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19 June 2008 / Dr Nicholas Ryder
Issue: 7326 / Categories: Features , Property , Housing , Commercial
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Bursting the mortgage bubble

Dr Nicholas Ryder and Dr Clare Chambers discuss how to best tackle mortgage fraud particular, a firm is required to “take reason

According to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the level of mortgage fraud in the UK is approximately £700m a year. Mortgage fraud is becoming increasingly popular with organised criminals, who will seek finance through a number of property transactions. In many instances, when the mortgage repayments are unpaid and when the mortgage provider seeks the monies owed, the organised criminals raise another mortgage with a separate provider and sell the property back at a higher valuation. The first mortgage is repaid together with the arrears, leaving the organised criminals with a significant profit due to the over-inflated second mortgage.

Other types of mortgage fraud include false property valuations by fraudulent surveyors, counterfeit applications based upon counterfeit forms of identification, mortgage applications supported by falsified pay slips and P60s that are often supplied by illegal websites and corrupt conveyancing professionals assisting organised criminals.

The findings of ACPO report are

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