Short Sale Fraud – Freddie Mac Drops A Huge Bomb On Real Estate Investors

Short Sale Flip Fraud – The newest problem in real estate is not yet a law or an official policy, but it is definitely going to create issues in the market. The latest opinion released from Freddie Mac on short sales presents legal and practical issues for short sale investors.

The organization posted a new educational article on April 16, 2010 titled “Emerging Fraud Trends: Short Payoff Fraud.” Essentially, the article stated that a short payoff or a short sale can be considered fraudulent if the lender agrees to a short sale that already has a third-party buyer in place that is paying a higher amount than the agreed-upon loan payoff amount. This is a serious yellow flag for short sale investors who make their living negotiating good short sale deals with banks, then selling their new properties to other buyers for a profit.

The rest of the article detailed scenarios and red flags for “short payoff” fraud. The scenario revolved around a short sale facilitator who set up a deal with a lender to purchase a home worth 80K for 70K while the lender took a 30K loss. The facilitator does not let the bank know that he already has a buyer ready to pay 95,000 for the property. When the transactions close – in this case on the same day – and the facilitator pockets the difference, according to Freddie Mac he has just committed fraud because he withheld information about a higher offer and causes Freddie Mac to take a “larger than necessary” loss on the sale.

The article urges buyers, sellers and lenders to be on the lookout for short payoff fraud red flags. Flags include sudden default without explanation, borrowers current on other debts and buying entities. The article also tells readers to keep an eye out for resale options in their purchase agreement.

Finally, sellers, buyers and lenders are all encouraged to report this short payoff fraud if they are aware of a second purchase contract for a higher price. Short sales may not be breaking the law, but Freddie Mac’s PR team certainly wants the process to be as difficult as possible for all real estate investors.

Bulk REO Investing

Real estate investing and Bulk REO are tough businesses right now.   While the business of buying and holding real estate as a long term investment remains a legitimate and viable strategy for wealth building, profit is no longer guaranteed as it once appeared to be.  

   With that in mind, the astute real estate investor will consider some specific real estate investment concepts to complement the “tried and true” strategy of long-term buy-and-hold investment houses:  

   *  Virtual Real Estate Investing – the term “virtual real estate investing” has multiple meanings, including the use of the internet to buy and sell property, and the purchase and development of internet websites as a means of generating revenue.  With an objective analysis, one can see the conceptual similarity between physical real estate and internet properties including entire websites and even individual pages controlled on larger sites like Facebook, Squidoo and Google Knol.  Increasingly, real estate investors are seeing the clear opportunity presented by developing web “properties” into revenue generating assets much like physical rental properties.  This trend is on the rise and will continue for the foreseeable future.  

   *  Bulk REO – the prevalence of foreclosures in our economy has put mortgage lenders into a difficult position.  With large pools of foreclosed properties on their books, it is no longer efficient for these lenders to sell their foreclosed properties one-by-one through real estate brokers.  As such, mortgage lenders are increasingly opting to sell their foreclosures in “packages” to well-funded investors, at steeply discounted prices.  Bulk REO investing is a rapidly emerging trend and will continue to be a significant tool for real estate acquisition and disposition until such time as the current foreclosure crisis abates and the foreclosure rate regresses to more normal historical levels.  

   It’s a different world in the real estate investment business.   It would be very, very simple to think that the foreclosure crisis has caused the door of opportunity to be slammed entirely shut.   Yet that’s simply not the case.   When one observes the state of the real estate market, it is undeniable that fundamentals matter more than ever.   For example, the selection of the local real estate market is of greater importance than ever, considering the huge disparity that exists among the thousands of real estate markets across the United States.   Additionally, the role of regulatory compliance is greater than ever given the activist nature of the current presidential administration.  

   Without a doubt, there are very major challenges in today’s real estate investing market.   But with some persistence, determination and creativity, there is still plenty of opportunity.

Bulk REO Investing

Real estate investing and Bulk REO are tough businesses right now.   While the business of buying and holding real estate as a long term investment remains a legitimate and viable strategy for wealth building, profit is no longer guaranteed as it once appeared to be.  

   With that in mind, the astute real estate investor will consider some specific real estate investment concepts to complement the “tried and true” strategy of long-term buy-and-hold investment houses:  

   *  Virtual Real Estate Investing – the term “virtual real estate investing” has multiple meanings, including the use of the internet to buy and sell property, and the purchase and development of internet websites as a means of generating revenue.  With an objective analysis, one can see the conceptual similarity between physical real estate and internet properties including entire websites and even individual pages controlled on larger sites like Facebook, Squidoo and Google Knol.  Increasingly, real estate investors are seeing the clear opportunity presented by developing web “properties” into revenue generating assets much like physical rental properties.  This trend is on the rise and will continue for the foreseeable future.  

   *  Bulk REO – the prevalence of foreclosures in our economy has put mortgage lenders into a difficult position.  With large pools of foreclosed properties on their books, it is no longer efficient for these lenders to sell their foreclosed properties one-by-one through real estate brokers.  As such, mortgage lenders are increasingly opting to sell their foreclosures in “packages” to well-funded investors, at steeply discounted prices.  Bulk REO investing is a rapidly emerging trend and will continue to be a significant tool for real estate acquisition and disposition until such time as the current foreclosure crisis abates and the foreclosure rate regresses to more normal historical levels.  

   It’s a different world in the real estate investment business.   It would be very, very simple to think that the foreclosure crisis has caused the door of opportunity to be slammed entirely shut.   Yet that’s simply not the case.   When one observes the state of the real estate market, it is undeniable that fundamentals matter more than ever.   For example, the selection of the local real estate market is of greater importance than ever, considering the huge disparity that exists among the thousands of real estate markets across the United States.   Additionally, the role of regulatory compliance is greater than ever given the activist nature of the current presidential administration.  

   Without a doubt, there are very major challenges in today’s real estate investing market.   But with some persistence, determination and creativity, there is still plenty of opportunity.

Bulk REO Investing

Real estate investing and Bulk REO are tough businesses right now.   While the business of buying and holding real estate as a long term investment remains a legitimate and viable strategy for wealth building, profit is no longer guaranteed as it once appeared to be.  

   With that in mind, the astute real estate investor will consider some specific real estate investment concepts to complement the “tried and true” strategy of long-term buy-and-hold investment houses:  

   *  Virtual Real Estate Investing – the term “virtual real estate investing” has multiple meanings, including the use of the internet to buy and sell property, and the purchase and development of internet websites as a means of generating revenue.  With an objective analysis, one can see the conceptual similarity between physical real estate and internet properties including entire websites and even individual pages controlled on larger sites like Facebook, Squidoo and Google Knol.  Increasingly, real estate investors are seeing the clear opportunity presented by developing web “properties” into revenue generating assets much like physical rental properties.  This trend is on the rise and will continue for the foreseeable future.  

   *  Bulk REO – the prevalence of foreclosures in our economy has put mortgage lenders into a difficult position.  With large pools of foreclosed properties on their books, it is no longer efficient for these lenders to sell their foreclosed properties one-by-one through real estate brokers.  As such, mortgage lenders are increasingly opting to sell their foreclosures in “packages” to well-funded investors, at steeply discounted prices.  Bulk REO investing is a rapidly emerging trend and will continue to be a significant tool for real estate acquisition and disposition until such time as the current foreclosure crisis abates and the foreclosure rate regresses to more normal historical levels.  

   It’s a different world in the real estate investment business.   It would be very, very simple to think that the foreclosure crisis has caused the door of opportunity to be slammed entirely shut.   Yet that’s simply not the case.   When one observes the state of the real estate market, it is undeniable that fundamentals matter more than ever.   For example, the selection of the local real estate market is of greater importance than ever, considering the huge disparity that exists among the thousands of real estate markets across the United States.   Additionally, the role of regulatory compliance is greater than ever given the activist nature of the current presidential administration.  

   Without a doubt, there are very major challenges in today’s real estate investing market.   But with some persistence, determination and creativity, there is still plenty of opportunity.

Bulk REO Investing

Real estate investing and Bulk REO are tough businesses right now.   While the business of buying and holding real estate as a long term investment remains a legitimate and viable strategy for wealth building, profit is no longer guaranteed as it once appeared to be.  

   With that in mind, the astute real estate investor will consider some specific real estate investment concepts to complement the “tried and true” strategy of long-term buy-and-hold investment houses:  

   *  Virtual Real Estate Investing – the term “virtual real estate investing” has multiple meanings, including the use of the internet to buy and sell property, and the purchase and development of internet websites as a means of generating revenue.  With an objective analysis, one can see the conceptual similarity between physical real estate and internet properties including entire websites and even individual pages controlled on larger sites like Facebook, Squidoo and Google Knol.  Increasingly, real estate investors are seeing the clear opportunity presented by developing web “properties” into revenue generating assets much like physical rental properties.  This trend is on the rise and will continue for the foreseeable future.  

   *  Bulk REO – the prevalence of foreclosures in our economy has put mortgage lenders into a difficult position.  With large pools of foreclosed properties on their books, it is no longer efficient for these lenders to sell their foreclosed properties one-by-one through real estate brokers.  As such, mortgage lenders are increasingly opting to sell their foreclosures in “packages” to well-funded investors, at steeply discounted prices.  Bulk REO investing is a rapidly emerging trend and will continue to be a significant tool for real estate acquisition and disposition until such time as the current foreclosure crisis abates and the foreclosure rate regresses to more normal historical levels.  

   It’s a different world in the real estate investment business.   It would be very, very simple to think that the foreclosure crisis has caused the door of opportunity to be slammed entirely shut.   Yet that’s simply not the case.   When one observes the state of the real estate market, it is undeniable that fundamentals matter more than ever.   For example, the selection of the local real estate market is of greater importance than ever, considering the huge disparity that exists among the thousands of real estate markets across the United States.   Additionally, the role of regulatory compliance is greater than ever given the activist nature of the current presidential administration.  

   Without a doubt, there are very major challenges in today’s real estate investing market.   But with some persistence, determination and creativity, there is still plenty of opportunity.