Simply put, real estate fraud is defined as a material misrepresentation of fact intended to induce you into the transaction and let me tell you, that inducement can really hurt. You could lose all those hard earned dollars if you’re not paying attention so get with it and PAY ATTENTION.
For instance, if someone sends you an e-mail saying that you recently won the international lottery (I just received one) for $1.5 million and all you have to do is send your bank account information so they can make a direct deposit would you do it? Obviously, if you do, you’re an idiot (no, I didn’t respond) but there are other things going on in the real estate world that are equally as ruinous.
It doesn’t happen to everyone BUT it does happen to someone every damn day. If you aren’t aware of some of the pitfalls you could be one of the idiots (there’s that word again) that gets
B U R N E D.
If you want to throw your money away, throw it my way. I still have a kid in college and I’d much rather have the money go for books, food, tuition, beer and other staples instead of the crooks that would like to spend it on only one of the previous four items (guess which one)………….
There are many types of real estate fraud and to be honest, you really don’t have to be an idiot to be taken in by the unscrupulous. If you’re an uninformed consumer, then yep, you can be “had”. Market price alone can hurt you real bad. Check this dialogue out –
Michael:
So, Phyllis, I hear you are in the market to buy a house.
Phyllis:
Where did you hear that?
Michael:
Ok, never mind, but listen – I know this great way you can buy my house, plus we can make a little money doing it.
Phyllis:
But I don’t want your house Michael…
DWIGHT ENTERS IN A HURRY, CUTTING HER OFF.
Dwight: (to Michael)
Okay, so operation “Appraiser” is in effect – code blue, code BLUE, but we have to hurry
Michael:
Great, this is excellent. What is code Blue?
Dwight: (ignoring him)
QUESTION: Are we still splitting the profits 47-47-6?
HE GLARES AT PHYLLIS.
Dwight: (continued)
Never mind, she is in the room.
Phyllis:
Profits? What is he talking about, Michael?
Michael:
Okay, so you need a house and I need to sell mine. So, even though my house is worth $200,000 – BARELY – you are going to offer me $300,000 and Dwight will help make it happen.
Phyllis:
Why would I do that?
Michael:
Don’t worry about it, it will all make sense later…and you’ll make some big bucks
Phyllis:
But I don’t want your house, Michael…
Dwight: (irritated)
SILENCE!! LISTEN to what he is saying!!! You will offer Michael $300,000; I, a licensed appraiser for eleven years says that the property is worth $300,000; you get a loan for $300,000 from the bank, because they trust licensed appraisers…
Michael:
Then I get $100,000, 50% more from the bank than I should…
Dwight:
Which we split 47-47-6…
Michael:
Plus, your new house – my old house, looks like it was really expensive, and then it makes your neighborhood look expensive. Which is not that good for future buyers, I guess…
Dwight:
Who cares?!?! 50% more money!!
Phyllis:
But that’s unethical.
Michael:
But we are making money – Cold. Hard. Cash. It’s pretty hard to say no, right?
Phyllis:
But I don’t want your house, Michael.
So…if you don’t watch the Office – please, please change your ways.
Alright – not every buyer would be as clueless as Phyllis – usually, the appraiser, buyer and seller are all in it together to make a profit off of the bank – and then they can split town. Also, as Michael discovered, the future buyers like YOU will get hurt by paying too much in this artificially inflated neighborhood. Then you have to sit and wait around until your house is finally worth the price you paid for it (this could take years, if ever) - only then can you start to make money on your major investment.
Where do you come in? If you buy a property in this artificially inflated neighborhood, thinking that you are getting a good deal, you aren’t. When everything blows up and the “house of cards” falls, the fraudulently transacted properties go into foreclosure, you have a property and a neighborhood that is overvalued and it’s going to take a while (sometimes a long while) for the property to reach the price that you paid for it.
If this happens to you, you’ve been had and it happens all the time.
www.homesmartreports.com can save you from a lot of aggravation and the loss of big bucks and I can prove it to you – simply post an address and the estimated value of the property and I’ll do the rest. Let me show you what a data analysis of your property can show and if there are any risks present, we’ll flag them for you……………..Be smart.