- Snare and switch advance rates
This is whereby unethical contract loan specialist ties the mortgagors into loans without them knowing.
The lenders will approve the mortgagors a loan but with a higher interest rate than they knew. Since the borrower has already applied and paid a nonrefundable payment acting as a registration fee or a deposit for the application process, bear in mind that they were not told about the nonrefundable fee during the application, and most people don’t read the terms of service before applying unless they are told. This means that even if they withdraw from the loan, the amount won’t be refunded.
You can prevent this by referring your clients to lenders that you have worked with before, and you know that they are genuine and ethical
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- Lipstick on a pig
This is where scammers try to cover up houses with defects and failed areas and then put false information on the SDS. They also get inspectors in the mixture to say that he/she has inspected the house and it is ok. This will prevent the buyer from going for an inspection.
Avoid this by informing buyers of the advantages and rights to an inspection of the property.
- Excursion rental trick
This is whereby scammers that post false listings direct the renter to pay the rental fee for the air BnB or vrbo to a website like Zella or Venmo rather than them booking directly via the legit sites.
Do not allow to be told to book outside the platform
- Craigslist rental tricks
Scammers get to real estate sites like Zillow and get the listing pictures, description, and all the necessary information to make the post appear real, and then they go to craigslist or any other platform of this kind and post there and include a lower prize that the market price. Then they trick the buyer into putting in a deposit to secure the property, which in a real sense, has another legitimate owner, and that is how the buyers lose the money, and then they ghost them for good.
Agents are advised to check craigslist and like platforms once a week to check whether someone is using their listing for fraud.
Clients should ensure that they meet the potential homeowners first.
- The undetectable homes
In this, scammers post homes as coming soon with photos and well-written descriptions to lure buyers to the trap, and then when buyers start contacting them, they start giving excuses of privacy of the house, then they are told to pay a good faith deposit to be certain that they are serious.
Ask for the home address and be ready for its inspection
- Deceitful dispossession help
- Momentary rental excessive charge
- Voicemails or texts saying that they want to buy a home from your neighborhood
- Posts are written, “we buy houses.”
- Shutting wire misrepresentation.
Scammers hack emails and transactions and assume the identity of the agent. Then they create another email account that they use to mislead the buyer by wiring directions to complete the fund’s transaction.
