The commercial corner: The lowest rate is often not the best value

NAMB teams with FBI on mortgage fraudmortgagepress.commortgage fraud, FBI, consumer awareness The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has joined forces with the FBI to fight mortgage fraud. NAMB's Web site, www.namb.org, now features a link to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, which is operated by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, to help consumers and industry professionals report fraud. Mortgage fraud investigations conducted by the FBI increased from 102 in fiscal year 2001 to 550 in fiscal year 2004. "NAMB is very concerned about the increase in suspicious lending activity and mortgage fraud, which raises costs for consumers and brokers," says NAMB President Bob Armbruster. "NAMB has been working a long time to raise awareness about this issue. By providing a direct link to the FBI on the NAMB Web site, it will be easier for consumers and industry professionals to report suspicious lending activities." Mortgage fraud includes: •Misstatement, misrepresentation or omission in information necessary to underwriters and lenders before funding, purchasing or insuring a loan; •Falsely inflated property values and loans based on fictitious information; •Consumers attempting to acquire and maintain ownership of property under false pretenses (e.g. misrepresented income, employment history); and •Equity skimming, property flipping and mortgage-related identity theft. "We encourage anyone aware of suspicious mortgage lending activities to notify the FBI," says Armbruster. For more information, visit www.namb.org.