Michael Workman - Mike Workman C21 Eureka Montana Real Estate, Fraud, Real Estate Corruption.

Got a Tip or a Story on Michael Workman - Mike Workman C21 Eureka Montana Real Estate Corruption or Michael Workman - Mike Workman Century 21 Eureka MT Real Estate Fraud?

How has Michael Workman - Mike Workman C21 Eureka Montana Real Estate Broker Ruined your Life, Lied to You, Failed to Disclose to YOU?

Email me your Michael Workman, Broker Owner - Mike Workman C21 Eureka Montana Real Estate Story to me Crystal@CrystalCox.com

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Getting Away With (Practically) Murder-Garyl Hester CodeFool.org

"What is being lost in all the noise surrounding the mortgage bust are the parties that I believe are truly responsible for the whole thing: real estate agents (Realtor.)

I make no bones about it, I have hired five realtors in my life and will never again, mostly because in my experience they did two - and only two - things:
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1) They listed my house in the MLS database, and
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2) Showed up at closing to collect their check.
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The MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is the national database used by all realtors to list properties for sale and to find properties to buy. When you sell your house the realtor you hire puts your house on the MLS and then another realtor hired by a buyer finds the listing and then shows your house to the buyer.
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If the buyer buys your house, the two realtors split a 6% (nominal) commission based on the selling price of your house. So, in effect, the only function the realtor serves is to put your house in the MLS and then sit back and wait for it to sell. Now, I am oversimplifying the situation a bit - there are good, very hard working realtors that actually earn their commissions.
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In my experience, however, I have a 100% hit rate on a sample size of 5, and this suggests that the overwhelming number of realtors falls into the class of “get-rich-quick-lazy-ass.”
rThis justifies my placing realtors as a whole into the sub-genus of homo sapiens that falls just below lawyers on the list of complete wastes of skin. In fact, they are a blight on humanity - producing nothing yet sculpting the legal system so that they are covered regardless.
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And, as I shall discuss, are the hit-and-run con artists of the information age, and, frankly, need to go away.
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To begin, let’s go over a “common” real estate transaction. The core of the transaction is the transfer of title. In essence, the buyer is buying the title to the property owned by the seller. The title is a document that says who owns the real property.
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Contrary to common belief, the property is the land that the house sits on (the “real” estate) and not the house, which is actually listed as an “improvement” on the land and arguably is temporary, especially in the light of Hurricane Katrina.
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What the buyer is most interested in is receiving a “clear” title. This means that not only does the seller own the property, but has a legal right to sell it, and there are no liens (bank, tax, government, etc.) or other claims to the land (muddy or disputed inheritance, Native American burial grounds, or what have you.)
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The whole purpose of the Title Company is to insure that the title is clear, and so if Sitting Bull shows up at your doorstep one day saying that you are squatting on his land, and you end up leaving or paying a penalty, then the Title Company is on the hook because today - at closing - they are guaranteeing that the title is “clear.”
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You, as the buyer, are paying for that title insurance, but it’s a small price to pay in consideration of what you’re insuring.
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Typically there are five parties to the real estate transaction: The buyer, the seller, the title company, the seller’s realtor and the buyer’s realtor. The title company is impartial - it does not care what the property is selling for, or even if it’s worth what is being paid, they are only there to guarantee clear title and the facilitate the transaction.

Of the remaining four parties - and this is the kicker - three of them have a vested interest in seeing to it that the buyer pays the absolute highest price possible for that property.
Read that last sentence again.
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In other words, 75% of the people involved want the buyer to get screwed. The seller wants the most he can get for his property, certainly. The realtors each receive a percentage of the selling price as a commission. So, when the buyer hires a realtor they cannot expect them to ever say the words “You’re paying too much for this house.”
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Realtors will say they have “experience” and will “guide you through” etc. etc.
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This is in the same meaning as the butcher having experience slaughtering lambs, and guiding the lambs down the primrose path to said slaughter.
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So, let’s examine this fact in light of the current mortgage mess. The basis of it all is that people paid too much for their houses. Period. And did any of those realtors who “guided” those buyers into those transactions ever suggest that they were paying too much?
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Not bloody likely. It’s about as likely as any one of us putting super unleaded into a rental car. So, sure, pay twice what the house is worth or ever will be worth - I’ll take my 6% and go home, and when the world comes crashing down around your ears - I’ll be just fine.
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And I think that’s the crux of this whole mess. The people who caused it - through greed or ignorance - and probably both - have made their money and walked away, leaving the rest of us to clean up - with our tax dollars.
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So, where is Obama with his almighty “accountability” banner? Saying “watch my hand” while he lets the real perpetrators of this mess get off scott-free.
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The fix? As usual it’s obvious but will never be implemented:
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1. Hold realtors accountable. If a “client” ends up in a bad transaction, the realtor should be culpable or at least actionable. Also, every person that is in default on their mortgages now should be given the right to sue their realtor for malfeasance.
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2. Cap real estate prices at 150% of their average assessed values over the prior five years. It’s amazing how home owners will fight to the death to keep their assessed values as low as possible while hyping up the selling price.
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If you insist that your house isn’t worth as much as the market says it is, then the market should adjust its numbers, no?"

Written by Garyl Hester of
www.CodeFool.org

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Link to Original Post

http://codefool.org/wp/?p=158

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Note From Crystal: Real Estate Consumers

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It really is time to wake up, the Realtors and the Mortgage Brokers
are cozy-ing up with the "New Administration" to help you.

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This is NOT true, what they want is sales and commission
and Lots of them, at Your Expense.

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When the Money Flood Gates open again Realtors and Mortgage Brokers will be right there to push you into bad real estate transaction whereby they truly have no liability if you lose everything.

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You have to Be in the Know and to Watch Your Own Back.
There is No Insurance, no Title Company, no Real Estate Attorney
that can protect you from lack of knowledge and trusting
a Realtor to Know What is Best for Your Family, Your Future.

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There truly is no Consumer Protection in Real Estate

and No Accountability. Realtors, NAR members are not
of a "Higher Standard" and Realtor Ethics is
the Number One Oxymoron in Business.

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the Real Price of a Lawsuit

the Realtors Win, their E and O insurance Protects them FROM you.. You Lose. It does not matter how much proof you have against the Realtor the system is in place to protect the Realtor, Why, they are Billionairs and they Lobby Government Agencies and Law makes to create laws - to make it so that REALTOR - NAR is so big no one can touch them.

Consumer spend years fighting for the Justice that is Rightfully theirs. And though the Realtor really did hurt the consumer, waste years of their life, take away their assets and cause Emotional, Physical and Financial Damage ~ the Realtor gets away with it. NAR does nothing to help the real estate consumer. Though NAR pretends that this is their whole purpose for existing.. Again.. Flat Out Lie.

After Fighting for Years, whether the Consumer that was wronged wins or not People Get Frustrated, they get tired and after years of fighting against the REALTORS and of course, Losing, they just want their life back so the stories go away.. I am Dedicated to the Stories of Realtors hurting the Real Estate Consumer Staying Alive.

My other Blogs are www.CrystalLCox.com www.BrokersAdvice.net .

The answer that NAR - and the Laws they push for have is to SHUT the Consumer up, to make it so their frivolous lawsuits are Stopped by law, and to continue to strive to make it harder for the Real Estate Consumer to get any Kind of Justice from the Realtors that harm them. The E and O insurance of the Realtors is a Very Big Part of this.

This is insurance is to get rid of those darn frivalous lawsuits that consumers have and to Defend the Realtor. It is in NO WAY the Intention of the Real Estate E and O insurance to Protect the Real Estate Consumer. Yet Oddly Enough, and in complete shocking wonderment, E and O insurance is Mandatory By Some State Realty Commissions - Regulations. Do they think that this insurance is to Protect the Public or do they believe that the public is simply liying about the Realtor for Self Gain.

Though What I see is People simply want justice in these situations where it is VERY obvious and easily provable that the Realtor harmed the Consumer yet the Realtor Pays Nothing and is Free to do Damage to the Next Consumer.

Post on this Blog, Email your Story or Videos to Crystal@SavvyBroker.com , Video tape the lies and fraudulant acts of your Realtor and send them to me. No One is Really Listening to you. No One is Really Protecting you, the Best thing to do is to Expose the Realtors that are harming you.

If these Realtors were MADE to be accountable for their actions, the Good Realtors and their are some out there - they would be able to do their jobs for your best interest. But as the system stands now it is impossible for an Honest Realtor to Protect you in the Current Real Estate Industry Climate.

The Real Price of a Lawsuit is Your Life, your every waking moment, your sleepless nites, your life in shambles and the kick in the head while your already down with No Justice against the Realtor that Lied to You and is allowed to keep on making money Hand over Fist while you wait years for a "settlement" or for a judge and/or jury to have mercy on you.. the REALTOR wins no matter how you look at it...

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Real Estate Listings

How Accurate are Real Estate Listings on Websites?

They are NOT accurate at ALL. The Property could sell before you even see the Listing. Realtors will Keep it on the Site on purpose as Bait to get another buyer. Also if you Put your Real Estate for Sale on Several Online Sites, it is VERY hard to go back and Delete them all and Hey - it's FREE publicity.

I have EVEN seen Realtors put Signs on Property that are NOT for Sale and When Someone Calls they Say it Sold, and they conveniently Find them Something Else.

Realtors deliberate enter false or misleading data sometimes, or sometimes don't enter the listing at all to "hoard it". Some say that this is NOT still happening .... IT is..

It is IMPOSSIBLE to "Clean Up the 'Realtors" Industry" And I SEE no measures in Place by the National Association of Realtors do Really Even Try. Ethics are NOT Law and Realtors Don't EVEN follow them, no ONE is looking and even if they do get caught in Lies, they are Self Policed so NO Trouble getting through that one.

Try Harder, take another meaningless Class. Realtors Lie Every Day, Realtors have NO One Looking over their Shoulder. Some think that Brokers watch over Agents "Realtor" Brokers don't care. I once called a managing Broker on a Very Serious deal that ended up in a Seller Losing a Good Deal and a Lot of Money.

The Managing Broker (Realtor) said " I can't help you - I am on the Grievance Committee" - How can a Managing Broker be on a grievance committee ?

Doesn't it Limit them being able to Supervise their "Realtors"? This is ONE example, There are hundreds and most likely thousands, where Realtors, Brokers, DO Not care if agents in their office VIOLATE ethics or Break the Law.

I have called my local MLS office on Violations, information on Fraud, information on inaccurate MLS Data, information on "Realtors" - agents working for more than one office, information on agents lying about Known Defects to the Point of Sellers losing everything, and THEY offered no belief No Support.

Realtors are Self Governed. They decide their own fate, they decide who "gets in trouble" for what, and if any Harm was Really Done and to Whom. You can Just Imagine How that Plays Out. And if you go to the State Real Estate Commission about a Realtor they wash their hands of it - because they DO NOT have the Money, Lawyers, or Political Power to Stand up to the Local, State or National Association of Realtors. - You Lose.

If you Get an Attorney, a Real Estate Attorney to Fight for You, if you KNOW and Can prove without a Doubt that a Realtor lied or concealed a "Known Defect" - Latent Defect - or Adverse Material Fact" than you will think, as a Real Estate Consumer that you will have Recourse and that Justice Will be Served. It Will NOT be served.

The "National Association of Realtors" and Local Real Estate Boards encourage Realtors and some states Even Mandate Realtors to Have E and O insurance. They "pretend" that, and convince us Real Estate Brokers and You Real Estate consumers that a "Realtor" having E and O insurance is good for real estate Consumers. It is Simply NOT True.

The E and O insurance that YOUR Realtor has is intended to Protect Your Realtor from you. So even if you Know and Can Prove without a Doubt that Your Realtor Lied about something in, on or around your real estate transaction and you can Really Prove without a doubt how much it Harmed You.

So In this the E and O insurance company will FIGHT YOU for Years, and EVEN though you have Black and White, without a doubt Proof the E and O insurance, the Realtors will Prove that Somehow it was you, the victim of real estate fraud, your fault. They will keep you in court for years, take precious years from your family, you will live in debt and stress because of the Realtors LIE, you Have Proof - and No One Will Care. And in the End you will most likely Give up, Because the Association of Realtors is Big Business and Protecting the Real Estate Consumer is NOT the Business They are in.

It is Even Worse if the Agent is Century 21, ERA, Coldwell Banker or Sotheby's Because they are ALL owned by the Same Billion Dollar Company and they can FIGHT for a Decade.

The Association of Realtors DOES nothing to Protect YOU the Real Estate Consumer, they are Out to Protect the "Realtors" - all the while claiming you had better not use the Word Realtor to Describe a Profession... this - they say is a Trademark Violation. The NAR is scrambling to Stay Relevant in the Internet Age and they Are Hurting the Real Estate Consumer in the Process.

the Solution? The Only Real Estate Insurance you Have is Knowledge. Subscribe to My Real Estate Whistleblower Blog and Find out What you Really NEED to Know About the Real Estate Industry. www.SavvyBroker.com

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Real Estate Fraud

Real Estate Fraud News

Former Edmond real estate agent Ann Campbell is going to federal prison.
Campbell, 66, has been sentenced to two months, plus two years of supervised release and fined $4,000 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with mortgage fraud in the sale of homes in Edmond's upscale Oak Tree addition.

She also was ordered to pay $52,490 in restitution. She remains free on bail until reporting to prison or a magistrate no later than July 16, court documents show.
The prison's location could not be confirmed late Thursday.
Campbell — Theresa Ann Campbell in court documents — had asked U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton for probation, citing her failing health and extensive community and church service over the course of a real estate career that spanned more than 30 years.
Through her attorney, Dan Webber, she declined to comment.
"Ann is glad this episode is behind her,” Webber said. "She just wants to complete her short sentence and return to her family.”
Webber said the judge considered her poor health and community service — and the fact that she already had had her state-issued real estate license revoked — in handing down the sentence.
After a two-hour sentencing hearing May 29, Heaton opted to follow sentencing guidelines less than the 10 to 16 months he could have considered for the conviction, Webber said.
Campbell was involved in three home sales that involved mortgage fraud, prosecutors said. She pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the sale of a home at 5916 Morning Dove Lane near her own home.
Prosecutors said Campbell, representing the seller of the house, conspired with another agent representing the buyer to falsify a document that said the seller would pay certain closing costs that then were "kicked back” to the buyer through a title company account belonging to Campbell. The original list price of the home, $235,000, was raised to $310,000 on documents used at closing, prosecutors said.
Webber said Thursday that he and prosecutors agreed that Campbell did not know how "phony repair allowances” or down-payment assistance funds in the deal were to be used and that she "did not receive a dollar” from them. He said he and the government also agreed at the sentencing hearing that "there were three properties that had something not properly reported” on closing documents. Several others involved in mortgage fraud in Oak Tree remain to be sentenced. Campbell was the most prominent of those investigated.
Campbell is no longer a Realtor, said Connie Hamilton, president of the Edmond Board of Realtors. Hamilton said Campbell's membership in the trade organization ended when the state revoked her real estate license in January.
The Oklahoma Real Estate Commission's investigation of Ruth Boss, Campbell's sponsoring broker at RE/MAX Associates in Edmond, continues, a spokeswoman said Thursday. Boss is a co-owner of Dominion Group, which owns RE/MAX Associates.

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Long Island Woman

Long Island Woman and Real Estate Fraud A Long Island woman who allegedly conducted real estate transactions out of a Woodside office, turns out she did not have a license. She has since been arrested and will be brought up on charges for taking money from 3 real estate investors for around $600,000. It has since been found out that she has used this money to pay personal bills, authorities said. Sayeda Moin, 44, of 32 Myles Ave. in Levittown, was arraigned Wednesday night before Queens Criminal Court Judge Alex Zigman, charged with grand larceny in the second and third degree, as well as second-degree forgery, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, first-degree falsifying of business records and first-degree scheme to defraud. Her bail was set at $50,000.If convicted, the woman, who authorities say is also known as Sayeda Sufia Akhter, faces up to 15 years in prison."Instead of helping her victims to achieve the American dream of owning their own homes, she allegedly plunged them into a financial nightmare by defrauding them of large sums of money, and in one case, a house worth more than a half a million dollars which she surreptitiously purchased for $10," said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown in a prepared statement.Moin could not be reached for comment.According to Brown, Moin defrauded her victims while operating out of an office at 42-20 53rd Rd. in Woodside. One victim allegedly made a $10,000 deposit for a home in Hempstead. The man also paid $5,000 for "legal fees," but the deal never closed.Another victim allegedly made payments of $15,000 and $20,000 towards the purchase of a home in Woodside. That deal apaprently also never closed.Moin helped a third victim purchase a home in Levittown for $520,000 in November 2005, the complaint against her alleges. Authorities said Moin then surreptitiously converted the title to the house to herself in a transaction for which she paid the victim just $10.

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Real Estate Fraud

Recommended reading from this morning’s Wall Street Journal:

Recommended Reading for March 12, 2007By Keith Huang - The Wall Street Journal
Detroit-based realtor Ralph Roberts has been selling real estate for more than 25 years. In recent years, Mr. Roberts has turned his attention to real-estate and mortgage fraud.
Mr. Roberts has even worked with federal officials to educate state and local law enforcement, regulators and financial institutions on how to detect and avoid common real-estate scams.
Some of the more common schemes include property flipping with false statements to lenders, or the use of fraudulent qualifications, such as a buyer fabricating an employment history or credit record.

Mr. Roberts says con artists have increasingly been turning to the Web to perpetrate their scams. To combat this rise, he has helped nurture an online network of fraud busters.
According to a recent report by the Internal Revenue Service, the booming real-estate market has been complemented by an increase in real-estate-related schemes. In fact, the IRS said the number of real-estate fraud investigations the agency initiated doubled between fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2003.

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