theBreeze – if there was an appraisal in this instance it was almost certainly fraudulent, and someone should go to jail, (appraiser / realtor / etc.), but it seems to me that this type of white collar fraud is rarely prosecuted, at least so far. Hopefully that will change.
Some lenders are doing loans using electronic appraisals, without an appraiser ever being involved, though, which is an open invitation for fraud.
lostkitty – I have seen several recent sales like this, but they are not reported as sales on the MLS, so I would have no idea who the realtor or appraiser was, if any. The only thing I would know is the purchase price, loan amount, and lender. I saw one sale last summer for a condo in University Heights where the sale price on public records was $400,000+, the true market value at that time was something like $270,000, (with other sales and a listing in the complex to prove it), and there was a 100% loan by Argent Mortgage. I did send a letter to the Chief Appraiser at Argent Mortgage, informing them of what I found, but I never heard back from them. They’ll probably be bankrupt some time in the next year or two anyway.
