May 10, 2008

The Late Great Housing Bubble - just one big orgy of mortgage fraud, and a country of sheep and realtors on commission who fell for it.


Silly Americans - you thought those skyrocketing housing prices were because "they're not making any more land", or because of "year-round-golf and pro athletes".

Nope. It was just one big orgy of fraud. And you fell for it.


Silly Americans.

Here's just a sampling of headlines today over at the mortage fraud blog. Just a sampling.

Florida woman sentenced in fraud scheme
Florida mortgage fraud laws passed
Valley (CA) man indicted in HELOC fraud allegation
Concord (CA) lender indicted
Tampa man provided false employment references
California man given 16 months in deed fraud
Three Ohio men indicted in Kentucky fraud case
Man indicted in Ohio apartment fraud charges
Two plead guilty in Pittsburg area mortgage fraud
Texas realtor sentenced to 18 months
New Jersey man pleads guilty to mortgage fraud
5 sentenced in Georgia mortgage fraud scheme
Two plead guilty in $35 million fraud in Minnesota

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe they can put a tall barbed wire fence around these exurbs MacMansion developments in Phoenix and jail all the MacFraudsters there. Sheriff Joe Arpaio can run the jails. Pink undies, bologna sandwichs and work chain gangs for the fraudsters. They can build the border fence and dig a 30 foot deep ditch in front of it too.

Anonymous said...

Pardon me for going off on a tangent, but this phrase "they're not making any more land" has taken on a new meaning for me, a desert dweller interested in buying a house eventually.

How in God's name can useless, rocky, weed infested, good for nothing dirt be priced at $40k per acre? There is not enough rain here to even speak of it. This is the freaking desert!

Frank R said...

You won't see that in Arizona because they're too obsessed with making money on speed cameras and slightest degree DUI arrests (for those outside the state, that's when you go to jail for .01 or .02; Arizona is the only state with slightest degree DUI).

If they could find a way to make money on prosecuting mortgage fraudsters, then and only then will they do it.

Anonymous said...

.


Everyone, buyer or seller was involved in fraud to one degree or another!!

Either through lying on docs or misrepresenting themselves or the product!

.

Anonymous said...

Odd that Mozilo isn't on the list yet.

Anonymous said...

Geez, my little secret is out. I've been getting lots of deals at self-storage auctions for a long time. Got some nice stuff today, for pennies on the dollar, from the f*cked housing floppers, bankrupt 6-percenters, and $30k millionaires. I don't know why you guys bitch so much about irresponsible folks and wannabes; it's so good to fleece them. Cash is king!


NYT -- The foreclosure crisis is hitting yet another American locale: the self-storage center.

As they lose their homes, people are turning to these humble cinderblock and sheet-metal boxes to store their stuff. But some people cannot keep up with their storage bills any better than they could handle their mortgage payments, and storage companies are auctioning off their property for a pittance.

A cottage industry has developed to profit from these lost and abandoned items.

The auctioneer, Blair Auction & Appraisal, has been conducting sales at self-storage facilities in the Midwest for more than a decade. “If a site used to have 10 auctions, these days it has 15 or 20,” said Wayne Blair, the owner. At one site in Detroit, he auctioned off the contents of 45 units.

“You tell yourself, ‘I’m only going to put my things in for a short time,’ ” Mr. Blair said. “Before you know it, you’re behind. Then you have to pay penalties and interest. You owe $400 to $500. If you lost your job, you can’t come up with that, not if you want to feed your family.”


http://tinyurl.com/5zny2n

Anonymous said...

Keith, FYI, there is an "h" at the end of Pittsburgh when you are referring to Pittsburgh, PA.

Anonymous said...

‘walkaway’ homeowners may be urban myth

SMELL the desperation/denial.

Anonymous said...

you forgot the biggest fraudsters:
Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac
FHA

Anonymous said...


Anonymous said...
‘walkaway’ homeowners may be urban myth

SMELL the desperation/denial.

May 11, 2008 5:10 AM


Nice. So I guess everything is just fine then. No need to worry.

Sheesh.

Frank R said...

I've been getting lots of deals at self-storage auctions for a long time. Got some nice stuff today, for pennies on the dollar

When I was in Phoenix last week I dropped by the jewelry store where I got my Breitling watch and it turns out they were running a huge sale out of desperation, 50-80% off everything in the store.

Needless to say I left there with a smoking deal on another Breitling :)

I love recessions!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Mortgage fraud is a great way to make money.

Anonymous said...

Why isn't Casey Serin anywhere on the list? What do you have to do to get arrested for mortgage fraud? I am willing to bet that Casey is drinkig beers with OJ Simpson, Robert Blake, Michael Jackson, and Phil Spector laughing at our stupid criminal justice system.

Anonymous said...

Needless to say I left there with a smoking deal on another Breitling :)

I love recessions!!!!!!!


That's how I got my Bvlgari Diagono and a Cartier Tank Francaise for my girlfriend. Sheeple never cease to amuse me, in times of property they blow and leverage like crazy. I always do the exact opposite. For instance, during the housing orgy, we had acquaintances, family members, neighbors, co-workers who would invite us for lavish trips, parties, to lease exotic rides, mortgage even bigger McMansions, etc. We would just decline politely, smile, and incentive them to live even larger. When they would ask us for an opinion on what to buy, we would always tell them to go for the most expensive option. "We only live once!", we would say. They were doing trips in Europe with the Euro @ 1.50. We used to travel to Europe with the Euro @ 0.50 and free airfare from credit card rewards. When they were mortgaging McMansions, we were selling our home at peak, renting oceanfront condo for 1/5 of cost to buy, and buying undervalued properties in developing countries for cash. Now we've been hitting the self-storage auctions to buy lavish excesses for peanuts on the dollar.

Anonymous said...

Breitling? Cartier? Bvlgari?

Why settle for the mid level?

And so early in the cycle?

This time next year will be the time to buy Patek Phillipe, Vacheron & Constantine and Audemars Piguet.

You'll see.

Anonymous said...

What's up with all this bling? I never wear any jewelry. If I need to tell the time, I look at my Blackberry.

Anonymous said...

Heck, I still wear a Pulsar watch I bought at Caldor for $32 fifteen years ago. It keeps excellent time.

Anonymous said...

Heck, I still wear a Pulsar watch I bought at Caldor for $32 fifteen years ago. It keeps excellent time.

Fair enough, but you should know that the only reason I buy fancy watches is because they always beat inflation, and sometimes we need to be dress up for special events. But I also wear a Garmin Forerunner 205 (GPS) to jog or bike; a Citizen Aqualand to surf, dive, sail, kite surf, or jet ski; and a Casio Protrek Solar Watch for backpacking. Bought all of them used, for a deep discount.

Anonymous said...

Jesus tapdancing Christ. All of you people crowing on about your luxury watches are either full of shit or are just as wrapped up in conspicuous consumerism as the McMansion-dwelling douchebags who you're mocking.