‘Flopping’ scam enables fraudulent flipping in housing market

Although reports of mortgage fraud nationally fell 41 percent in 2010 from 2009, the continuing downturn in the housing market has fostered new ways of perpetrating it, experts say. Consider “flopping” — the intentional misrepresentation of housing value for purposes of illegal flipping. Here’s how it works: A real-estate agent or broker identifies properties with [...]