Beware of Real Estate Online Scams
Real-estate is amongst the businesses that are striving and taking up online marketing. As reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), around 84% of home sellers and buyers exploit the internet as a marketing strategy. Individual who are depending on realty magazines, books and television for selling and searching homes are reducing in numbers. Agreeing with this kind of information, realtors cannot ignore the fact that online marketing has become a huge force in the industry.
Along with understanding the advantage of online marketing, we should take a look at the risks posed by scammers’ online and other fraudulent activities too. According to research, around $400 billion is lost by U.S. organizations every year due to online fraud and scam. Home buyers and even home sellers are not exempted from these online fraudulent activities.
An example of such scenario is when home buyers would see prospect homes listed in web-classified ads and official real-estate agency websites too. The prices have a huge discrepancy and those listed in web-classified ads tend to cost less. Attracting more clients, home buyers would later find out that it is not an official sell at all. They lose money and at the same time, possible property acquisition.
How to Avoid these Scams
How do we avoid or identify such scams? Usually, those who are claiming to be the owners of a property up for sale or rent would say that they are out of the country. If you are renting a home, they would ask for an advanced payment which could be deposited or sent through check. Never pay or provide money for any property that you have not yet seen.
Some real-estate scammers would be able to show you a property, however, remain cautious and do some research first on the property before proceeding with any kind of payment. Usually, a search on Google using the phone number will lead you to suspicious information.
A seller could also experience fraud. An interested “buyer” would send an email and ask about the seller’s property. They would usually ask details about the home. As a seller, you should check other web-classified ads. It is common for a seller to find their own property listed there by another individual.
Identity theft is an additional major online problem. If you are registered in a firm, there is a chance that other people/lenders would be able to pull up your information easily. There are also some “agencies and firms” that would solicit membership. Before joining, verify if the firm or agency is legitimate. They may only be using your personal information for their own transactions.
To safeguard yourself against real-estate scams, don’t ever give out any kind of personal and financial information to an organization or even individuals that would send you emails requesting it. Confirm the information provided by the individual you are dealing with. Scammers would normally send checks to give an impression that they are really making payments. You could ask the bank and have the check verified.
But the best thing that could help you avoid such problems is by getting a real-estate agent or a mentor to help you out. Mistakes in real-estate happen because beginners or even those who are already in the business for a while would forget to talk to others and ask for advice.