Posted On: April 29, 2010
Florida #1 in Mortgage Fraud
A Jacksonville foreclosure attorney noted that a report released this month by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute ranked Florida #1 in 2009 for mortgage fraud and misrepresentation.Florida was #1 in 2006 and 2007 and regained the top spot again last year because it has almost three times the expected number of mortgage fraud and misrepresentation reports for its origination volume.
Overall, there was a 7 percent increase in mortgage fraud and misrepresentation in the U.S. in 2009.
"The data suggests that in 2009 there was a 7 percent increase in the number of incidents of fraud reported to the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute on top of the 26 percent increase reported in 2008. While this is a noticeable increase, we believe that mortgage fraud is significantly understated, even during times of massive origination volumes," said Jennifer Butts, LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute manager of Data Processing and co-author of the report.
Application misrepresentation was the top fraud incident type, followed by frauds related to appraisal and valuation misrepresentation. Additional fraud types reported included deposit verifications, employment verifications, escrow or closing costs and credit reports.
If you are a Jacksonville homeowner facing possible foreclosure and need to know about all your options, contact our Jacksonville, Florida foreclosure law firm.
Greg Gilbert
Keith Maynard
