Quick Picks: California Scheming.

by: Alexandra Andrews, ProPublica
April 13, 2009 1:24 pm EDT

HUD's Dollar Homes program, initiated in 1998, had a straightfoward mission: "Local governments would buy [foreclosed] homes for $1, fix them up and resell them at a discount to poor families." But in California, investors and housing contractors have been buying homes under the program and flipping them for a profit [1], reports the Los Angeles Times. "HUD officials said that because the Dollar Homes program was mandated by Congress, it does not receive the same type of attention and follow-up as programs created by HUD itself," according to the Times.

Also, an investigation by voiceofsandiego.org [2] pulls back the curtain on a "staggering real-estate swindle [3]" in California that destroyed credit scores and fueled the state's foreclosure epidemic. Jim McConville took advantage of the plummeting housing market last year to buy at least 81 homes in bulk. He then arranged multiple mortgages for "straw" buyers, who had been promised cash for the use of their identities and clean credit records. By selling the houses at inflated prices, McConville reaped $12.5 million.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.