Panel told of lending ‘lies, fraud’

CARSON CITY -- Southern Nevada residents described Wednesday how they were conned by unscrupulous lenders into signing contracts to make mortgage payments beyond their ability to pay.

Carol Wolff sobbed as she told the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee how she fell behind in her mortgage payments and ended up signing a contract with a lender who promised her another loan so "I could save my house."

In reality, the "mortgage consultant" secured title to her home, made her sign a lease and then kicked her out when the lease expired.

"I ended up losing my house," said Wolff. "I lost everything."

Daniel Ebihara, a lawyer with Clark County Legal Services, said what happened to Wolff happens regularly in Southern Nevada.

"It's lies, fraud and misrepresentation," he said. "They learn how to do it in get-rich seminars held in hotel ballrooms. They get people to knowingly or unknowingly convey title to them by telling the people they will save them from foreclosure. No one is ever saved."

Wolff and Ebihara joined a line of people testifying in support of Assembly Bill 440, which would create the felony crime of mortgage fraud.

The bill also would require lenders to verify that the people who borrow money have the ability to repay the loan from their income and other assets. The lenders also could not make misrepresentations or conceal material facts about the loans.

Now some lenders make "no-document" and "low-document" loans in which they do no or little checking on the income and assets of borrowers.

Amy Austin, testifying in Las Vegas, described how she has been a victim of identify theft and mortgage fraud. She said a real estate agent stole her identity and used it to buy two houses for $600,000.

She said she never signed any loan documents, met anyone or verified anything. The loan officer ultimately was suspended for only three months, she added.

While the banks freed her from liability on the mortgages, Austin said her credit has been ruined.

"Pass this bill," she said. "These people are criminals."

Assemblyman Marcus Conklin, the bill's sponsor, said Nevada leads the nation in the rate of mortgage foreclosures with one in 278 loans ending up in default. The rate is three times the national average.

He said part of the problem is the income needed to qualify for a traditional mortgage on a $300,000 home in Las Vegas is 170 percent of what the average family earns.

"That means there is a large market for alternative financing products," he said. "Las Vegas is a hotbed of activity that may not be in the best interest of consumers."

During the hearing, witnesses said many of the home loans in Clark County are "negative amortization" mortgages, with which the buyer never reduces the principal.

The principal even may increase over the years, although the buyer faithfully makes payments.

In response to questions, Conklin, D-Las Vegas, said people are "desperate for homes" and often willing to enter into mortgages they cannot afford.

"We have plenty of jobs, but we don't have affordable housing," he said. "People give them loans, knowing they cannot pay. Then they foreclose on them and take all their assets."

"This is a big problem," said Scott Bice, commissioner of the state Mortgage Lending Division. "Until some of these people go to jail, it is not going to have much of an impact.

Bice said he has pulled licenses of some unethical lenders, but then they "simply go underground" and continue to operate under the licenses of other lenders.

A vote was not taken on the bill in a hearing that lasted all afternoon and into the evening.

Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee Chairman John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, asked Conklin to meet with lobbyists for legitimate lending organizations and work on possible amendments.

Brock Davis, a representative of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Nevada, acknowledged there is a problem with unethical lenders, but said he represents the "good lenders" and supports much of the bill.

"The real problem is negative amortization, suicidal loan programs that people are put on probably through misrepresentation," Davis said.

But he said 85 percent of the people receiving no-document or low-document loans pay their mortgages on time. Without these loans, many people would not be able to get into a home, he said.

During the hearing, Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, mentioned he is a mortgage broker and expressed concerned amount of about mortgage fraud.

"How many people do you need to enforce this?" he asked Bice. "You will need an army of folks."

Bice told Arberry, chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, that he is seeking an adjustment to his budget.