Hey, guys – So the deal is, I’ve been unable to post here for quite some time.  Seems December was the month for our site to be targeted by some Saudi hacker who wanted to use our server to wage Jihad on the world wide web.

But here we are, about a month and a half and a few hundred bucks later  (gladly investing in a website security expert who brought us back to life) .  And not only are we back to life again, but I’m backlogged on stuff to post!

So…having said that, here’s a few tasty links to articles and blog posts I’ve found useful, helpful,  or enjoyable in one way or another within the last few days.

CNBC: Big Banks Accused of Short Sale Fraud

“Just as regulators, lawmakers and all forms of financial oversight boards are talking about new regulations to guard against mortgage fraud and another mortgage meltdown, there appears to be yet a new mortgage fraud out there today, allegedly perpetuated by agents of, yes, the big banks…”

The Real Estate Bloggers: HUD Subpeonas 15 FHA Lenders Over Mortgage Defaults

“We aren’t making any accusations at this time, we have no evidence of wrongdoing, but we will aggressively pursue any indicators of fraud,” HUD Inspector General Kenneth Donohue said. “The fact that there are 15 institutions on this list today does not in any way suggest that there aren’t other institutions that we will not look at later.”

Reuters: Fannie Mae to Bend Rules for Some Florida Condos

“Fannie Mae, the largest funder of U.S. home mortgages, on Thursday said it is making it easier for some Florida condo buyers to qualify for loans in a bid to stabilize one of the worst-hit real estate markets.

The housing finance giant said it is reassessing hundreds of Florida condo projects to see if they are “sufficiently stable” enough to qualify for funding, even if they don’t meet current requirements, Fannie Mae said in a statement.”

Inman: Fannie Mae Expedites REO sales

“Fannie Mae has adopted a new policy in which it may accept offers to purchase homes it has repossesed without notifying loan servicers.

Loan servicers may be required to reimburse Fannie Mae for a loss if it turns out the original mortgage on the home did not meet its eligibility or underwriting requirements.”

Build Bankroll: Steve the Landlord

“I’ve been a landlord for almost 5 months now.  I have learned a lot of different things along the way, but so far it has been easier than I thought it would be.  The main part is, since we have a crew of workers, we can easily get stuff fixed for tenants when it is our responsibility to fix…Some of the things I have learned:…” (interesting tips follow)

RevNyou: A Broad Rant About Guru Real Estate Investing Courses

“…At this point one of the new real estate investors in the room raised her hand. She said “I just took a real estate investing course that told us to go out and get as many credit cards as possible. They said that having all that credit was a good thing.”

Hey, got any other articles or blog posts that have turned you on recently?  Share it!  Post ’em in a comment below…

Take care,