Chronicle: Foreclosures In Missouri City Are The Highest In Fort Bend County!

. . . FBI Special Agent Kimberly Barkhausen gave tips on how to avoid mortgage fraud. An offer of a $5,000 incentive for investing in real estate is too good to be true, Barkhausen said.

Like the warning message displayed on video tapes and DVDs by the FBI cautioning against piracy, closing documents now contain the warning that mortgage fraud is investigated by the FBI and is punishable up to 30 years in federal prison or a $1,000,000 fine or both. It is illegal to make false claims in a loan or credit application.

Sandy MacNaughton, a Fort Bend real estate agent, speaking about local foreclosures, said Missouri City had the highest foreclosures in the first quarter of 2007 in Fort Bend County. In the Teal Run subdivision, for example, there were 150 foreclosures, representing 10 percent of the homes, MacNaughton said.

In Fort Bend County, there were 533 closures in the first quarter. Sugar Land and the First Colony area had the least number of foreclosures, she said.

In Sugar Land, the demand for homes is greater than the supply. The average number of days a house is in the market in Sugar Land is 57.

In Greatwood and New Territory areas, it is still very much a seller's market and a house is on the market for an average of 37 days.

In Missouri City area, a house is on the market for an average of 87 days, MacNaughton said.

As predatory mortgage lenders give loans to the least qualified buyers, the problem of foreclosure increases, she said. . . (click title link for the full story)