A local TV news station has identified two key players in a series of transactions involving overpriced properties in an affluent Oklahoma City neighborhood.
News 9 reported it found two sales agents involved in the sale of 13 “dramatically” overpriced homes in an Edmond, Okla., community, where homes cost about $500,000, that has seen several foreclosures.
Brandon Baum was reportedly listed as the sales agent in the 13 deals, while Anne Campbell, a REMAX Realtor, was named along with Baum in half those sales.
The 13 homes in question were all bought by one of Baum’s clients. The difference in the selling price from the asking price adds up to nearly $1 million, the Oklahoma City-based news station reported.
In one case, the station said Campbell put a home on sale for $575,000 that was bought by Baum’s client for $800,000.
Campbell reportedly faxed a statement to the station saying, “We believe that it is imperative that all terms of a real estate contract are spelled out in the settlement statement. This way, all parties, buyer, seller, title company, and lender are fully aware and have an opportunity to approve all costs associated with the transaction.”
In at least four cases, the properties flipped into foreclosure within a few months as nobody was paying the mortgage, according to the news report.
News 9 said nearly two dozen homes throughout the metro have sold at prices inflated as much as $200,000.
In a recent report by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute, Oklahoma City ranked 10th, tying with four other metropolitan statistical areas, in prime loan Serious Early Defaults, which are loans that become delinquent by more than 90 days or go into foreclosure within the first six to 18 months.
In studying states’ subprime SEDs, MARI found Oklahoma led the pack.
For loans originated between 2001 and 2004, Oklahoma had the 24th highest level of reported fraud with a rate about half the national average, according to MARI.
Four state agencies and two federal agencies have seen the list of inflated properties. The FBI has told state agencies wanting to investigate to hold off until its own investigation into mortgage fraud is completed, the Oklahoma City-based news station reported.
