Real estate investment is a very good way to make money. The quickest and easiest way to make money is by Zack Childress’concept called co-wholesaling real estate investing system. When you surf for this information, there are many attractive offers but most of them are just too good to be true.
Zack Childress cautions every real estate entrepreneurs against the scams. A fraudster has numerous ways to extract cash. However, there are common ways in which a fraudster tries to get money from you.
Title fraud
Though this type of fraud is rare, it is the most scary thing. It has got to do more with your identity than cash. In this type of fraud, the fraudster acquires the secured loan in your name by forging with the documents and gets the cash, but it is the real owner who has to pay these loans.
Title fraud is common with the homes that are not mortgaged under any individual or party to get a loan. Once they go with the cash, the fraudsters are likely to target those homes that are either free from the mortgage or the homeowner has redeemed their house from the mortgage company paying all the loan installments.
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There are many ways to avoid this type of scam but the two suggested and the recommended ways are to take title insurance and avoid issuing vital property documents till the last stages of transferring the ownership to them. Title insurance protects the homeowner against this fraud. It guards against the new owner from existing liens such as unpaid debts, from utilities, mortgages and unpaid property taxes like wealth tax. The other way is to focus on protecting your personal data. Taking appropriate precautions avoids identity related theft losses.
Loan Modification
If the homeowner have mortgaged or pledged the house to the mortgage company & are struggling to repay the loans due to high interest, there is a tendency to approach the agency to help them to save their house. This is the weakest moment for them where the agencies of the situation & exploit them. If the lender is a fraudster, they will give foreclosure options like reduced mortgage payments to access your bank account.
You need to watch out certain aspects such as advance fee, redirect the payments from the mortgage company to their agency, guarantees to save your house from foreclosure & asks for your bank account information. To be on a safer side, consulting an advocate or financial advisor would be even better. If you are buying the house for the first time, then you are ought to be more careful from the fraudsters.
There is a proverb saying,
“Prevention is better than cure.”
It is always better to be on your guard rather than regretting later. If you have become a victim to these scams, contact Sheriff Station police station or the Attorney’s office and give them a written explanation about the incident.
Real estate companies regularly receive information on real estate scams from customers who were affected by the scandals or know other people who were victims to the scam. The best tool for shielding yourself against these schemes is to be aware of the fact that they exist and one should put in much caution.
The following things have been brought to the attention of higher officials in real estate
Scam #1:
There is a purchaser from another country and he calls you to assist him buy one or more posh homes in the area. The person says he is affluent, and he is from an affluent family. Also, he projects an image that money is not a major issue. The person conveys his plan to relocate to the vicinity because he is a surgeon at a hospital in the area. The purchaser in fact makes a visit to the area, arranges for a meeting with you, and claims that he is residing in a nearby luxury hotel. At some juncture, the purchaser heads for the home and the buyer’s relative is desperate requiring your financial help just until the buyer could be reached.
What one can do?
Be cautious that many scams include some person who appears to be desperate to purchase the property. Although you would desire to rescue the person, rely on your instincts and use some common sense. If you are emotionally thinking about the situation, one has to put forth the question, what would the broker do? Then go to the broker or a reliable associate for suggestion. They should put the situation into the proper perspective. If one suspects that buyer and his family are scammers, endeavor to document as much information as possible and report the scenario to higher authorities.
Scam #2:
There are property listings that are fraudulently posted on websites. During such an instance, customers were encouraged to send money to an account in exchange for real contract or keys.
What one can do?
You have to visit the Craigslist.com website time and again to assure that the listings are not being advertised against law by unauthorized individuals.
Assist in educating the customers on the Do’s and Don’ts if transaction over the net.
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- You have to set up a Google Alert on the addresses of the listings to watch out for the internet postings related to the properties.
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- If you find any fraudulent postings, post a complaint.
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- Coordinating with ongoing efforts by the FBI, report the fraudulent postings to the necessary websites and ask them to remove it immediately.
- In case you find fraudulent postings on Craigslist.com, forward the property link from that site to Real comp. They will ensure that the listings are removed.
Scam #3:
A wealthy purchaser, from abroad, approaches you regarding acquiring a luxury home. The purchaser may even meet with you or a local buyer’s agent before going home. The buyer implies that he will make cash payment and they request quick closing of the deal. The purchaser may furnish copies of foreign bank statements that reveal sufficient funds for the purchase of the property. However, a proper wire transfer never occurs. But, as a matter of fact, the buyer requests to retain the keys before the closing of the deal.
What one can do?
Take the necessary steps to assure that the person is legal, follow the normal methods established by the broker, do not make exceptions to the process.
Scam #4:
The scammers make an arrangement to observe the listed properties. During the showings, they will test opening and closing windows and doors, and in fact leaving one among the entries unlocked. Then, they return to the property to rob you off the appliances.
What one can do?
Make sure that all the windows and doors are locked before you leave a showing even if it looks like a buyer has already done that. Also, have in mind that MLS subscribers should never reveal lockbox codes to any other person than MLS subscribers.
Zack Childress, real estate investor and multifaceted real estate kingpin has staged a number of seminars regarding the existing real estate scenario. One could listen to his seminars to be aware of the real estate scams.
There are very many resources on how to succeed in real estate on the internet. There are also many great deals available online. However, there are also very many scams that are out to steal from real estate entrepreneurs.
Zack Childress scam warning tips take you through some of the common ways fraudster try to get your cash and how to avoid them.
Title fraud
This is the rarest type of fraud but the most devastating of all. The fraudster gains the title documents from the real owner of the property, forges the documents, and then transfers the ownership to his own name. Using the forget documents, the fraudster takes a mortgage or any other line of credit and leaves with the cash.
Title fraud is prevalent with homes that are free from mortgage and owned by old people. These people do not know how to protect themselves from identity theft.
To avoid falling victim, avoid sharing the critical property documents with the third parties until the final stages of the transfer of title. You can also take title insurance.
Foreclosure or home-equity fraud
If you are short on funds, you may use the property to get some cash to cover your expenses. Criminals approach the funds-stripped house owners and promise to consolidate the loans as he holds the title for the property. The criminal then fails to make payments as agreed. He also keeps all the payments that are made by the client. After sometime, the criminal reportages the property and disappears with the cash. The house owner is left in debts without the property.
Be wary of agents who promise good deals in exchange for the property equity. Leveraging properties is always very risky. However, if you must do it, consider using a lawyer and your financial advisor.
Property investment courses and seminars
It is important that you educate yourself on real estate. However, ensure that you do the research on the suitability and the accuracy of the courses before enrolling into the programs.
Seminars where the speakers try to sell their properties are scams. Likewise, avoid workshops, which charge excessively but have no proven success against their claims. If you got to a seminar where you are forced to buy a book or a program as a requisite to earn from the information, it is likely to be fraud. Genuine courses give tons of free valuable information and only charge for the exclusive information for the attendees.
Alerts for fishy rental scam – zack childress tips
Many people yield to real estate scams that are available in several sites online. In fact, some individuals are carried away by suspicious ads. Certain reports also suggest that people are made to sign a rental agreement. Unfortunately they will come to know only at a later time that the property was the possession of some other person. So the need of the hour is to safeguard ourselves from these scams.
There are still some individuals who are victims of this scam. This is particularly in case of those who are having problem with their money. They may be people who are scouting for cheap properties. Hence it becomes necessary to observe whether an advertisement is really good that it can be believed.
What do these con people exactly do? They would scout for vacant properties in the vicinity or attempt to look out for repossessed properties by lenders. They would reach the place of the house eventually and change the specific lock. After this they will be on the keen lookout of their victim.
Con artists also give stress on you to transfer them amount which cannot be traced later. So such upfront deal is generally a sign that you are falling in the trap of a con artist.
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Con artists will show out as though there are very busy and they will avoid the important documents. They also conveniently go away, not able to being found by you or the police.The key is that what you are dealing with is a business deal and finally you should not trust individuals just because they are so nice and courteous.
However, home sellers are in a situation where they can find solutions to safeguard their vacant properties from trespassers. When the seller is not residing in the property anymore they can safeguard their property through insurance. This they can do until another buyer stays in the home. Security systems are also one of the best things the sellers can depend upon.Generally people won’t sell their property often and so the Craiglist scam would be news to them.
Craiglist scam is one scam that had become commonplace some time back; scammers utilize your marketing images with the idea of trapping potential renters. Renters eventually yield to what the con artists are doing and send their rental money to the contact, who can even be out of the country. The scammer gets hold of the sum and escapes without any trace, as mentioned earlier.
To avoid such Craigslist scams you can do the following:
•You should see whether the house is being rented for a whopping price.
• When the landlord says that he is unavailable to contact you in person then take extra care.
• In case you get to know that the home advertised for sale also comes under the purview of listing for sale then don’t hesitate to ring to the real estate agent. By doing this the scam will be exposed in no time.
The key is that since you are the seller you as well as your agent should exercise great care.
Renters seek a house, condo or apartment while scammers seek target in the name of online rental listing. Beware of rental scams, they are everywhere! Hundred thousand renters are swindled by online rental/sales scams every year on a collective basis. Rental listing disguised as online rental/sales scams are a Scam, so be on the lookout for certain things like the landlord is overseas, communication is exclusively by email or cell phone, the house has a “For Sale” but not a “For Rent” sign, when you are conducting your rental search. Read on to know more about the red flags.
Warning signs
The aforesaid points like the “owner” or “renter” claim to be out of the country and when the communication happens only through email or cell phone will give you a suspicion. But, if you come across the following points, then you need to be alert and let your family members and friends know if they are also looking to rent a home. Having said that, often, your gut feeling will let you know there’s something not right about a wished-for rental deal, together with that,
if you come across these things jotted down below, then think twice or even more:-
• The sense of urgency – when the person seems in a hurry to close the deal immediately.
• The home appears to have someone else’s personal possessions.
• The rental sum is lesser than the going rate for the neighborhood.
• If you are asked to hand over money before anything else happens.
Prevention
When you are looking to rent a house, always remember to do your own research work and find out all details about the renting part because prevention is always far better than simply trying to recuperate after being deceived. With technology getting better and better, in certain cases, you will never see your money again and finding the criminal may go in vain if you fail to take these preventative measures.
• Demand a written lease
• Never deal in cash
• Meet the landlord in person
• Talk to the current tenants
• Do your own research and find out all details
• Organize an inspection for the property
• Know the market rates and compare with the neighborhood value
• Take the service of a licensed real estate agent
If you have been scammed, then without any second thought file a complaint and provide the cops, as much as information as possible to help them find the deceiver.Real estate investments are trickier and the chances for you to get deceived are higher if you are a beginner. Sign up for Zack Childress real estate reviews to stay up to date on real estate concepts and make secure investments with the guidance of this connoisseur who will guide you every step of the way.
Home Improvement Scams
There are times when your house becomes old and you would want to do co-wholesaling but people would not be interested in buying the property as it is old and outdated.Home Improvement is an answer for that. However, when you hire someone to do the work, you need to be careful whether the contractor is genuine or whether they want to extract cash from you. The scammers usually target the old and damaged houses. They use low quality roofing materials and cheap paint.
Some of the Do’s and Don’t are as follows
• Be cautious
Before you work with that person, take the company information from them and tell them you will get back to them if your services are needed.If the contractor comes without the company vehicle and the phone number, do not even entertain them.
• Research about the company
Before hiring the person to do your work, you need to check out the rating and complaint history of surfing about the organization or approaching the Better Business Bureau.
• Consult with the people you trust
If the company has newly started, the best thing is to ask your relatives, friends, neighbors or your legal advisor before proceeding.
• Find out the contractor’s background
Background checking is very critical these days to protect yourself from the scams, frauds, thefts & damages. Ask for the proof about company license & bond which provides compensation to the workers in the form of insurance. Additionally, take the references from the previous companies they have worked.
• Study the contractor’s business card
Make sure that the contractor’s business card has a complete address & an office telephone number. To be on a safer side, take his mobile number too. You should not trust P.O Box number & answering machine.
• Get a contract
Insist on a written contract that has a list of tasks to be performed, like costs, materials that needs to be used, start date, end date and warranty about products and installation. Read the contract before signing it.
• Be wise about the payment
Pay only 25 to 30% as an advance before they start with the work. Do not make the final payment unless the work is satisfactorily completed. Also make sure that you get a lien waiver, stating that payment is being made to subcontractors & supplies. Use either check or credit card for making the payment. Avoid paying by cash.
These are the preventive measures to safeguard yourself from these scams. However, if you become a victim to this scam. Try out the following measures to track them.
1.Try to track them through the mobile number that they had given you. Also visit their office. If you are not able to find the fraudster, try to locate his residential address.
2.If you are unable to locate them, you can go to the local police station or Attorney General or the Consumer Federation of America.
Real estate companies regularly receive information on real estate scams from customers who were affected by the scandals or know other people who were victims to the scam. The best tool for shielding yourself against these schemes is to be aware of the fact that they exist and one should put in much caution
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