Got another one

A little payback. Not much. Just some.

Got ya!

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – The head of a San Diego mortgage company was sentenced Monday to serve more than three years in prison for creating bogus property purchase agreements that netted him more than $1 million in illicit profits.
In addition to handing down the 41-month custody term to Brian Nels Peterson of San Diego, District Court Judge John Houston ordered him to pay a $50,000 fine and $542,075 in restitution to Citi Mortgage.
Peterson, who ran a firm called Terra Finance, admitted that he devised a scheme to procure mortgage funds through deceptive means, including falsifying income on applications to qualify borrowers for loans.
The company facilitated loans in several San Diego neighborhoods, including the upscale Ivy Gate housing development in 4S Ranch and the Rolling Hills subdivision in southern San Diego County.
In its heyday, Terra Finance generated between $80 million and $100 million worth of residential mortgage loans, according to court documents.
Peterson, who held a state broker’s license, personally signed most of the fraudulent loan applications containing false income, employment, asset and liability information submitted under his license number, prosecutors alleged.
Peterson earned more than $1 million from his fraudulent loan business through broker’s fees, kickbacks from cash-out refinances and other sources in 2006 alone. He admitted that he failed to report that income and evaded taxes by various means, including arranging to be paid in cash.
Peterson also orchestrated fraudulent conduct on the part of employees, borrowers and industry professionals as the head of Terra Finance, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego.
Peterson recruited a cadre of loan officers, loan processors, office staff, real-estate investors and other industry professionals to participate in his scheme, including appraisers, tax preparers and lender representatives, prosecutors contended.

Did you get the details on that? He created a financial mafia in San Diego.

Changing mortgages

We can expect mortgages rates to continue a slow rise over the few weeks. But, I'm predicting nothing beyond March. Currently, there's no cause for alarm as high-LTV loan programs end. These programs were 97% Loan to Value. We will still have the FHA stand-by of 96.5% LTV. Conventional loans are 95% LTV.

We will still have two important no money down programs, USDA and VA loans.

LTV is a cash issue for buyers. So are closing costs, escrows, inspections, and appraisals. Perhaps as we deal with more regulatory changes, we will learn new ways to lower closing costs or reduce the cash needed to close.