Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

Neal Pascal plead guilty today and agreed to assist prosecutors in his mortgage fraud case.  If you are reading from out of the Chattanooga area, Neal Pascal was a weatherman for 20 some years on our local ABC television station.  He resigned a month or so ago when he was charged with mortgage fraud in a federal investigation.

The Chattanoogan has all the details but in a nutshell he preyed on For Sale By Owners who had no idea what they were doing.  He was in cahoots with the title company and his lender.  The FSBO may or may not have know what they were doing was illegal but if they had been represented by a REALTOR® the chances of this scam happening would have been slim to none.  I don’t know any REATLORS® who are willing to risk their license on something like this.  He has plead to only one offense but he bought and sold many many properties.  Speculation is that this was a common practice.

He is facing up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for just one offense.  Remember this if anyone ever asks you to change the sales price and give the difference to the buyer for any reason.  It’s illegal and you could wind up behind bars!

This act, commonly referred to as the “FCRA”, is a list of the rules and regulations that govern lenders and the credit reporting agencies. You should become familiar with your rights under this act which can be accessed at no cost at the Federal Trade Commissions web site. Some highlights are:

      *Permissible Purpose – There are only eight legal reasons why your credit reports can be accessed. These are called “Permissible Purposes.” Some of the more obvious reasons are:

     *Consumer Disclosure – If you ask for a copy of your own credit report then this is a permissible purpose.

     *As Part of a Legitimate Business Transaction – If you fill out an application for credit then this gives the lender permissible purpose to pull your credit reports.

     *Your Right to Dispute Your Credit Information – Every consumer in the U.S who has a credit report also has the right to dispute the information in that report if they feel it is incorrect, outdated or unverifiable. The FCRA lays out the process and requirements on how to file a dispute and what kind of turnaround time your lenders and the credit reporting agencies have to complete their investigation.

      *Your Right to a Free Copy of all Three of Your Credit Reports – Recently the FCRA was amended by an act called FACTA also known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. FACTA calls for national disclosure of credit reports for free. By September 2005 every person in the U.S can get a free copy of his or her three credit reports. Requesting your free copies if very easy. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to verify your eligibility.

If you’ve been looking at a HUD foreclosure and trying to decide if now is the time to make an offer this news from HUD might just help you decide.  HUD is offering an incentive on all HUD owned homes sold between December 8th and January 5th to owner occupants who purchase wiht an FHA insured loan.  Including in the "FHA Brings the Holidays Home" sales event are a $2500 home inprovement allowance and a minimum $100 down payment. 

Additional information can be found on HUD’s website.

In a press release yesterday Mark Walsh hits the highpoints on the FTC complaint filed against Zillow by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.  It’s about time  9 months of providing inaccurate home valuations is 9 months to long.  I have posted the press release below and you can access the FTC complaint here.

An amendment to the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act which became effective July 1, 2006 makes knowingly advertising or marketing a residence as having more bedrooms than are permitted by the residence’s subsurface sewage disposal system permit a violation of the Act.

In order to assist home owners obtain needed information, the Division of Ground Water Protection (GWP), with the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, has developed the “Application for Information Regarding Subsurface Sewage Disposal (SSD) System Permit and Certificate of Completion” form for use across the state.  The data requested on the form will allow the GWP to search their records and provide information they have on file concerning a specific property. 

An application may be obtained at and GWP office or on the GWP website.  The completed application may be delivered or faxed to the local GWP office in the county where the property is located.

This document is required on all homes in Tennessee with a septic tank prior to listing the property.

I guess most everyone knows that back in June the Supreme Court decided, in a 5-4 decision,  that government can take your  property for private development.  So when that large store that I refuse to speak of, decides they want to build on your property and you don’t want to give it up.  Too bad.  Our government has decided you can’t say "no".

Lauren Canario was arrested on September 22 for peacefully protesting the seizure of a home in New London Conn.  She has been in prison since then with no visitors allowed.  Well, Monday, she appeared in court and was ordered held indefinitely for trial at an unscheduled future date as reported at Homeland Stupidy.  This is ridiculous.  The last time I checked we were in the United States and had rights given to us by the Constitution. 

Protesters arrived early Monday to support Canario. But, according to Free State Project member Kat Dillon, “They told us she wouldn’t be brought in until 2 p.m., so we went out until about 1:30 p.m. When we came back, it was done and no one got to see her.” 10-year-old protester William asked his father, “Why would they trick us like that, Dad?”

An anonymous source at the courthouse said State officials were heard laughing about the demonstration. — Michael Fisher

“This is a wake up call for America,” said John Connell, who traveled from New Hampshire to join the protest. “You’re supposed to have a speedy and public trial in this country. The portion of the public that was there specifically for this trial was known by the court officers, including the pompous court jester in the black robe. . . . [McMahon] gave this prolonged speech about the right to remain silent, and then punishes a person for doing it.”

“What Lauren is doing is exposing the brutality of the system,” Connell said. “Today’s [court proceeding] was a subtle brutality, things you will never read in the newspaper. If you want to exercise your rights, you’re going to get punished for it.” — Michael Fisher

We need more more people like Lauren and John to stand up and fight because our rights as Americans and now even our homes are being taken away for the all mighty dollar.

I have just spent an hour putting together a post on eminent domain and the travesty going on in New London, Conn with the imprisonment of Lauren Canario.  I LOST IT!!!!!!!!!!!  I’m too tired and it’s to late to start it over but I’ll post it tomorrow.  She was in court yesterday and was ordered held indefinetly for trial with no date set.  This after being imprisioned since September 22 with no visitors allowed to see her.  All this for a non violent protest of the city taking property for private development.  Check back tomorrow for more info.

The FTC has aggressively criticized the real estate industry and MLS systems for the past couple of years. MLS systems, in particular, have felt the sting of FTC press releases, threatened investigations, and lawsuits. It was therefore interesting to see what the FTC would say in a new consumer brochure that they released last week:

"Selling Your Home? Tips for Selecting a Real Estate Professional"

Naturally, neither this brochure nor the FTC’s online glossary of terms (mentioned in the brochure) address either AGENCY or ETHICS — two issues that the Feds simply refuse to acknowledge or understand. They apparently don’t see either as very important! Every REALTOR, on the other hand, should be prepared to discuss - knowledgeably - the value of BOTH an agency relationship AND the REALTOR Code of Ethics to every prospective buyer or seller.  Every potential customer and client should know exactly what they are and how they are affected by them. I am going to be posting on both of these topics over the next few weeks.