A group of 65 real estate investors made 303 property transactions in south St. Petersburg during the past five years. The buyers purchased their homes through a no-money-down investment program. Now, 65 percent of the sales have gone into foreclosure. Lenders are on the hook for millions in failed loans. The homes involved are shown here. The red dots represent transactions that have gone into foreclosure. The green dots show the ones that have not.
March 06, 2008: State Joins Inquiry Of Unusual Loans
ST. PETERSBURG - When some novice real estate investors decided to buy in south St. Petersburg, they thought they had found the key to their financial independence.
For many, the dream consumed them. They believed so deeply that they looked beyond prostitutes standing on corners and boarded up properties to buy several homes at a time in crime-ridden neighborhoods.
They turned the other way when settlement documents appeared peculiar. They didn't object to paying tens of thousands more for homes so other people could collect the money at closing. Altogether, 65 buyers made 303 property transactions over the past five years.
Full Story | Authorities To Review Mortgage Operation
TAMPA - Hundreds of peculiar home sales and foreclosures clustered in low-income neighborhoods in south St. Petersburg have attracted the attention of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The deals involved unusual mortgages uncovered last summer in a Tampa Tribune investigative report. The sales are tied to a real estate investment program run by a local businessman. Several buyers complained to local police that they bought the properties at inflated values.
Full Story | Search Foreclosures | Photos
Reporter: Shannon Behnken - The Tampa Tribune
Photos: Jason Behnken - The Tampa Tribune
Online Producers: Alex Vila, Vidisha Priyanka - TBO.com