It is no secret that America is at the forefront of the global financial crisis. At the heart of our financial crisis as a nation, lies the instability of our residential real estate market. Right now, America is seeing a downward spiral as her citizens rapidly lose their homes at never-before-seen, historic rates. To place blame on any one area or organization for this financial crisis would take a tremendous amount of research to determine exactly who or what is at fault. However, there is one group of people that are easily identifiable and who have made a significant contribution to the current mess that we are in. They are the real estate scammers.
As the economy continues to show signs of financial struggle in the residential real estate market, America continues to experience an exorbitant amount of foreclosures nationwide. As a result of the rise in foreclosures, unscrupulous fraudsters who prey on homeowners in foreclosure are seeking to capitalize on their vulnerability, deplete them of their equity, take title to their homes, and destroy their credit. This fraudulent practice has led to the victimization of thousands of homeowners. According to the FBI, Maryland ranks in the top 10 of states that are most affected by Mortgage Fraud. See the FBI’s figure below:
Accordingly, the Mortgage Asset Research Fraud Index reports that of the top 10 states on this study, it is the urban and coastline areas are the most affected. Mortgage fraud is centered around equity stripping, fraudulent deed conveyances, and fraud by real estate professionals, investors and even homeowners. The grim reality is that some homeowners would have been able to keep their homes had they been educated about how to recognize the signs of real estate and mortgage fraud and how to best protect themselves against it.
