geez...looks like you got right in the middle of a bunch of crooks. I recently ( dec. 09) purchased my 3rd property and my only issue was the cost of the title search. After much discussion we did reach a satisfactory price, but also like you, they did make an attempt to charge me for various items that I wasn't required to pay for. Once I pointed those items out, their was no hesitation to remove them from my cost basis....but the attempt was there. I will also add these were not FNM/FRE related people...the lender, broker, attorney, and I believe the appraiser may well have been in the same pocket.
What I saw was an attempt to make a few extra bucks by them, and hoping I wouldn't notice...or know...what I was and was not required to pay for. To me, it was more a localized passive attempt to pick up a few hundred extra $$ and not a reflection of FNM/FRE peeps that may or may not have had to sign off on the final set of papers.
However, I do see your point in that many people in close proximity to them may very well be working together to make that few extra dollars without setting off the alarms with a blatantly fraudulent appraisal or loan. I'm not very familiar with first Preston, but I do know who they are. I've talked to several people that bought property through them in the past, but that was years before the crash, so I really have no basis for comparison. I certainly will however, ensure I never utilize their services in the future...lol.
I would be most interested to read your ebook once completed. TIA for the info.
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