The most common fraud you will find in real estate will involve; Rental, Mortgage and Foreclosure. or Affordable Housing. Rental fraud - is when a person is posing as the landlord and advertising a rental property as their own. They will prepare lease contract and request security deposits only to later find out you are scammed. (Make sure you use a licensed realtor). Mortgage fraud is when someone is misrepresenting information of income, assets on a mortgage application to secure a property. Foreclosure fraud is the homeowner is being targeted by individuals promising to help them save their home and negotiating with their lender. If you are facing foreclosure, understand your options. A local realtor/attorney with background in short sales/foreclosures will be able to assist.
Darren, fraud in real estate is very common. The main frauded is wiring funds to the title company for closing. Buyers should be aware of emails with instructions for wiring funds to closing. Always verify with your Realtor and the Title Company. We sometimes see someone representing they are the property owner when they are not.
Hi Darren, Absolutely, like most other things there is fraud in real estate. Biggest one I am aware of is the email fraud. Never ever believe an email that your escrow company is changing the routing number to wire your funds without speaking directly to the escrow officer. Escrow will always confirm the bank account that you want it wired to right before escrow closes. Also, never sign the Title paperwork over to someone else. Ask a real estate attorney or a Realtor that you can trust before you sign any documents. People get tricked into signing over the documents and then their home is gone. Also, to do a loan modification noone is allowed to charge you. Do not pay anyone upfront to do a loan modification. This is illegal in California.
Deciding whether to consult a real estate agent or mortgage lender first when buying a home is a common dilemma for first-time homebuyers. Working with a lender upfront provides clarity on your budget, and getting preapproved shows sellers you’re a serious buyer. However, connecting early with a knowledgeable real estate agent can offer inva
What if you could cut your agent commission in half – or even down to 1%? On a $500,000 house, that's handing over $25,000-$30,000 of your equity. But over the last few years, a disruptive new model has emerged – agents who offer full service for commissions as low as 1%. In the real estate industry, the concept sounds almost too good to b
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