Getting defrauded by a mortgage lender is something that has really been in the news and the eyes of both government and the public for quite a while now. So has the problem of massive foreclosures often leaving cities such as Flint, Michigan, Detroit and other major cities nearly in ruins. But as though the foreclosure racket isn't bad enough a whole new cottage industry has sprung up ripping consumers off who are already in dire financial straits and ready to lose their homes, often through no fault of their own. These so called experts usually charge anywhere from $500 up into the thousands of dollars for a fraud audit which is supposed to reveal all of the defects and abuses in the lending process. One such person posing as a fraud examiner recently charged a defendant about $1800 to do a fraud audit. The result was a beautifully bound book about an inch thick outlining the findings of the auditor. The contents of the book mostly consisted of copies of documents provided by the person(s) who hired the auditor. I just got a copy of an audit done by another auditor but haven't had the time to print it out and look it over but from talking to the person who paid for the audit it don't sound like it is any better. I'll also put that audit on my Google Docs Page. This person also paid $1800 to get their audit done. Is it also nothing but a fraud? I'll find out in a few minutes. Getting a mortgage fraud audit is highly important and should be done as soon as one gets settled into their new home but it appears that the standard practice is charging a very high price and giving little of any real value in return. I'll have to analyze this new 100 page analysis before I can actually pass judgment on it. However, upon opening the documents about the first thing I see is their disclaimer which follows: Yes, their disclosure statement is actually in bold red type. That certainly ought to give us lots of confidence in dealing with that company. (LOL) Well, turns out that my initial assessment was very wrong. I can't upload it to my Google docs page but I did convert it from a PDF to HTML. When I did that it came up with each and every page as a separate document and I can't upload 100 pages. But the analysis appears to be extremely thorough and complex. I'd say that the person who sent it to me really did get his money's worth and didn't get ripped off at all. Well worth the $1800 he paid for it.
That depends on how one looks at it, what one's financial situation is as well as how much one already has invested in their home. If you have a home that is worth very little then that price tag may be way too much. The homeowner who paid for the audit I refer to above has a home in California where prices are very high. I took a look at it's aerial view and I'd guess that it may be worth a couple of million or more in California. The same home here in Oklahoma City would probably be worth upwards of half a million. I don't know how long he has been in the home because I haven't examined the documents that closely yet but one does not get moved into such a home for peanuts. I'm guessing the monthly payments would be really stiff too. If someone has that kind of investment in a home and is going to lose it for some reason then spending $1800 to get such a thorough audit investigation as that person got might make that price seem cheap. I also got another copy of a fraud audit done by a person here in OKC on a home that's worth a fraction of the California home's value. That person also charged $1800 and returned a 100 plus page report that is virtually worthless. The report on the California home is less than the 100 plus pages but goes into great detail, quotes laws and court cases to back up the auditor's allegations, gives links to web sites where many if not most things can be found and is astoundingly complete. I would agree that $1800 does seem steep but it seems that how steep it really is a matter of relativity. I've seen audits that people paid as little as $500 up to $1,000 for and were badly defrauded, getting almost nothing for their money. I know a lady from Georgia who spent $750 for an audit only to find out that there was absolutely no fraud whatever in her mortgage. Her broker was a close personal friend who went to great lengths to be sure that her friend got a square deal when she bought her home. It is well proven that those who stay and fight generally end up keeping their home and of course those who don't fight lose. I have a close personal friend who has a small acreage a few miles west of here and they foreclosed on him. He paid $500 for a fraud audit from the person I spoke of earlier in this message. What he got for his $500 wasn't even worth talking about. A quick once over in the office and a verbal suggestion of what might be wrong with the mortgage. He filed an appeal in state court and they decided it wasn't worth the fight so they just gave him his mortgage. They didn't even tell him they had released his mortgage. He found it out for himself by checking the records at the court house. Then a few days later he got a letter from a debt collector wanting $18,000, The exact price the mortgage company sued him for, right to the penny. He said it took him a few hours to connect the two. So, he still don't have any $18,000 so they will probably end up taking him to court again, and of course he has no better defense than he did the first time. If they get a judgment they will put a lien on his property and he is right back where he started from. At least that's what they obviously have in mind It will probably even be the same law firm the second time as it was the first time. I kept telling him he wasn't going to get anywhere going at it the way he did but of course he listened to other friends and their advice ended up getting him into this additional mess. So whether $1800 is steep or not depends on many factors. When it comes to foreclosures nothing is ever the same.
