PG County Real Estate Scam Artist Story on ABCNews (foreclosure, mortgage)

[justtitans]

Woman Discovers House Was Stolen in Real Estate Rip-Off | Video - ABC News

Alleged Con-Artists Arrested for Scheme to Steal Houses | Video - ABC News

Crazy story and very interesting. I wonder how often this is actually happening. This is a good example of why I think the county, as well as the state, need to come up with better rules for some of these properties. The foreclosure properties in particular just sit there for years and they are often neglected, so they become easy targets for stuff like this. It's definitely complicated.

[justtitans]

Another thing to consider too is, especially with the lady that moved because of her job transferring, she should have had a property manager for her property. I know some mortgage companies don't even allow you to leave your property unless you have someone managing it, otherwise they can fine you for leaving the property unoccupied.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by justtitans

Another thing to consider too is, especially with the lady that moved because of her job transferring, she should have had a property manager for her property. I know some mortgage companies don't even allow you to leave your property unless you have someone managing it, otherwise they can fine you for leaving the property unoccupied.

The story included the sidenote that she abandoned the property - stopped paying the mortgage and moved away. She definitely wasn't a victim in the story, despite the media's attempt to portray her as such, rather a deadbeat and a huge part of the problem. The person who then forged documents and pretended to own the abandoned property was a criminal, obviously, but at least she maintained the property the "victim" abandoned and didn't play a part in the catastrophic collapse of the housing market in PG. The deadbeats who just up and walked away from their financial responsibilities, destroyed the housing market, and made securing a loan harder and more expensive for the rest of us are just as unethical, if not more so, than a squatter who moves into the abandoned home IMO.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by bufflove

The story included the sidenote that she abandoned the property - stopped paying the mortgage and moved away. She definitely wasn't a victim in the story, despite the media's attempt to portray her as such, rather a deadbeat and a huge part of the problem. The person who then forged documents and pretended to own the abandoned property was a criminal, obviously, but at least she maintained the property the "victim" abandoned and didn't play a part in the catastrophic collapse of the housing market in PG. The deadbeats who just up and walked away from their financial responsibilities, destroyed the housing market, and made securing a loan harder and more expensive for the rest of us are just as unethical, if not more so, than a squatter who moves into the abandoned home IMO.

I agree 100%. I actually have heard of mortgage companies fining people who abandon their properties. The purpose is not only to prevent situations like this, but to also prevent the property from becoming unkempt. This lady should have done more to care for the property. I am sure this is a problem nationwide but man, the foreclosure process in MD takes so long, if people neglect these properties, it opens the door for so much to happen, and there isn't anyone typically there to watch them.