Realty World – Tri Shasta

Recently the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office sent out a press release regarding their Real Estate Fraud Unit. This press replease discussed the annual report, the fees collected, the number of complaints received, its
District Attorney Jerry Benito
 public relations, and the most common scams.
The Real Estate Fraud unit was formed last summer and upon The Board of Supervisors approving the new program, they also approved for it to be funded through the fees collected through certain real estate documents that were recorded through the assessor’s office.
The total amount of fees that were collected over the fiscal year totaled more then $80,000. Ten percent of that amount went to the Assessor’s-Recorder’s office to reimburse them for incured expenses, the remaining $80,000 was given to the investigation postition at the District Attorney’s Office.
Since the beginning, even a little bit before, the creation of this department, right around 66 calls of complaints have been received. Some cases have lead to criminal prosecution, some have been referred to other jurisdictions (where the case joined to other cases against the same suspect who was already under investigation within that jurisdiction or had already been prosecuted within that juridiction), some have been referred to the California Department of Real Estate based on the unethical behavior of realtors, and some in some other cases the investigator intervened on behalf of local citizens and was able to recover money that was paid to loan modification companies.
The public outreach programs that the Real Estate Fraud Unit have been involved in are: Press releases, radio appearances, and presentations to groups. The District Attorney Jerry Benito has also met with U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner to coordinate efforts related to mortgage fraud here in the Shasta County area.
There are two scams that have been the most common – Nigerian Rent Scams and Loan Modification Scams.
The Nigerian Rent Scam is where criminals in Nigeria surf the Internet for homes that are for sale. They then take the information regarding that listing and create a rental ad for that same property. The Nigerian claims that they
District Attorney Investigator Bob Angulo
are out of the area for work, offers to rent the property, and requests a deposit. After the interested party sends them the deposit, they then learn that the property is not for rent – not even owned by the person they were dealing with.
The Loan Modification Scam is where a company offers to assist troubled homeowners to modify their home loan. These companies will often request an upfront fee to perform their services – many of these companies are out-of-state. After sending of the fee the homeowner may see delays, little work, never see a modification, and they will not see their money paid upfront. Under California law, loan modification companies are not allowed to charge an upfront fee. It is also important to know that even while working with a loan modification company, your home is still at risk for foreclosure. Remain in close contact with your lender during the loan modification.

Forebearance – lender may allow the borrower to skip a payment or make a partial payment if the borrower can suggest a reasonable plan to catch up on the amount in arrears.
Reinstatement – borrower agrees to make a lump sum payment in the future to bring the mortgage current.
Repayment Plan – lender may allow the borrower to catch up on what is owed by increasing the monthly payments until the missed payments are brought current.
Loan Modification Plan – Modify a mortgage – converting it to a fixed rate mortgage at a lower interest rate and extending the years of the mortgage to reduce monthly payments. Giving more years to pay off – adding the missed payments to the balance of the mortgage.
Forgiving Part of the Loan – makes payments affordable.
Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure – it is a friendly foreclosure, the loan amount must be lower than the anticipated sales price.
Cash for Keys – the lender and the homeowner agree to exchange cash from the lender for the keys to the property.
Sell the Home – set a price that will attract many qualified buyers. Upside down property – the financial institution may be willing to forgive some of the mortgage to make a sale possibly in order to avoid foreclosure – Short Sale.

Credit card debt is out of control.
Paying for necessities with credit cards.
Cannot meet monthly financial obligations.
Borrowing from friends and family.
Loss of employment or reduction in hours or wages.
Major illness which can cause loss of work and increase in health expenses.
Divorce, separation or other traumatic family or personal situations.
Death of a spouse or significant other.
Cannot pay the new Adjusted Payment on the ARM mortgage loan.
Major unbudgeted maintenance expense.
Excessive debt is the number one cause of financial collapse and foreclosure.

Be proactive about the problem when the first warning signs appear.
Contact your lender when you become aware that you have a problem.
Read the mail.
Contact HUD approved housing counselor or call a real estate agent for advice.
Prioritize your spending by paying for the necessities of life first.
Look for ways to generate cash.
Do not get scammed by a private “foreclosure prevention specialist.”
Make an appointment with a real estate agent to discuss the problem and to get their advice.

If the Seller is current with their payments even though they may be upside down in their home.
When there is no real hardship that has caused the delinquency of payments.
If the property is a second home or an investment property. There have been some exceptions.
When the Seller has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
A recent cash-out refinancing of the home prior to the Seller deciding to sell the home or the Seller has recent Home Equity Line of Credit.
When the proceeds of the sale are not sufficient to satisfy the Lender in the first position and giving sufficient percentage to those junior liens after all closing costs are paid in full.
Clouds on the title due to outstanding liens.
The time frame for the sale process is not adequate to complete the sale.
The Seller has access to enough funds to be able to satisfy the outstanding debt from the proceeds of the sale of the home.
The Seller wants to receive monies from the sale of the home after the discounted payoff to the Lender and all closing costs.
Potential zoning or building code violations.
The Short Sale Submission Package is incomplete.