POSTED May 2, 2007 found at my58.com
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A KCRA 3 Investigation has
uncovered a scheme in which a group of loan officers and mortgage brokers lied
on loan applications to qualify investors for a total for more than $9 million
in loans that the investors could not afford.
The investigation exposed how Jim Martin and his business partners at VFM
Investment Group falsified loan applications and listed investors as employees
of the company in an attempt to defraud lenders out of millions of dollars.
Now, the homes that investors bought are in foreclosure.
KCRA has learned that all 20 homes at the center of the investigation are now
for sale. They're hitting the market for tens of thousands of dollars less
than the investors paid.
They are not alone, President of the Sacramento Association of Realtors Tracey
Saizan said. In Sacramento County over 7,000 people have defaulted on their
loans, leaving thousands of homes in foreclosure.
With dozens of houses hitting the market under value, home owners, like Jared
Cronroth said their property values are dropping dramatically.
His four bedroom, two bath house is listed at $419,000. Yet, just two blocks
away, a larger home for sale due to foreclosure is listed for $50,000 less.
Because so many of the houses in the area are on short sale, Cronroth said
he is having to take a loss.
“There’s so much inventory out there that the buyer can pick and choose,” said Susan Sirles Fidler, a Realtor at Re/Max 10, Oak Lawn. But she cautioned, “The stuff that’s almost free is almost free because it’s going to cost you an arm and a leg to put it back together. It’s not buyer beware as much as buyer be smart.”
