agents, home inspectors and real estate appraisers are in high demand in many areas of the country. Many people who work in this field do it part time. This is the same for home inspectors.

Put some thought into what you want to do. Learn how to become a real estate appraiser in your state. Good luck!