| Fear & foreclosure in Las Vegas |
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Page 3 of 7 Today, Nevada is No. 1 in a grimmer category: It’s the most-foreclosed state in the nation. One in every 82 Nevada housing units got a foreclosure notice in September, according to RealtyTrac Inc., putting the state at the top of the list for the 21st straight month. Florida was second with one in every 178 housing units in some stage of foreclosure.The $6.8-billion state budget, once fattened by the real-estate boom, is a shambles. Governor Jim Gibbons drained a $267-million rainy-day fund, cut some medical services to the elderly and delayed increased payments to foster parents to close a deficit projected at $1.2 billion for the two-year period ending on June 30, 2009. Nevada’s banks have also taken a hit. First National Bank of Nevada in Reno was shuttered by regulators in July, and Silver State Bank in Henderson, near Las Vegas, was closed in September. Overall, banks have lost $17 million just on mortgages handled by Mazzarella and Grimm. Mortgage fraud has been such a plague in Nevada that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Attorney’s Office, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and five other agencies set up the Southern Nevada Mortgage Fraud Task Force in March to combat it. Mazzarella and Grimm’s alleged scheme was the task force’s first big bust. EVE MAZZARELLA, a Las Vegas real-estate agent, is profiled here on promotional material. In 2007 Mazzarella was hailed one of the best real-estate agents under 30 in the Las Vegas, Nevada, area. BLOOMBERG NEWS According to the task force and accounts from straw buyers, the couple’s operation worked like this: They recruited a person with good credit to pose as the buyer of a property in exchange for a fee of about $5,000. Grimm and Mazzarella told the buyer they would pay the mortgage. The straw buyer would offer more than the asking price, telling the seller he would use some of the money to make repairs or remodel. Grimm and Mazzarella would apply for a mortgage for the straw buyer, often inflating his income and assets to support a bigger loan. When the deal closed, the straw buyer would ask the seller to send the purported repair money to entities controlled by Grimm and Mazzarella. Then the buyer would transfer the property itself into a limited liability company controlled by Grimm and Mazzarella. The couple would often resell to another straw buyer at an even higher price and collect the difference. When the property failed to sell for any more money, they stopped paying the mortgage. The last straw buyer, his name on the loan, faced default notices, foreclosure, ruined credit and, sometimes, bankruptcy. |
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Las Vegas is a unique city. As you plan your move to Las Vegas be sure to plan your routes wisely to avoid traffic and lights. Also, be sure to have your real estate agent involved so that he can guide you in your schedule and overall move. A good agent can refer you to good moving and travel companies. They have seen many people relocate and have experience in smoothing out the bumps. Moving is an exciting time. Make sure your team is in place so you can enjoy the wonderful culture Las Vegas has to offer. Welcome to Las Vegas!