With the advancement in technology, it has become rather easy for scammers to take advantage of unsuspecting homeowners and individuals who want to buy or rent a home. Any individual with a PC and internet access can post on sites like Craigslist and Zillow. Thus, not every post on such pages will be true or accurate. In fact, some studies have shown that a website, for instance, Craigslist, does not flag over half of the post which is on their website. These high cases of fraudulent posts makes it more critical to understand real estate scams. In this guide, you can discover more about the most typical scams and ways in which you can prevent them.
Scams occur while you are planning to move into a new property and also after moving into your own house. To aid you with getting more data, below are some of the most common real estate scams which you should know.
Online scams are prevalent in the famous sites, and this causes financial harm to buyers who are not suspecting. The scammer will say that they are the landlords or the homeowner and will reply to your emails professionally and promptly. You should be able to notice these fraudulent red flags or posts to prevent such scams. Some of the common red flags to watch out for include a foreign seller, payment methods, presence of a third party. The fraudster might also say that you should meet a different place to sign the sale agreement and hand you the keys. In case the deal is too good to be true, this is the major red flag. You will know it is a scam if the ad has listed a price for the house which is lower than the other listings.
Scammers will usually utilize the identity of another person by employing false documents to have another person transfer the home to them. The fraudster will then take a new mortgage on the house, receive the cash and not leave a trace. The homeowner is left in an awkward situation where they have to pay off the mortgage. You might buy title insurance to prevent falling into such a scam.
You could protect your personal information better and thus avoid title fraud. Scammers cannot create fraudulent documents in case they do not have any of your personal information.
When you want to buy a home, it is vital to have a realtor to help you in getting what you are seeking. Nonetheless, you must take caution since the scammers are now claiming to be the real estate agents. To avoid their scams, be sure to work with credible realtors and have online reviews that confirm that they are legit.