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What began as limited exploration into a small example of possible mortgage fraud in Chicagoland has spiralled out formidable leviathanic tentacles now taking residence across two walls of my hotel room. I've looked progressively more pale and bewildered every time I venture out for sustenance, always stopping by the front desk to re-confirm that housekeeping will not touch my room. I ran out of clean towels yesterday. They probably think I'm cooking meth.
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"People have tried to bribe me. I've been threatened, both verbally and with a gun," real estate appraiser Richard Hagar tells me, recounting the heady days of the Pacific Northwest's housing boom, when unscrupulous loan originators in places like Bend, Oregon would aggressively demand his work confirm a dictated appraisal value, often many tens of thousands above the actual market value. In Hagar's view, "This recession we're in was triggered by loan fraud. That's the end of it."
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They began lining up in the darkened parking lot by 3:30 am. At least a thousand had joined their weary ranks when the doors opened at 9. They weren't waiting for a chance to trade a clunker for cash, or tickets to witness a cosmic resurrection of Michael Jackson. The Back-to School Fair was distributing free backpacks and school supplies on Saturday, and these parents and their children wanted to make sure they arrived before stock ran out.
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Results tagged “housing market”
What began as limited exploration into a small example of possible mortgage fraud in Chicagoland has spiralled out formidable leviathanic tentacles now taking residence across two walls of my hotel room. I've looked progressively more pale and bewildered every time I venture out for sustenance, always stopping by the front desk to re-confirm that housekeeping will not touch my room. I ran out of clean towels yesterday. They probably think I'm cooking meth.
"People have tried to bribe me. I've been threatened, both verbally and with a gun," real estate appraiser Richard Hagar tells me, recounting the heady days of the Pacific Northwest's housing boom, when unscrupulous loan originators in places like Bend, Oregon would aggressively demand his work confirm a dictated appraisal value, often many tens of thousands above the actual market value. In Hagar's view, "This recession we're in was triggered by loan fraud. That's the end of it."Read More
They began lining up in the darkened parking lot by 3:30 am. At least a thousand had joined their weary ranks when the doors opened at 9. They weren't waiting for a chance to trade a clunker for cash, or tickets to witness a cosmic resurrection of Michael Jackson. The Back-to School Fair was distributing free backpacks and school supplies on Saturday, and these parents and their children wanted to make sure they arrived before stock ran out.
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