A Missouri couple was indicted on multiple charges involving a mortgage scheme, the St. Louis Business Journal reports.
According to the indictment, Anna Bonds, also know as Anna Tillman, and her husband, Mark, allegedly devised a scheme to defraud Missouri mortgage lenders of funds by inducing them to fund mortgages based on false and fraudulent information.
Anna Bonds was a mortgage broker and was employed by A Mortgage Solutions and C.D. Adams. She was paid a commission only if she was able to obtain a mortgage for a client, according to Hanaway’s release.
She allegedly would obtain false financial and employment documents that would inflate a borrower’s income and thus make them able to obtain a mortgage that otherwise wouldn’t have been approved.
Anna Bonds also brokered home loans for property that she and Mark Bonds were personally selling or buying. She allegedly would use false financial and employment information to obtain personal mortgages as well as for mortgages of the purchasers of her real estate.
The indictment charges that she would conceal her role in these mortgage fraud transactions by preparing the false mortgage applications but having another mortgage broker sign them.
The indictment also alleges that Mark and Anna Bonds built a new residence at 5196 Delcastle Drive, in north St. Louis County, by obtaining a $364,507 home mortgage loan using these same fraudulent pretenses.
Anna Bonds, 38, was indicted by a federal grand jury on nine counts of mortgage fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud; Mark Bonds, 44, was indicted on four counts of mortgage fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Both defendants reside at the Delcastle Drive residence. They were arrested by FBI agents Friday.
If convicted, each mortgage fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million; the conspiracy charge carries a maximum of five years and/or fines up to $250,000.
Across the country, young renters are hesitating to enter the housing market.
According to the National Association of Realtors’ annual profile of buyers and sellers, 36 percent of people who bought homes in the year ending in June 2006 were first-time home buyers, down from 40 percent the previous year.
However, as has been the case time and again, national trends don’t necessarily mirror what’s happening in St. Louis Local experts say factors affecting first-time buyers - all buyers, really - in some parts of the country are not present in the St. Louis real estate market.
“You can’t compare St. Louis to California, Las Vegas or southern Florida,” said John Williams, president-elect of the St. Louis Association of Realtors and a broker with M.O.R.E. (Missouri Online Real Estate).
“As the recent real estate boom has declined, investors have sold properties in these and other areas of speculation, thereby dampening their local real estate markets overall. It gave people the impression that this was happening across the country, but that’s not the case.”
Williams, who has been working in the St. Louis real estate market for 23 years, noted that the affordability index during the last couple of years has been lower, a fact that may have discouraged first-time buyers from applying for home mortgages on a national scale.
But he said the affordability trend has changed.
“Selling prices (locally) have been dropping, and this past summer there was an upturn in the affordability index on a national level. That, combined with attractive [mortgage rates], has made the housing market more affordable again,” Williams said.
According to the NAR, the median sale price of existing single-family homes in the St. Louis region in third quarter in 2006 was $154,400. That compares with a median sale price of $224,900 for existing homes nationally.
David Griege, executive vice president and owner of Paramount Mortgage Co. in St. Louis, said the various mortgage loan financing options available through lenders have eased first-time buyers’ entry into the housing market.
“There are more financing programs available now than ever before that require little or no money down. It’s one of the reasons why national homeownership is about 70 percent,” he said.
Posted by Jed Moss on Jan 29 2007 under Missouri
While home sales in Kansas City remained slow last month, there is hope on the horizon that activity may soon pick up.
Prices also fell in November from the year-earlier month, the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors reported Monday. The result could be increased demand for Missouri mortgages now that lower-income workers can afford to take out a loan.
The released figures included:
- Sales of existing and new houses fell by 10 percent during this time to 2,450. This number was 9 percent less than sales in October 2006.
- New house sales of 462 in November dropped 31 percent from the year-earlier month and 20 percent from October.
- Existing house sales of 1,988 in November were down 4 percent from a year ago and 1 percent from October.
- Average sale prices for new and existing houses in November fell 0.5 percent from the year-ago month. The average existing house price fell 4 percent during this time to $152,903, and average new house prices rose 4 percent to $281,532.
The largest decrease in new house prices, 14 percent, came in Miami County. Cass County posted the largest gain, 14 percent.
The area’s house supply rose to 7.6 months in November (from 7.3 months in October). When the supply exceeds six months, the market tends to favor buyers. Therefore, this is an ideal time for anyone considering mortgage loans of any duration in the area.
Posted by Jed Moss on Dec 19 2006 under Missouri
Here’s good news for those hoping to take out a Missouri mortgage, but afraid of the costs:
The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) decided Friday during its meeting in Jefferson City to fund 39 development proposals for affordable housing.
Those chosen in the the St. Louis housing market include: five proposals for the city St. Louis, three in St. Louis County, and one each in St. Peters and in Franklin County.
The 39 proposals are expected to provide 1,335 affordable housing units. Eleven of the 39 developments are directed toward providing senior housing. The total also includes six rehabilitation projects, four building conversions, one rehab/conversion combination, and 28 new construction projects.
MHDC administers rental housing production and preservation programs including the federal and state low-income-housing tax credits. Financing for rental housing production programs also consist of MHDC fund balances and federal “HOME” funds.
At least 15 percent of HOME funds are set aside for Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs), and 10 percent of the tax credits are set aside for developments sponsored by not-for-profit organizations.
More than 23,000 Missouri customers of Countrywide Financial could each get repaid $125 or more because of a $6 million court ruling over document preparation fees, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Last week, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Gary M. Gaertner Jr. decided that because the appropriate mortgage documents were not actually reviewed by lawyers, the fees amounted to an unauthorized practice of law.
The company said that it had done nothing wrong.
One of the plaintiffs’ lawyers in the class-action suit, David Butsch, said Gaertner’s ruling applies to people who received home mortgages from March 2002 through August 2005, when a new state law took effect.
The new law specifically permits home mortgage companies to charge up to $200 for document preparation without a legal review.
Gaertner heard testimony in a non-jury trial in May, ruling against Countrywide, the largest home loan provider in the U.S., on December 6, and awarding $6,150,966, including back interest and triple damages for some plaintiffs.
Gaertner told Countrywide Mortgage to employ a claims administrator and ordered the lender to repay each customer no less than what was charged. Any money left over is to go to a charity selected by the court.
The suit claimed the fees for documents such as deeds of trust or promissory notes were deceptive and violated the Merchandising Practices Act.
In a prepared statement, the California-based lender said:
“Although we are pleased by the court’s finding that Countrywide did not violate the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, we are very disappointed with the court’s ruling on the issue of unauthorized practice of law.”
Gaertner also ruled for Countrywide in finding that the statute of limitation for claims in the case is two years, not five.
The company noted that mortgage lenders won similar cases in Illinois, Michigan, Washington and California, where the fees were regarded as administrative rather than legal work.
Gaertner’s ruling follows a Missouri Court of Appeals decision last month in a case by the same plaintiff law firm against Midwest Bankcentre. In 2005, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Mark D. Seigel found against Midwest and in favor of 2,852 borrowers to the tune of $1.2 million.
Butsch said his firm has reached out-of-court settlements over such fees with other big Missouri mortgage lenders, including U.S. Bank, Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. and American Equity Mortgage.
Posted by Richard Barber on Dec 15 2006 under Missouri
We’ve already talked about how attractive an area St. Charles is for those seeking a Missouri mortgage. Turns out other parts of the state are hot real estate spots, as well.
HomeVestors of America Inc. recently ranked St. Louis fourth among the top 10 markets for real estate investing in 2006.
HomeVestors, whose billboard advertisements read “We Buy Ugly Houses,” ranked the following 10 markets:
1. Gary, Ind.
2. Tucson, Ariz.
3. Fort Worth, Texas
4. St. Louis
5. Dallas
6. Oklahoma City
7. Atlanta
8. San Antonio
9. Kansas City, Mo.
10. Houston
HomeVestors based the findings on the top home buyers in the franchise network for 2006. Top franchisees were honored at the company’s national convention, recently held in Texas. Considering how you can probably find a low home loan rate in the current market, those hoping to make money off a purchase should take thos survey seriously.
“Despite changes in the real estate market, our franchisees are buying more houses than ever before and posting record-setting numbers in markets across the U.S.,” said John Hayes, president and CEO of HomeVestors, in a statement.
Dallas-based HomeVestors of America Inc. specializes in buying, rehabbing and selling single-family homes in the U.S. The company has more than 250 franchises in 32 states.
Posted by Jed Moss on Dec 13 2006 under Missouri
Those considering a Missouri home loan should have a clear idea of where to look for a reasonable deal, now that Business Week has named the 63304 ZIP code as one of the 25 Best Affordable Suburbs in the U.S.
No other ZIP code in Missouri or Illinois made the list.
Because local zip code boundaries are not based on municipal boundaries in St. Charles County, 63304 includes all or parts of the cities of Cottleville, St. Peters and Weldon Spring, along with the township of Weldon Spring Heights and some of unincorporated St. Charles County.
These areas, therefore, should be considered by those hoping to qualify for a mortgage and reside in the state.
BusinessWeek.com’s top 25 U.S. suburbs were chosen based on cost of living, median home prices, secondary school test scores and violent crime statistics.
According to the rankings, St. Charles’ 63304 ZIP code had a median home price of $212,000, a cost of living index of 101.7, a violent crime index of 22 and secondary school test scores index of 127. All are based on an average of 100.
“It is great to see local efforts are bearing fruit to make St. Charles County a nationally recognized, most livable community in the U.S.,” said Greg Prestemon, president of the Economic Development Center of St. Charles County and the Partners for Progress.
This positive news comes during a time when other regions of the Missouri housing market are seeing inventories rise as sales stall.
Posted by Jed Moss on Dec 01 2006 under Missouri
The Kansas City area’s housing market suffered through lower sales volume and prices in September, the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
Sales of new and existing houses fell by 21 percent from August and 14 percent from the year-earlier month to 2,771, the association said. The average sale price decreased 1 percent in September from last year.
For sellers, this is less than ideal news. For buyers, however, it’s an indication that they should hone up on their negotiation techniques because good deals can easily be found.
More housing figures: New house sales dropped by 29 percent from September 2005 and 21 percent from August to 568. Existing house sales fell by 13 percent and 26 percent, respectively, to 2,203.
The largest increase in average new house sales prices came in Wyandotte County, which posted a 15 percent year-to-year increase. The county’s overall sales prices rose by 20 percent during this time.
Metropolitan Kansas City’s supply of unsold new and existing houses rose to 7.4 months in September from 5.8 months in August. With such an inventory, the time is ripe for consideration of which home mortgages would best suit your budget.
After all, a supply of greater than six months favors buyers. This is your chance to receive a reduced price on a great piece of property.
Posted by Jed Moss on Oct 19 2006 under Missouri
