Florida lets get ready to pop some bottles and celebrate, because we're number one! Again! For the fifth straight year! Those other states can't even compete. Ain't got nothing on us here in the Sunshine State. We've got this mortgage fraud game on lock.
Yes, Florida once again led the nation in mortgage fraud. Miami-Dade walks away with the team MVP award too, as 5 percent of all mortgage fraud cases in the nation take place right here.
According to a report released by LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute, Florida had three times as many reported mortgage fraud and misrepresentation cases based on the number of mortgages filed in 2010. That puts us in the top spot, a dishonor we've held since 2006.
The state also took the top spot for loan investigations for the fourth straight year.
The report says that reported and verified cases of mortgage fraud technically dropped 41 percent nationwide between 2009 and 2010, but the numbers may not be telling the full story.
Explains The St. Petersburg Times:
The report said the drop does not necessarily mean occurrences of mortgage fraud are down. To the contrary, the institute said it believes mortgage fraud cases are still rising according to several industry sources. It attributed the drop, in part, to fewer mortgage loans being made and fewer resources available to investigate and report incidents of fraud.Miami-Dade county seems to be the state's hot spot for mortgage fraud. Five percent of all cases in the nation happen here. Though, metro Los Angeles represents about 17 percent of all cases, so Miami is far from the top mortgage fraud metro area in the nation.
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