DEAN GRAZIOSI REAL ESTATE SCAM

Dean Graziosi Tells You How to Spot a Real Estate Scam

Anti- Real Estate Scam Strategies by Dean Graziosi

About Dean Graziosi

Dean Graziosi is a real estate investor who is passionate about teaching others how to create wealth from real estate. Dean Graziosi writes books to teach others how to do what he has done. Dean Graziosi's books have become best sellers. Dean Graziosi has also hosted dozens of his own real estate shows on TV; Dean Graziosi is currently an active investor and has been since 1986. Dean Graziosi has literally built a fortune through buying and selling real estate.

From Dean Graziosi:

I’m not sharing this with you to brag. I simply want you to have a little background on me so you will know that I am a credible person. If you’re not familiar with me, you wouldn’t know the majority of my daily life revolves around teaching everyday people how to do what I’ve done.

Over the years I’ve seen my share of real estate scams promising people money for nothing. Every day in this country, people are being victimized by these real estate scams and wind up suffering tremendously!

Because I spend my time and effort educating people with ethical and effective ways to profit from real estate, scams in this area really infuriate me. There are scams that not only target investors, but home buyers and renters.

So I decided to hire a writer to research the real estate scam problem and create this site for my readers and the general public. It’s my contribution to help inform and protect you from becoming the next victim of a real estate scam. I sincerely hope this information helps you stay safe from real estate scam and make smart decisions.

Real Estate Scams

Rental Scams

You see an ad for an unbelievably low rental price. The catch? The owner of the supposed property resides in Africa, and you need to mail the check there. This scam is carried out by physically renting homes that are currently listed for sale and are vacant. These homes are not really for rent!

Here is how the scam works

The scammer copies a residential rental ad from a rental site and reposts it to a free large classifieds site. They make the rental price very low in order to attract as many potential renters as possible.

The unassuming interested renter thinks the price is too good to be true but decides to contact the “owner” or “property manager” of the home.

The email response would look something like this. (This is a real email from a scammer notice the misspellings). email is (whatever@yahoo.com)

Subject: Re: $800 / 3br – Better Than New!

 

We have decied to let you live in our house. As we have found your application very setisfactry and acceptable by my family. So we would want you to go through the acceptance form and get back to us on what you feel.I will be giving you a call later.we would like to send the following document to you via FEDEX to the address you sent to us and the tracking number will be sent to you so that you can possibly occupy our housePlease once againwe are giving you this on trust and do not dissapoint us and I promise you thatyou will love the house. So we are with the below document here with us.you will need to make Payment for Rent deposit and shippment of the Keys and document to the address you will have to provide to us.
Here are the contents of the document.

 

1) Entrance and the rooms Keys

2)Paper/Permanent house form

3)The house documetary file.

 

So please do get back to me today so that I will let know the next step to take concerning the payment. I await your reply ASAP.Regard and God bless you!!! You can call us on how to make payment for the shippment of the Keys and Document to the apartment. Our house number is +234-803-659-7132 OR 011-234-803-659-7132.or you can indicate if you want me to instruct you on how to make the payment.

 

Mr. Johnson David

WifeTheresa & daughter Melinda100 Church RoadLagosWest Africa. 01234

+234-803-659-7132 OR 011-234-803-659-7132

Missionary Code: 15148Z

http://new.gbgm-umc.org

 

The unassuming renter sends this scammer a check assuming they will then receive the keys to the property. Of course, the keys are never sent and the scammers now have the renters money.

In some cases, the scammer will tell the potential renter that they are out of the country but can send them the keys to see the house themselves. If they don’t like the house the “scammer’ says they will refund them their money. (Usually a $2,000 deposit)

The major red flags of any scam are:

The most common rental scam is when a potential renter is interested in your property. Here is how it works:

Defunct Mortgage Companies Scam

This scam involves using defunct mortgage company stationery that has approved the buyer for a 100% loan. The offers are written on as-is properties, and the buyers request a check for a few thousand dollars from sellers under the table to make the home habitable.

Mail Scams

Mail scam an unsolicited mailings of fake checks from out of the country to be placed as a deposit on a particular home, and then requesting several thousand dollars to be refunded to the buyer for temp hosing in meantime to be mailed back overseas. The way this scam works is you are sent a forged check or money order for more than the amount you need. The sender requests that you return a portion of the money in US dollars. You deposit the check or money order, send off the money to the scammer, and by the time your bank returns the fraudulent check/money order, the scammers are long gone with your real money.

Where These Scams Are (or Can Be)

How To Avoid Scam

DEAL LOCALLY

DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON – if you can’t meet them in person, or a credible agent, do NOT proceed.

This is by no means an exhaustive guide to real estate scams. You can find further information and help at my website www.deangraziosi.com

Dean Graziosi

Visit us soon for more of Dean Graziosi's Anti-Scam Tips!

Real Estate Scams

Stories of real estate scams are not uncommon. Now, real estate scam has historically proved to be a reliable – if criminal – source of income for many a sophisticated scam artist.

Given the fact that Americans have poured much money into real estate over the last few years, it seems an obvious market in which scam artists would play, especially considering the volume of activity.

Also, the more money moving into the real estate market, the easier it is for a scam artist to hide losses. After all, it wasn’t until the stock market imploded, that the ugly faces of the scandal-ridden companies like Enron and World Com came to first light.

But once the flow of activity slows down, scam start to become evident. Is this what real estate owners and investors have to look forward to, scam? Well, one hopes it won’t come to anything quite so extreme, although there are many ways to scam a real estate investor.

Scams come in a few basic flavors. There are a number of scam warning signs to watch out for, before losses mount.

Most scam cases revolve around forged deeds or sales of development and properties, or trusts that don’t exist.

In one real estate scam, the alleged conman actually had staged bull dozers and construction equipment on an undeveloped plot of land in Riverside, California, and bussed many of his investors/victims to the scam, to watch the performance.

Oft times, real estate scams don’t hurt property owners as much as they hurt insurers and mortgage lenders.

There are thousands of cases of real estate professionals obtaining phony appraisals on property and taking out multiple loans on the home or land before the lender catches on that it is a scam.

Property Scam

One of the several types of scams and frauds hovering around is the one faced by homeowners. A property fraud scam or real estate scam involves a scammer or a fraudster, creating a bogus deed from sample documents, and then registering the deed at the land record office.

All of this happens while the homeowner is completely unaware of the scam.

Scammers use fake names and fake identities to carry out such scams.

When all of the documents have been collated by the scam artist, the next step is to apply for a mortgage. It has been found that in many such scam cases, the scam artists have eluded security checks and disappeared with the money.

After a few months into the scam, when the loan payments become overdue, the authorities contact the real homeowner and informs them that a foreclosure proceeding is about to start. This leaves the homeowner with no other option but to hire a lawyer to stop the foreclosure proceedings.

Now, one of the ways to stop this property fraud scam is the timely detection of such fraud. Scam artists and fraudsters wait for a few months after recording a deed and before applying for a loan. This is the time when such a property scam can be avoided.

One of the most common cases of real estate scams are forgeries by spouses and family members. A husband may use his girlfriend, who’s going to pose as a wife, and has intercepted his wife’s credit cards as identification to take over a piece of property. It may not just be a family member, either. A large percentage of real estate scam is perpetrated by trusted individuals who victims know socially or who have already done business in the past.

Confidence men are thus known because they gain the confidence of their scam victims. People are often impressed by shows of affluence and lured into a scam. This is when the scam is successful; because when the victim realizes that they are a victim of scam; it is too late.

The best way to avoid getting taken by such scams may be common sense. ->h2

Avoid investment deals that are overwhelmingly complex and offer outrageous returns. There is a high chance that it is a scam.

Another common way to scam property owners happens without the owners’ active participation. Any undeveloped land or unoccupied or recently inherited homes are prime targets for real estate scam. In this type of scam; the deed to the land can be illegally obtained and resold by the fictitious owner, or used as collateral for large loans.

There are a lot of scams done on unoccupied properties. In this type of scam it’s easy to bring in an appraiser, and nobody is suspicious. And the scam artist can actually pose as the owner.

Still, in the same way one might prevent credit card fraud in any other scam, this can be avoided, to some extent, by regularly checking one’s credit report and making sure there aren’t any unknown outstanding debts or loans.

Real estate scams are more and more popular, even though we can’t see them yet. Compared to robbing a bank, stealing a $200,000 property by a false deed or identity theft, it really becomes quite trivial. It’s a remarkably safe way for thieves and scam artists to make money.

A scam artist's imagination is remarkable. And oft times, we can’t do much more than minimize the damage that scams inflict.

By becoming aware of the most common real estate scams, you may be able to protect yourself or someone you know.

False Deeds Scam

Most real estate scams revolve around forged deeds. The most popular scam is using a false deed in order to get a loan secured against the property. The scam artist then vanishes with all the money, leaving the homeowner in danger of foreclosure by the bank.

Often times, the danger is real if the owner doesn’t react on the first warning received by the bank. So, there’s a key point and indication of a scam. If ever you get a warning from the bank that your payments are behind, and you know they’re not, you need to contact the bank. You may be a victim of scam

More False Deeds Scams

Another common real estate scam is selling a property without the owner’s consent. The uninhabited, recently inherited or otherwise unguarded property is the most probable target for such scams.

The most inventive scam artists are able to even sell the same property to several buyers at the same time. However, if they have sold it only to a single buyer, the scam can go unnoticed for months, or even a year. By that time, the owner is long gone, usually in another state, selling another home to someone else.

Real Deeds Scams

The false deeds are bad enough, as such scams usually hit at random, and they often can be reversed after the deed is thoroughly checked.

However, the problem begins when the scam is performed using a real deed – one that was either stolen or simply taken from the owner.

The sad thing is that such scam artists often recruit from our families and closest friends, people that we would never suspect of anything.

The most popular way to get some kind of authorization or actually get a signature from the owner is in addition to the deed.

Now, this way, the scam artist can do whatever they like, without any real risk of being caught. This is an especially popular scam used against elderly people, a nurse or a family member, by either taking a loan in the name of the elder person or just forcing them to take it.

Another even more outrageous real estate scam is performed by unethical door-to-door loan sellers.

Under the pretext of making home repairs, they force a senior to sign some documents which are truly high-rate loan contracts secured against the property. As most seniors are unable to repay such debt, their homes are taken by the creditors, which was its goal from the beginning of the scam. And the elder is left homeless.

Your Defense Against Scam

Defending against such scam is difficult. If the scam artists use false deed, it is possible to prove that you had nothing to do with the loan or the purchase.

However, if they use a real deed or have your authorization or signature, it gets pretty dicey to spot the scam. Taking effective legal action is next to impossible if you signed the papers.

Here are some tips to help protect you through such scams.

1. Anti Scam Tip: Never sign anything you haven’t thoroughly read. And if you’re in doubt, have your attorney review the documents before signing.
2. Anti Scam Tip: Throw out any loan peddlers, people who might actually come to your door.
3. Anti Scam Tip: Next would be keep important documents, such as your deed, in a safety deposit box, someplace where you can get your hands on it only if you leave your place of residence and then go get them. They’re just not handy.

I hope this information has been helpful to avoid scam. It’s kind of interesting, the kind of things that do go on. But the fact is that there are always somebody out there trying to make a quick buck thru real estate scam particularly in hard times.