More delays and one hell of a deal on a $600,000 home!

We mentioned yesterday that the defendants in the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case each had court appearances scheduled.  After nearly two years of waiting with bated breath for something meaningful to happen at one of these hearings, we've learned not to expect anything, as before all we got were more delays.  No surprises there.


Moving along, we also found out yesterday that the home that was at the center of the $600,000 mortgage fraud that John Arthur Romney orchestrated was sold at auction for $40,000!  Surprising how a home that Mr. Romney and crew had appraised for $600,000 two years ago has taken a 93% drop in value?!  Naturally the parties that purchased the home at auction are going to resell it, so we took a drive by to see for ourselves...

My, my how times have changed, the new owners are looking to sell it for $68,000.  Seeing the house as it sits today really makes you wonder how anyone could have appraised this home for $600,000.  We'll talk more about the fraud involved in inflating the value a little later.  Be patient.

On another note, while flipping through the channels half asleep last night I came across story whose headline didn't make sense (uh oh), it went something like this...

"...the focus shifted to a mortgage broker. Could his drive to close deals and the pressures of the job lead him to commit a double murder?"

HUH!  Come to find out that police were accusing mortgage broker Ron Santiago of killing two of his clients!  It's an interesting story with some parallels with some of the stories we've been discussing here on our blog, take a look for yourselves and we'll discuss later.