“These companies mislead their customers every step of the way, from the initial sales pitch to the closing, as a result, home buyers get stuck with mortgage payments they can’t afford on overvalued properties.”
– North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper
The North Carolina Attorney General filed a civil lawsuit against CMR Properties, Home Town USA, managers Christopher P. Wollin, Jason Gonzales and Kendrick Jackson, former sales associate Wendell Lindo, Blaine Stowe, a mortgage broker and Jerry Honeycutt, a former appraiser.
CMR Properties and Home Town USA sell parcels of land with manufactured homes in Cumberland, Moore and Robeson counties, North Carolina. The complaint alleges deceptive sales and lending practices related to the sale of the land/home packages and seeks to permanently bar the defendants from deceiving consumers, entering into contracts with customers who they know do not qualify for financing, falsifying loan applications, arranging inflated land appraisals, failing to disclose the cost of loans, and any other unfair practices related to the sale of land or manufactured homes in North Carolina. The Attorney General is also seeking cancellation of all of CMR and Home Town’s contracts, refunds for consumers and civil penalties.
At a hearing last week, a Wake County Superior Court ordered the defendants not to close any loans pending a preliminary injunction hearing.
According to the complaint, CMR advertises the companies’ land/home packages in local newspapers and via the Internet at www.gotohometown.com, soliciting customers with credit problems and people who have just moved to North Carolina and need to find housing.
According to the complaint, consumers who contacted CMR were asked how much they could afford to pay in monthly rent and then told that they could purchase a land/home package for that amount. CMR told consumers who weren’t able to qualify for financing that they could purchase a home through the companies’ “Sponsorship Program†by finding a sponsor, usually a friend or older relative. After a year, the companies claimed, the buyer’s credit rating would improve and they would be able to refinance the home and drop the sponsor from the mortgage. CMR led buyers and sponsors to believe that they would both be cosigners on the loan. However, the mortgage turned out to be solely in the sponsor’s name and not in the buyer’s name at all.
The complaint further alleges that CMR also misled customers who purchased land/home packages without using the “Sponsorship Program.†At the loan closing, home buyers frequently learned for the first time that their loan costs and monthly payments would be hundreds of dollars higher than CMR had told them. When buyers complained, they were told that they could refinance the home after a year to lower their payments. However because the companies had appraised the homes at inflated rates, it would be nearly impossible to refinance the loans. In some cases, CMR had allowed buyers to live rent-free in a mobile home while waiting to move into their new home. Many of these consumer felt pressured to follow through with the purchase despite changes in costs because they had nowhere else to move.
The complaint also contends that CMR falsified down payments and information on loan applications without customers’ approval in order to secure loans.
Links to News Stories:
http://www.wral.com/news/4790329/detail.html
I read the article in reference to the CMR fraud case. I am a concerned citizen who is a home owner in Woodlake, Vass, North Carolina. Many of the CMR properties have been thrown up (against many of the homeowners will) What does this allegation mean for the many sub standard properties that have been placed in our sub division?
I want to post information on a Blog about Foundation Financial Group of Atlanta GA and Tampa Fla. which is owend and under the controp of Senior operating partner Paul Scott. What do I need to do to expose their lies and fraudulent practices?
BEWARE borrowers need to beware of a company named Foundation Financial Group located in Atlanta GA, and Tampa Fla. They indicate they are a lender and make promises they can’t fulfill when they are in fact a broker and they have really high fees. My wife and I were caught up in their scam and I intend on exposing them for what they are. They cost us a good deal of money and misrepresented the entire deal. One of the executive officers in the Tampa office wanted me to use the monthly payment to appear like we had made multiple payments within the same month. They had the appraiser inflate the appraisal to show a higher LTV and they told direct lies to my other creditors to buy time and then did nothing, no contact with my wife or me. Promises were made and yet nothing was ever done to put it simply they are a very deceitful company. That is why I am imposing legal action against the company, its operating partners and officers. If any one has any information about this company Please! Email me personally at billreaves@charter.net
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