Why is mortgage fraud a problem? Mortgage fraud can be a big issue in the Canada real estate market, and I’ll explain what it is and why you shouldn’t do it:

CBC Marketplace had a show that made lots of headlines a week or two ago. And it was related to mortgage fraud, and specifically, fraudulent documents. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous mortgage brokers, bankers, realtors, any number of people involved in the real estate transaction who can manipulate things in order to get deals done when those deals really shouldn’t be done.

One type is document fraud. Typically that’s around income where people are presenting documents that aren’t real. They’ve been altered. Lenders are on the lookout for this. Brokers are on the lookout for this. There are all sorts of ways, which I won’t reveal, of how we can find this out. It is not worth committing mortgage fraud, okay? And unfortunately, it gives everyone in the industry a bad reputation, which isn’t deserved when there are just a few bad apples out there.

Why is mortgage fraud an issue? It’s an issue because you’re lying to a lender and if a person can’t actually make their mortgage payments, the lender suffers a loss. That’s not actually a victimless crime. It hurts shareholders in the company, it hurts the family that might have been involved in the fraud if there was a spouse and children and whatnot, extended family. It’s just bad. It’s bad for shareholders and we’re all shareholders through Canada Pension Plan and our mutual funds and RRSPs. So anyways, mortgage fraud is bad. Don’t do it!

Resource: CBC story on mortgage fraud

 About Jason Scott, Edmonton Mortgage Broker

Looking for a personalized mortgage solution? As an Edmonton Mortgage Associate, I’ll be your trusted partner who will help you get the right mortgage for your family home or Investment property. I’m Jason Scott, and I’ll be your Mortgage Broker Edmonton.