Flip This Shameless Fraud

Apart from episodes of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, I avoid reality TV. Gordon's a special case, and has become a hero of the household, but that's a tale for another time.

But yesterday in Chicago, packing up to check out of the hotel room, I surfed over to A&E Network's Flip This House, about twenty minutes into the episode. I confess I didn't know what show I was watching, just observing some guys in Hartford trying to bring a house back to life they had bought, hoping to rehabilitate and resell.

The bees nested in the ceiling and windows were one challenge. After about five minutes, morbid curiosity took over, sensing that much worse was to follow.

It did.

The plumber arrived.

He went to the bathroom, and turned on the bathtub faucet.

No water. Because the fixtures were cosmetic only, not attached to any plumbing anywhere. The previous owner had cosmetically rigged the house to get past a lazy (or perhaps corrupt?) appraiser for a refi, to pull cash from the property.

Mortgage Fraud 101.

Someone should go to jail, but they won't. Complaining to the local prosecutor will get them the response, 'This is a civil matter', and the state prosecutor will tell them he's too busy--and likely he thinks he is. But just once, with a case this blatant, and professionally filmed, it would seem worthwhile to round up the owner, the appraiser, the realtor, and the mortgage broker, and at least perp-walk them for the local evening news.

Now, our intrepid remodelers don't get off that cleanly in my mind. They had a duty to inspect before buying. Betcha they will the next time!

But that in no way excuses or lessens the stench of a transaction based upon a lie.

Myself, I've got a Mercedes in the driveway I should have asked a few more questions about. Exhilarating to drive, but the previous owner didn't mention its need of a new head gasket. Shame on me, but more shame on him. I was gullible, he was duplicitous. I still would have bought the car with all the facts on the table, at a bit lower price.

There will be no recovery of the economy without a recovery of ethics.