As a Realtor, I always include the Bayside YMCA  in Barrington as one of the great attractions the East Bay has to offer. I am excited about the Bayside YMCA’s expansion plans, In a nation increasingly focused on its health care activities, being proactive  is a great way of ensuring the future well being of our community.

 I was lucky enough to live in Barrington from 1954 until I graduated from Barrington High School in 1970.  Many of my childhood memories were housed in the then new YMCA.  I learned how to swim there and went swimming with my Dad, Phil Lapides, several nights a week. It was our special time and once in a while we even stopped at the Newport Creamery for a butterscotch sundae to celebrate our calorie burning exercise.  My first “job” was a counselor-in-training through all of my middle school years.

While the YMCA has always been much more than a pool and a gym, I was amazed to learn about all the diverse wellness programs offered today, including being one of only 9 YMCAs affiliated with the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the cardiac rehabilitation program, in addition to the fitness programs I knew about.  As a business owner, I understand that wellness programs can reduce absenteeism and health care utilization rates up to 25%.

The culture of wellness takes time to build, and the expansion of the Bayside YMCA will help to better position them to help address new and expanding health concerns including childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes, as well as other issues.

This Week’s Real Estate Insight:

I urge everyone to help support their local YMCA any way they can.  It is through  people who believe that these programs are important to the quality of life in our community that these efforts are possible.

 According to The Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), Rhode Island ranked No. 1 in the nation for mortgage fraud last year. This came as quite a shock because Rhode Island has never even ranked in the top 10, although their revised figures now place us at No. 5 in the nation for 2007.  MARI is a service of the information firm LexisNexis, and  bases their report on data submitted by lenders, bankers and insurers. MARI officials said that improvements in fraud-detection technology and increased vigilance among lenders, bankers and insurers probably account for some of the increase, both locally and nationwide. Lenders were processing loans so quickly in the boom that underwriting standards were  often compromised,  and higher prices tempted borrowers to commit fraud  in order to qualify for a mortgage loan. Many seized the opportunity to take advantage of the relaxed lending practices to commit fraud for profit.

Here is the breakdown as to the types of Mortgage fraud perpetrated in Rhode Island:

• 31% involved a fraudulent application
• 38% involved appraisal or valuation fraud
• 23% false financial statements
• 15 % verification of deposit fraud
• 8 % closing documents
• 8 % a false credit report

The majority of Rhode Island cases involve artificially inflated appraisals. These appraisals may result in purchases of homes by people who cannot service the mortgage debt, leading to foreclosures, in fact, it would appear that fraud and foreclosures rose hand in hand. Mortgage fraud is often like a Ponzi scheme with one buyer profiting off of the investment of the next buyer. The last buyer  left holding the mortgage, (typically much larger than the property is actually worth) often has no other option than to walk away and let the property go into foreclosure.  

This Weeks Real Estate Insight:

March 2008:  406 people across the United States were arrested for mortgage fraud as part of a sting carried out by the FBI. Those arrested included buyers, sellers and mortgage lenders.

 June 2008: According to  then Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey there was no need for  federal investigation into mortgage fraud, saying that investigations were best handled by local authorities, even though most mortgages are originated by lenders who are federally-regulated, over which state authorities have little if any jurisdiction.

 Perhaps if Mr. Mukasey had been a little more diligent, this crisis could have been mitigated.

 

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