3% down payment mortgages are back. Does this sound familiar?

Wells Fargo is now offering first-time buyers mortgage loans with only a 3% down payment.  Click here for today's L.A. Times story.  That's even cheaper than FHA which has 3.5% down payment loans.  Funny thing, tho -- once these loans are originated, they will be sold to Fannie Mae, the government-insured entity.  Other banks are developing similar loans.

The loans are for first-time and low income buyers, and will have other restrictions as well that will need to meet Fannie Mae underwriting standards.

Does any of this sound familiar? From, like, 2006 and 2007?

New, improved loan fraud through independent "loan coordinators"

A lender told me the following story yesterday: a buyer came to him for a purchase money loan on a particular property.  The buyer had an independent "loan coordinator" working with him in addition to his own Realtor.  Sufficient documentation, including several Wells Fargo bank statements, paycheck stubs, and verification of employment were turned into the lender with the loan application.  Everything was proceeding along just fine.

Then, one of the lender's staff did the last minute check to make sure the bank statements matched the bank records.  They didn't.  The Wells Fargo bank statements were forgeries.  Excellent forgeries, says the lender. 

Needless to say, the loan didn't go through.  The lender says that the independent "loan coordinator" wanted to know exactly what triggered the denial.  The lender thinks the loan coordinator wants to know how to do his job better next time.