The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "appraisers" ...
-
Gilbert's Pricey Land Deal
In early 2009, Gilbert paid $300,000 per acre for 142.5 acres of undeveloped farmland intended for the development of two municipal parks. The transaction cause local real-estate experts to scratch their heads at the above-market price that Gilbert paid for the land. Leavitt's investigation found that the town bought the land without first seeking an appraisal to help determine its value.
-
The Great Mortgage Cover-Up
These stories reveal one of the hidden causes of the financial crisis- how corporate codes of silence helped lenders to flood the nation with toxic mortgages. They document evidence that major banks and lenders systematically muzzled whistle blowers who tried to fight against forged documents, falsified appraisals, and other frauds in the mortgage industry.
Tags: financial crisis; mortgages; forged documents; crisis
-
The Real Estate Meltdown
"Did Appraisers Juice the Market?" showed how appraisers overstated home values. Using disciplinary records and interviews, Shanklin and McClure found appraisers who exaggerated condo sizes, appraised homes without seeing them and stated that condos were worth the $240,000 sales price even though the price was padded with $40,000 of incentives. The "Subprime Mess" package was based on more than 2 million records and showed how unconventional loans moved from low-income, inner city neighborhoods to the burgeoning suburbs. "How Investors Helped Overheat the Market" explored the role of investors in Central Florida's real estate meltdown by analyzing hundreds of data records and found that sales of non owner-occupied homes grew from 25 percent of all local residential sales in 2002 to 70 percent in 2006.
Tags: real estate; investors; lenders; purchase prices; subprime loans; adjustable-rate loans; high-interest loans; housing scam; vacant housing; condo conversion; development; property values
-
Property Tax, Appraisals Explained
When valuing a piece of land the sales price is needed but buyers and sellers of property are required to disclose the price. Appraisal districts must find the information itself but when an outside expert was hired to review the job of the appraisal districts, tens of thousands of errors were found where property values would be up to ten percent off.
Tags: housing; realty; realtor; Dallas County Chief Appraiser; DCAD; property tax; real estate;
-
The Taxman and the Truth
This investigation explores Texas' high property taxes, which are based on valuation of land by a government appraiser. The investigation reveals that appraisals are often made with incomplete data about home prices in the area. Consequently, appraisal values are often off by as much as ten percent and sometimes more.
Tags: real estate; property tax; local government; state government; housing
-
A Rapid Rise
This investigation examined dozens of unusual real estate deals in working-class neighborhoods in which buyers made low-ball offers to desperate sellers. The recorded sales prices, however, were tens of thousands of dollars more. These deals happened during a precipitous decline in Florida’s housing boom. In each transaction, the buyers borrowed close to the full amount from lenders. The investigations showed that the money between the price paid to the sellers and the recorded sales prices was paid to a third party. This was not always disclosed to the lenders, which is against state and federal law. All the deals involved the same real estate agent, the same title company and the same group of buyers. The same appraiser was used in many of the cases, and the appraisals reflected the higher price. As a result of the inflated prices, property values were artificially raised for the rest of the neighborhoods, resulting in higher taxes.
Tags: real estate; property; taxes; public property;
-
Hillsborough County School District Land Investigation
The ninth largest U.S. school district, Hillsborough County (FL), in 2006 was "growing fast enough to fill five new schools" per year. To meet the demand, Hillsborough county used the services of 4 private real estate brokers, without using bids, in violation of its own regulations. Three of the four brokers have records of criminal, legal and financial problems. Some of those brokers simultaneously represented the sellers, or flipped the land themselves, resulting in land purchases often made substantially above appraisal values. Reporters from the St. Petersburg Times documented swampland purchases, and school sites surrounded by the homes of sexual predators.
Tags: land; school board; school district superintendent; real estate brokers; realtors; swampland; bidding practices; state FOI; land flipping; rezoning applications; condemnation; assessments; appraisals; financial investigations; land records; wetland maps; FBI investigation; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Excel; Matthew B. Cox; Chester B. Luney; Fred Edmister; National Realty Associates; school planning; Wilson-Miller; Florida Real Estate Commission; 2606 East Caracus Land Trust; Laurence E. Fuentes; Fuentes and Kreischer Title Co.; Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
-
Would you pay $840,925 for this house?
Colorado Springs Utilities has spent over $6 million to purchase property for a reservoir that has yet to be granted a federal permit. The purchase prices were much higher than the appraised and market values, while including additional payments for "relocation costs."
Tags: realty; housing; over priced; reservoir; grant; permit; rent; auditor; jimmy camp creek
-
Paper Paradise
The investigation focused on hundreds of undevelopable land parcels being aggressively marketed on the internet for thousands of dollars over their appraised price, hindering environmental attempts to preserve the land. The department set up to stop this practice in the 1960's, the Division of Land Sales, was unaware of its resurgence until contacted by the journalists.
Tags: land sales; land parcels; land development; swampland; environmental preservation; Florida State Division of Land Sales
-
Washington Park School
The I-Team investigated Cincinnati School Board decisions related to the relocation of one inner city public school. The story provides insight into how CPS is managing a billion dollars of new school construction. It revealed problems of student safety, economics, Board incompetence and conflicts of interest. The school board deviated from standard property appraisal procedures, overpaid for the school, located it in Cincinnati's most dangerous area and could have renovated a nearby school for far less money.
Tags: school board; school construction; inner city schools; conflicts of interest; student safety