Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Mortgage Fraud?

If your name is on the loan, I have to assume you signed the mortgage application. If you did not, you may have a lawsuit against the broker for fraud, and could probably get this removed from your credit on the basis of identity theft. However, from your post it sounds as if you are a party to the mortgage, and when you say "in a real estate investment", it is pretty clear you had an ownership stake in the property. Either way - if you signed the application, you are at fault as you should have verified the information at the time you signed it regardless of what the broker may have told you. Its going to be nearly impossible to claim that you are an innocent victim where it is an investment property, and you didn't have a gun to your head to sign the mortgage application. As such, you are potentially liable to the lender for fraud. You are also potentially liable to the lender for any deficiencies that may occur as a result of a foreclosure and you may have income tax implications of a foreclosure as well. If there is a second mortgage on the property, and the first mortgage forecloses, you could be personally liable for the entire second mortgage. I strongly suggest you contact an attorney to review the entire situation quickly and determine a way to salvage the property. You may also have some remedies available as to the broker, but so long as your name is on the loan, there is really no way to avoid damage to your credit except to contact the lender and get the loan current immediately.

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Re: Mortgage Fraud?

Who was applying for what? You haven't given us this vital piece of information. If the "app." you're writing about was a loan application where you were going to be a borrower, or the only borrower, you must have signed it, and the law presumes that you've read whet you sign. You probably don't even have a case against the broker, because, unless he deceived you beyond just putting false information into the application, you are equally guilty of fraud on the lender. Of course, it's possible the broker defrauded you as well by telling you the paper wasn't a loan application, it was just a petition to impeach the president. If however you knew what you were signing you are responsible for every word and every number contained therein, just as though you had filled it out in your own handwriting. At this point, the best you can do for your credit and reputation is to stay current on the loan. Since the broker is probably as responsible as you are (having a fiduciary duty to you), perhaps the broker will assist you in working out an out-of-court compromise with the lender.

Re: Mortgage Fraud?

The facts are too vague to answer this one. Did you sign for the loan? Did you review the app? Etc. etc.