Blog > Blog > Archive by tag 'fraud'

February 26, 2010 at 9:09 pm

Heard some rumbling about this a while ago, but it looks like it is official: The former owner of Title Pros used $250,000 of escrowed money for personal use.  Just makes you wonder how commonplace this is.

Link

August 7, 2009 at 9:54 am

The poster-boy for real estate fraud in St. Louis has finally been sentenced. Doug Hartmann, of DHP fame, was found guilty in April of siphoning off $35 million from real estate investors over the years. You’d think this guy would get put away for a long time. Instead, he got two years in federal prison. Hopefully the civil courts are far less kind. Read more

April 9, 2009 at 5:28 pm

If you are involved in the real estate industry in any shape or form in the St. Louis area, there is a good chance you have heard of DHP Investments, and Doug Hartmann. If you’re a real estate investor there is also a good chance you were swindled by him or might have have purchased one his many foreclosed properties. Read more

April 10, 2008 at 12:09 pm

Handyman ThiefDon’t let this man’s phony smile fool you. He could be a thief. If someone comes knocking at your door, claiming to be a contractor, be careful of what you do. I just received this forward from a Circuit Attorney in the City of St. Louis. If you live or own any properties in the City you should really take this one to heart. Read more

March 14, 2008 at 7:57 pm

In the heyday of the 100% financing investment real estate market, fraud was really running rampant. One of the more common tricks was getting owner-occupant financing on a building, which the buyer had no intention of ever occupying. Nobody was getting called out on it, so more and more people started doing it.

Today is a different story. With all the checks and balances in the system, you’d be hard pressed to get away with that now. Some of these cash-strapped lenders are even getting so picky that they are looking back at old loans to figure out if any fraud was taking place.

I actually got a heads up on this issue from one of the tenants in a building I have ownership-interest in. The owner of the neighboring property did a rehab a couple of years ago and somehow got away with a non-historical porch and windows in the front of the project. We’ve been none too happy with his work and even less happy with the tenants he put in the building. I must confess that I wasn’t all that upset when I heard from our tenant that this guy was in trouble.

Apparently he financed his substandard rehab project with an owner-occupied loan despite the fact that this was a pure investment. I’m sketchy on the exact implications of this, but he now has this property for sale on the MLS. It’s way overpriced, so I’ll be curious to track what happens when he can’t sell this thing. Will they go so far as to foreclose on him or will they just renegotiate his loan?

The main question this situation raises is whether this is an isolated incident or if this is a sign of things to come? I suppose only time will tell. If you’re among those who financed this way, I would suggest you don’t wait to find out which way the wind is blowing.

Refinancing rates and terms are starting to open up again so it might be a good time to start thinking about making your loan legit. Under situations such as these, a lender has a right to call in a loan in full at any time. If that happens, the lendee (hopefully not you) might find themselves among the ranks of the recently foreclosed. Be careful out there.

November 15, 2007 at 5:24 pm

*NOTE – This article was originally written in December of 2006 for the newsletter.

Getting your tenants to pay their rent can be a tough enterprise. Especially when you aren’t the only person trying to collect rent at the building. As crazy as it sounds, this has actually been happening in the St. Louis rental market.

Apparently, a man has been coming to apartment units in the late evening at the very beginning of the month claiming to have just purchased the property. At this point he asks for the month’s rental payment. Most tenants seem to realize the oddity of the situation, but some have been taken through the scam.

Whether urban myth or fact, to protect yourself and your tenants, it would be prudent to contact all parties involved with your properties and warn them of this scam. Explain to your tenants both verbally and in writing, that rental payments are to made in the same fashion each month unless you, the landlord, personally notify them of a change.

This small investment of time could save you from major headaches down the road.