New Mexico - Mortgage Fraud Resources

Most mortgage brokers are honest. A dishonest few, however, may cut corners or play fast and loose with established lending requirements, leading to mortgage fraud.

New Mexico homeowners should be aware that mortgage fraud may include such situations as lenders lying about mortgage terms as part of subprime deals, altering documents, or making other false material promises. One New Mexico-based mortgage lender in 2009 was prosecuted for repeatedly promising to finance its clients out of a bad deal when that broker would instead simply pocket the up-front "fee."

An informed consumer is one who can recognize potential mortgage fraud before, or while, it is occurring. A list of state, federal and private resources is provided below to help individuals deal with such cases.

Among these, the FBI plays a lead role in investigating frauds of all kinds, including mortgage fraud.  FBI field offices work in cooperation with the offices of the state and U.S. attorneys general to prosecute criminals.

Local offices of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can help mortgage applicants find the resources they need to make smart mortgage decisions and can provide guidance to consumers on the questions they should ask while shopping for reputable lenders.

The state's Financial Institutions Division helps to set rules, investigate complaints and exercise enforcement/disciplinary authority over the businesses it oversees. Its Real Estate Commission and Appraiser Board each have numerous sources of mortgage fraud information for consumers and can direct them to appropriate contacts for specific questions on mortgage fraud.

Finally the Better Business Bureau sets guidelines by which all businesses should operate and takes steps to ensure that consumers are treated fairly by businesses.


New Mexico Attorney General
www.ago.state.nm.us/divs/cons/
P.O. Drawer 1508
Santa Fe, NM 87504-1508
Phone: (505) 827-6060
Toll-free: (800) 678-1508

New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
Financial Institutions Division
http://www.rld.state.nm.us/fid
2550 Cerrillos Road, Third Floor
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Phone: (505) 476-4885
Email: loretta.king@state.nm.us

New Mexico Real Estate Commission
http://www.rld.state.nm.us/RealEstateCommission/index.html
5200 Oakland Ave. NE Ste. B
Albuquerque, NM 87113
Phone: (505) 222-9820
Toll-free: (800) 801-7505
Email: andrea.armijo@state.nm.us

New Mexico Real Estate Appraiser Board
http://www.rld.state.nm.us/RealEstateAppraisers/index.html
Toney Anaya Building
2550 Cerrillos Road, Second Floor
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Phone: (505) 476-4860
Email: Real.Estate.Appraisers.Board@state.nm.us

FBI New Mexico Field Office
http://albuquerque.fbi.gov/
4200 Luecking Park Ave, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: (505) 889-1300

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Albuquerque Field Office
www.hud.gov/local/index.cfm?state=nm&topic=offices
625 Silver Avenue SW, Suite 100
Albuquerque, NM 87102-3185
Phone: (505) 346-6463
Email: NM_Webmanager@hud.gov

National Credit Union Administration
Region V - Tempe
www.ncua.gov/AboutNcua/org/Region5.htm
1230 W. Washington Street, Suite 301
Tempe, AZ 85281
Phone: (602) 302-6000
Region5@ncua.gov

U.S. Treasury Office of Thrift Supervision
1700 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20552
Consumer Complaints
http://www.ots.treas.gov/?p=ConsumerComplaintsInquiries
Phone: (800) 842-6929
E-mail: consumer.complaint@ots.treas.gov

West Region Office
225 E. John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 500
Irving, Texas 75062-2326
Phone: (972) 277-9500

National Fair Housing Alliance
http://www.nationalfairhousing.org/
1212 New York Avenue, NW Ste 525
Washington, DC 2005
Phone: (202) 898-1661
E-mail: nfha@nationalfairhousing.org

To locate your local affiliate:
http://www.nationalfairhousing.org/MemberOrganizations/tabid/2574/Default.aspx

Better Business Bureaus
Better Business Bureau of the Southwest
www.bbbnm.com
2625 Pennsylvania NE, Ste. 2050
Albuquerque, NM 87110-3658
Phone: (505) 346-0110
E-mail: bureau@bbbnm.com