The housing and real estate market had been twice as competitive secondary to the real-world health crisis. Due to this arising competition, many opt for a secret weapon – speed. Over the past year, the housing market had been extra quick since everything is now at the tip of the finger. Selling houses became a lot easier due to online accessibility, which is why the business became more capable to provide faster actions and service.
Given the information, the real estate market is not the only who continues to arise – this situation also started scams. Hiding under the deception of your interest to sell the home fast, some swindles have taken advantage of the immediate service that is offered by legal companies. To be excluded in the wanted list of these frauds, here are some details you should watch out for before selling your humble abode.
Too Much Information
It is common to receive and expect home buyers to ask for a business card or contact details regarding the seller. This is actually their methods to do a credibility check on the seller and property. However, a buyer who first handedly adores a property virtually and is willing to provide personal information right away seems a little over the top.
Most cash buyer scammers appeal to sellers like fairytale. This is why the usual target of these swindlers are those sellers who seem a bit desperate to make a sale. If the situation includes way too many information the seller did not even asked for – then it’s most likely not a happy ending.
Eager but Unavailable
When a buyer seems to be too legit to handle – for example, someone who had already given out all his personal information up to his or her bank statements without a slight tinge of doubt (or interrogation for that matter), yet happens to be unavailable not just once, not just twice, but most of the time, then the seller can assume that he or she is being conned.
One of these missing-in-action scenarios is the inability to join video chat meetings or even phone calls. This seems sketchy enough to suspect that this potential buyer wants to reveal his personal background except there’s a catch – he does not want to be seen in person.
Overshooting of Payment
In a scenario between a seller and a buyer (in this case, a crook), down payments can often raise an eyebrow. According to Brad Chandler, CEO and Co-Founder of Express Homebuyers, the usual technique of a scam person is to tell the seller that he or she sent the payment but it is beyond the cost. Now the buyer wants to have the refund wired immediately after they have sent the check. Little did the seller know, once the overpayment has been wired, the deposited check by the buyer bounces back as a forgery.
Another red flag in this situation is if the seller would not be able to wire back the refund immediately after the buyer sent his check; the scammer then finds ways to push the seller regarding wiring it back as quickly as possible. When faced with buyers like this one, make sure to be calm and bluntly tell them that you will send the refund right away once the check has been approved by the bank.
Conclusion
Bottom line is house buying scams are prevalent in today’s new normal. This is why it is recommended to constantly do background checks regarding who to market your home and what standards do you want the home buyer to acquire.
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