Escrow Fraud Alert

02/20/13 - **INTERNET ALERT – complete-trade.com** -  The Department of Corporations has been notified that complete-trade.com is offering escrow services over the internet and is falsely purporting to be Complete Escrow Service Corporation, a valid escrow company that holds Department of Corporations license number 963-0816.  Complete-trade.com is not a website of Complete Escrow Services Corporation.  Complete-trade.com is not licensed by the California Department of Corporations to conduct escrows.

Here is a complete list of all Consumer Alerts regarding Non-Licensed Escrow Companies Issued by the DOC, so that they are aware of all the activity out there with fraudulent Escrow Companies attempting to do business.

Another good reason to use Traditional Escrow!


The Department of Corporations has issued the Consumer Alerts! for companies offering escrow services, lending services, or are falsely advertising that they are Licensed by the Department of Corporations. Please note that these companies are not Licensed by the California Department of Corporations to engage in business and may be operating in violation of California law. Be sure to check out our section on Online Escrow Fraud for tips to keep yourself safe.

If you need further assistance relating to these or other individuals and entities, please contact the Department's Consumer Services Office at 866 ASK CORP or (866) 275-2677

List:

A2ZESCROW.ORG and A2ZESCROW.COM
ACTIONESCROW.COM
ad-royal.com
adexpertsinc.com
Advanced Futures LLC
ADVANCEDESCROW.COM
ADVANCED-ESCROW-CORP.COM
AGENCY-ESCROW.COM
allautotrade.com
ALL-STATE.NET or ALL-STATE ESCROW, INC.
allproescrow@hotmail.com
ALLWORLD-ESCROW.COM
Aplusplusdeals.com
Association-Market.com
AUCTIONSTRADER.NET
AUCTION-SAFE-ESCROW.COM
auto-sell-expert.com
autotradevehicle.com
Best Auto Trades
best-auto-web.com
Best-car-online.com
BETTERBUSINESSSUPPORT.COM
BUY-SELL-SAFE.NET
BWESCROW.COM
CA-TRADING.NET
California Cash Advance
CALIFORNIA-TRADE.COM
CALIFORNIA-DEAL.NET
CALIFORNIA-SAFETRADE.COM
CARSELLSITE.COM
CENTRAL-ESCROW.COM
C.L.C. BancGroup, Inc. and C.L.C. Bank
COMMERCIALESCROWSERVICES.COM
DEALSINSURED.COM
Ditech Financial
Dyer Beech, Dyer Beech Enterprises, Inc.
ECOMERCEWAY.COM
enationinc.com
escrowacademy.com or Escrow Academy Inc.
Escrow-California.com
Escrow Online
ESCROWCALIFORNIA.COM
ESCROWCHEQUE.NET (www.escrowcheque.net.)
ESCROW-DEPOT.COM
escrowla.net or Escrow La Inc
ESCROWLINKSERVICE.ORG
ESCROWNG.COM
ESCROW-PARTNERS.COM
escrowsolutionsca.net
ESCROWSQUICK.COM
ESCROWTIME.NET
ESCROWTODAY.NET
Exlmps-LTD.net
Expert Auto Deals
FOR-TRADERS.COM
fast-helpnet.net
fastautotrades.com
Final-Market.net
First-request.com
FiVanta Funding Corp
GENERALAUTODEALS.COM
generaltradecenter.com
Green Street Ventures
GREENLIGHT FINANCIAL SERVICES
HEMETESCROWCOMPANY.COM, HEMETESCROWINC.NET AND HEMETESCROW.NET
Impact-escrow.com
Incredibleoffer.org
INSURE-TRADES.COM
INTELIGENT-SERVICE.COM or INTELIGENTSERVICE.COM
International-corp.com
GENERALCARTRADER.ORG
iNetData Entry (www.indetdataentry.com)
INTERNATIONAL-SAFE.COM
KARGLOBE.COM
midwaytrader.com
MONEY-MOVER.NET
mutual-group.com
N-DEALING.COM
NLCSESCROWS.COM
needscashpaydaynow.com
ONE-EXPRESS.NET
Onlesc.com
ONLINE-DEAL-INSURANCE.COM
Online Escrow, Inc.
online-trade-service.com
online-vehicle-trade.com
Quick Vehicle Trade
Rice, Eric A.
ROYANSTONE.COM
Safesaledomain.com
SAFETRADEDIVISION.COM
S-DEALS.COM
simpaexchange.com
Smith Kearney M&A
State Financial Corporation
Swiss Escrow-Service Co
Trans-Safety
TruLed.COM
TRUST-LTD.NET
trust-ltd.us
TRUSTMARK-E.ORG or TRUST MARK ESCROW
US Car Trade
US Deal Insurance
us-best-car-site.com
us-vehicle-trade.com
usavehicletrade.com
uscentralescrow.com
vdroyal.com
Vehicle Trade Deals
vechicle-trade-online.com
VIP PDL Services, LLC
The VIP Loan Shop
www.theviploanshop.com
vtexperts.com
Wannex, LLC
WHYESCROW.ORG
world-car-sell.com
world-expert-sell.com
WORLDWIDE-ESCROW.COM
www.abbfx.com
www.citiloanz.com
www.greenstreetventures.us
www.kcwfinancial.com
www.statefincorp.com

A "Heart" Warming Story

From Michael Hull in Anaheim Hills office, in his own words:

           "I went door-knocking yesterday and the second door i knocked on was answered by a man who was leasing a house.  I proceeded to tell him who I was and what company I was with. I then asked him if he might be interested in selling his home because I have two buyers who really wanted to live in his neighborhood.  He explained that he was leasing this home, but had a friend that really needs to sell his home ASAP and told me that he would pass on my information. OK, no problem, so I went on my way knocking on doors.
             After knocking on two more homes, I heard someone calling my name.  I turned around and the same man was walking towards me.  He said, "Call my buddy and go up to his house." I did just that and knocked on the door and was greeted by a man with no shirt on and stitches going down his chest. He said he was sorry and explained that he just had a triple bypass surgery. We continued talking and he came out and told me that he was losing his home and the auction day was tomorrow.
       I knew at that point it was a long shot; I would have to have the bank work with me in a day or  sell the house in a day, and I knew that to selling a house and closing escrow needed a minimum of five days. I only had one option. So, today I spent all day running around trying to get it done for him. The bank reps said,  "You're asking me to do pretty much the impossible here, you know that right?"  I said yes. If all else failed I was going to go to the court and file bankruptcy to stop the foreclosure.  We got it all ready to file and I only had 30 minutes to get to the Santa Ana Courthouse. I got there at 5:01pm and they were closed.
       I thought to myself,  "How am I going to tell this guy that they are selling his house tomorrow and there is nothing I can do?  I tried everything!"  I sat in front of the court thinking about how to tell a man who just had open-heart surgery and who has four kids that he has to support that he will  be kicked out of his home. Five minutes went by and he called me and said, "Mike thank you so much for everything you have done. You are the reason I get another chance to sell my home outside of foreclosure. I just looked on the bank website and you got it postponed for another three weeks. Thank you, you did all of this knowing you probably weren't going to get anything out of it but you wanted to help."
        It's times like these that make me love my job. I believe if you do the thing for some reason it will just workout."

Open House to $50,000

Brea Manager Tom Pelton challenged his agents to do a 5 day Open House.  Why not hold an open house every day 4-6pm?  Janeth Bernal accepted the challenge.

In just the first two days ,  She picked up 3 Listing Opportunities from the neighborhood. She wrote 2 offers on the property and picked up five Buyers- two have something to sell. Easily $50,000 in income (worst case) and still 2 days to go!

Right Now Pru Success Stories!

Karen Fenn from Anaheim Hills  put $4,200,000 into escrow in the first 18 days of February.


Brett Bruce and Jen Smude have put over $11,000,000 into escrow in the month of February....so far.



The Fowler's February is on fire!  They have been non-stop since the Raven's won the Superbowl. They have taken 6 listings and sold 4 homes.

Joe Boshra from Rancho Cucamonga, so far in 2013 Joe has closed 10 sides for $1.3 million. Joe has currently 10 sides open in escrow and expected to close with a total volume of $5.2 million by mid March.

Edie Israel in Yorba Linda office has also had 10 contracts listings and sales so far in the past 2-3 weeks.

Ede Costa, in the Yorba Linda office, in a little over a month has taken 8 listings for nearly $9M in volume. She also has recently put 5 sales into escrow at $6,275,000

Marni Jimenez from Riverside has been on 6 "standard sale" listing appointments in the past 4 days…



 Fred Gordon from Riverside has been on 3 listing appointments THIS week…

Liz Samuels from Riverside has 2 new listings this month from 1 day of door knocking around a
recent listing...



In the last 21 days, Tom Tennant from Corona listed $3,700,000 and put $1,300,00 into escrow.



In the first 25 days of 2013, Corona's Wende Deaton closed $1,700,00





As of 2/8/13: Heather Stevenson from Corona closed $1,700,000. In the last 21 days, she has put $1,200,000 in to escrow.

Nearly 2 Million American Homeowners Freed From Negative Equity In 2012

Phoenix, Los Angeles and Miami Metros Had Most Homeowners Freed Last Year, According to Zillow; At Least 1 Million Additional Homeowners Nationwide Expected To Be Freed In 2013.

SEATTLE, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Negative equity continued to fall in the fourth quarter of 2012, dropping to 27.5 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, compared with 31.1 percent one year ago, according to the fourth quarter Zillow® Negative Equity Reporti. Almost 2 million American homeowners were freed from negative equity over the course of the year.

Approximately 13.8 million homeowners with a mortgage were in negative equity, or "underwater," at the end of the fourth quarter, owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. That was down from 15.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. American homeowners with a mortgage were collectively underwater by more than $1 trillion at the end of 2012.

In 2012, national home values rose 5.9 percent year-over-year, according to the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI)ii, to a median value of $157,400. This jump in home values, coupled with sustained high foreclosure rates, were the main drivers for receding negative equity. Among the nation's 30 largest metro areas, those with the highest number of homeowners freed from negative equity last year were Phoenix (135,099 homeowners freed in 2012); Los Angeles (72,936 homeowners freed in 2012); Miami-Fort Lauderdale (70,484 homeowners freed in 2012); Dallas-Fort Worth (59,461 homeowners freed in 2012); and Riverside, Calif. (58,417 homeowners freed in 2012).

New this quarter, the Zillow Negative Equity Forecastiii predicts the negative equity rate among all homeowners with a mortgage will fall to at least 25.5 percent by the fourth quarter of 2013, freeing more than 999,000 additional homeowners nationwide. Of the 30 largest metro areas, the majority of these newly freed homeowners are anticipated to come from: Los Angeles (72,696 homeowners freed in 2013); Riverside (62,407 homeowners freed in 2013); Phoenix (43,044 homeowners freed in 2013); Sacramento (33,356 homeowners freed in 2013); and Dallas-Fort Worth (31,434 homeowners freed in 2013).

Zillow forecasts negative equity by applying anticipated appreciation or depreciation rates to a home, according to the most current metro and national Zillow Home Value Forecasts, and by assuming all other factors remain constant.

"As home values continue to rise and more homeowners are pulled out of negative equity in 2013, the positive effects on the housing market will be numerous. Freed from negative equity, homeowners will have more flexibility, and some will likely choose to list their home for sale, helping to ease inventory constraints and moderating sometimes dramatic, demand-driven price increases in some markets," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. "But negative equity is still very high, and millions of homeowners have a very long way to go to get back above water, even with current robust levels of home value appreciation in most areas. As a result, negative equity will remain a major factor in the market for the foreseeable future."

These results are from the fourth quarter edition of the Zillow Negative Equity Report, which looks at current outstanding loan amounts for individual owner-occupied homes and compares them to those homes' current estimated values. Loan data is provided by TransUnion®, a global leader in credit and information management. This is the only report that uses current outstanding loan balances on all mortgages when calculating negative equity. Other reports estimate current outstanding loan balance based on the most recent loan on a property (i.e., the original loan amount at time of purchase or refinance).

Source: http://www.zillowblog.com/research/2013/02/20/nearly-2-million-american-homeowners-freed-from-negative-equity-in-2012/

Getting People to Say Yes

By Melanie Pinola, Fast Company

Getting to "yes" is easier than you think with this this time-tested--and clinically supported--method for making convincing arguments and persuading people to do what you want.

There are lots of techniques for becoming more persuasive, but perhaps the simplest, most practical technique is the "But You Are Free" method. A review of 42 psychology studies (on 22,000 people) suggests this technique could double the chances someone would say "yes" to you. Read on to see how this works. If you want to, that is.

See what I did there? That's the "But You Are Free" technique, basically: Make a request, but acknowledge the other person has a choice. PsyBlog explains that this persuasion technique reaffirms the person's freedom of choice and indirectly tells the other person that you're not threatening his/her ability right to say no.

The actual words you use don't seem to matter; according to the meta-analysis published this year by Christopher Carpenter in Communication Studies, you could add to your request, "but obviously do not feel obliged" or "but you are free" and both would be effective--especially if you're asking something of someone face-to-face.

Obviously, you wouldn't want to use this technique all the time, lest you start looking like someone with passive-aggressive issues ("Hey, honey, can you take out the garbage? But you are free not to"), but acknowledging the other person's ability to choose could make them feel more empowered (and on your side). It even works on stubborn children and adults sometimes ("I like this choice best. But you're free to choose another one.")

Whether you decide to incorporate this technique into your persuasive arsenal is, of course, up to you.

Source: http://www.fastcompany.com/3005773/one-simple-technique-gets-them-saying-yes?partner=newsletter

California foreclosure Starts Plummet 60% in January

By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times

Foreclosure starts in California took a massive tumble last month as new state laws aimed at prohibiting certain aggressive bank repossession practices went into effect.

The real estate website ForeclosureRadar.com reported a 60.5% decline in California default notices in January from December. The number of default notices — the first formal step in the state’s foreclosure process — fell 77.7% from December 2011. A total of 4,500 such filings were logged last month, the lowest number of default notices since at least September 2006, when the website’s records begin.

 A package of tough new laws that provide homeowners with some of the nation's strongest protections from bank repossession practices went into effect in January. The legislative package was sponsored by California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris, shown above in December 2011, and written by 10 Democratic lawmakers. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)


The website gave no reason for the sharp decrease in notices of default, but noted that the drop came in January, when a package of tough new laws that provide homeowners with some of the nation's strongest protections from bank repossession practices went into effect.

Most notably, the Homeowner Bill of Rights bans the practice of “dual tracking,” in which a lender seizes a home while the owner is negotiating to lower mortgage payments.

Passed last year, the legislative package was sponsored by California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris and written by 10 Democratic lawmakers.

The laws also outlawed so-called robo-signing -- the improper or faulty processing of foreclosure documents -- and would allow state agencies and private citizens to sue financial institutions, under limited conditions, for economic compensation and for additional civil damages of up to $50,000 if lenders willfully, intentionally or recklessly violate the law.

Soucre: http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-foreclosure-declines-20130212,0,46123.story

Rent Scams on Craigslist

 Daily Real Estate News

Americans continue to fall prey to a growing number of real estate scams — most often rental scams — on free classified ad sites. Craigslist, in particular, has been a site that housing experts have warned visitors to beware of when it comes to real estate transactions.

A recent case in the news from Lynchburg, Va., has reminded Americans the scams are still prevalent. A couple responded to an ad to rent a vacant home in the area, wiring $1,000 to the so-called landlord who posted the ad. The couple received keys to the home and moved in, only later to have police arrive at their front doorstep. While the home actually was listed for rent, a “fake” landlord — who had no claim to the property — had reposted the ad on Craigslist.

Janet Hart from the Better Business Bureau told AOL Real Estate that Craigslist real estate scams are particularly prevalent and online visitors need to be careful. One of the most common scams is  selling and renting “fake” homes, she says. She advises renters or buyers in these real estate transactions not to wire transfer any money unless it is to a reputable organization. Housing experts also suggest a simple online search may help avoid others from being duped: If the home appears elsewhere on the Internet for sale or rent and it’s from someone else, this should serve as a red flag.

Source: http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/03/13/scammers-dupe-renters-craigslist#.UR6XrqtPBlJ.email

Fannie Mae Short Sales Help

In mid-2012, in an effort to reduce taxpayer loss and deter fraud, Fannie Mae implemented a new valuation practice and began countering short sale offers at prices Fannie Mae believed to be closer to market value.  Many REALTORS® have reported that since this practice went into effect, the counter offers issued by Fannie Mae are above market value and are preventing short sales from closing.  To deal with these issues, the government-sponsored enterprise now is allowing REALTORS® to escalate problems with Fannie Mae short sales directly on Fannie Mae’sHomePath website.  This portal may be used if you have valuation questions and concerns; haven’t heard back from the servicer; have an issue with an offer currently under negotiation; or encounter other problems with a Fannie Mae short sale.

Click here to register:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/827781505?src=CAR+webinar+FNMA+short+sale

9 Minutes of Laughs!