The Wall Street Jouranl reports that home buyers who signed contracts when the market was hot are now trying to get out of them.? The buyers are claiming that they were scammed into homes they couldn’t afford or that they were victims of fraudulent investment schemes. Others are looking for loopholes to get out of the contracts, or trying to find small defects in the homes that may help them escape.
Cancellation rates on these home buying contracts may be as high as 30%. The story highlights a few situations in Florida, where attorneys are even advertising their services to people who want to get out of their contracts.
In one situation a woman and her husband got three construction loans to buy three houses totaling $750,000. The couple’s wages are about $90,000, so they should not have qualified for these loans. They now claim that the real estate broker promised to find tenants for the houses, but that never happened and two of the loans are in foreclosure. A suit is being filed against the builder, the lender, and the real estate agent, alleging the couple was defrauded in this “investment scheme.”
Some builders are not backing down. A developer in Florida has multiple buyers trying to cancel contracts for condominimums. The developer is citing a “specific performance” clause in their contracts, which requires the buyers to close on the sales. Some buyers are willing to walk away from their 10% or 20% deposits on the properties, but this developer says that’s not enough and they need to make good on the contracts. Some who have been sued by this developer eventually closed on the sales rather than litigate.
[…] Home Buyers Suing to get out of Contract from Fraudfiles […]
[…] Coenen presents Home buyers suing to get out of contracts posted at […]
Investing 101 tells us there is no reward without risk. Most of these folks who are now running to their lawyers bellied up for a heaping helping of the reward part without realizing that risk was a part of the equation.
As for that woman who borrowed $750 to buy houses on her $90k annual salary was looking for a free option; had the market continued to skyrocket she would have proclaimed herself a genius and laughed all the way to the bank. As it is she’s having to play the role of the poor victimized dupe.
I hope the courts take the right line of these cases. Speculators do well when they time the market well, but they need to take a spanking when they get it wrong.
We are victims of an alleged Massive Real Estate/Mortgage/Currency Ponsi scheme spanning several states perpetrated by several people who claim to be .investment advisors. and .real estate investors.. They targeted active-duty/retired military, the church community, the retired and elderly, and the Filipino Community. They claimed that we would see financial independence in 3 years if we gave them control of our finances and trusted them (they claimed to be Christians).
These grifters operate under very legitimate sounding names. They will .assume. a legitimate business. name and steal their reputation and when the businesses are tied to the scam, like a chameleon, they quickly change their name and continue to bring in new victims. They operate in Temecula, Murrieta, and San Diego. Go HERE to see a list of companies and names they operate under.
There are several alleged schemes operating concurrently, with some victims only involved in a single scheme and many others victimized in multiple schemes (this was dependent upon your .credit-worthiness.). The schemes are as follows:
Real Estate Investment Scheme required you to refinance primary residence and give them proceeds to invest in real estate. They .promise. to pay the additional debt burden on your property. They then buy you .investment properties. and wire mortgage payments for you to pay the note. A few months later they sell the property and .HIJACK. the proceeds to their bank accounts, have you Quit Claim Deed it over to Total Return Fund, or just stop sending you mortgage payments so that you default on the loan. They also over-inflated appraisals and skimmed money off. They were to use the proceeds of your refinance to open up a brokerage account in your name to invest in stock, commodities, currency, precious metals, and diamonds.
Equity Sharing Real Estate Scheme is their newest scheme where they state they are buying you a property and will give you 6-9 months worth of mortgage payments. Problem is, once you sign the loan docs, you never see a penny of the money promised and you will quickly default on the property. (these are the scammers. properties that they are trying to unload)
Total Return Fund/300%/ Credit Card Scheme is where they open multiple lines of credit for you and then instruct you to pull proceeds off these cards and wire them the money. You have a difficult time claiming fraud as you pulled the money off the cards they opened up. You followed their instruction because remember, .Clients do what they are told without question or they are either ejected from the program or passed over for the next amazing opportunity.. This one they also .promise. to pay the credit cards back.
Special .Short-term Currency Investment. Scheme where they claim you will be given the proceeds of your investment after 6 months as a reward for being such a good client. Many clients accessed personal savings and 401k retirement accounts for this opportunity. This resulted in a delivery of Irai Dinars far below the fair-market value sum.
Credit Repair Scheme where they take your credit that they screwed up and then .promise. to repair it. How very generous of them.
Total Return Distress Property Scheme whereby you purchase membership units at a set rate for distressed properties that Total Return Fund rehabs and sells at a profit.
Services and Investment Plans are constantly changing but the players remain the same.
We believe there are several hundred properties involved and many are currently going into foreclosure. Since many of the properties are located in Temecula and Murrieta, these cities are now experiencing a huge drop in property value and several neighborhoods are full of Stonewood foreclosures/short sales. We believe the damages and economic impact to this area could be well over $1 Billion dollars.
James B. Duncan and the Henson Group have been previously ordered by 3 states (Washington State, Iowa and Wisconsin) to Cease and Desist with unlicensed investment activities. Go Here to see the Cease and Desist orders. It is our understanding that he spends large amounts of cash on his lavish lifestyle which includes expensive trips to Las Vegas gambling and extracurricular activities with high-priced prostitutes.
Their suspect real estate activities were reported to the Riverside County DA, the California DRE, and the FBI 2 years ago. These agencies failed to act in the consumer interest and shut them down. Because of their inaction, many additional families have been financially devastated.
Help us to STOP them!!!
[…] Coenen presents Home buyers suing to get out of contracts posted at […]