If you are someone who is trying to sell your house and you are in a hurry, one of the biggest things that you have to look for is the common home buying scams. Unfortunately, there are many people out there who are doing what they can to victimize you and take your property, money, and even your identity away from you.
Scammers who claim to be a lending institution trick you into paying a lot of money upfront while you’re selling your home.
The good news is that there are a few ways that you can avoid these kinds of home selling scams. There are different types of home buying scams that you should be aware of so that you can protect yourself and your home.
As we are diving into some of the most common home buying scams that you might come across, we’re going to provide you with some insight on how to identify them and avoid them.
How You Can Avoid Getting Scammed by Home Buying Scams
Even though a lot of people will become victims of rental and home scams, there are a few ways that you can avoid becoming a victim. Even though many homeowners will trust their suspicions and instincts when compared with others, it’s also a good idea to remain vigilant whenever a home buying company tries getting your financial information.
Understand Who You are Negotiating With
It’s important to build trust when you are negotiating with a legitimate home buyer. Sadly, a lot of home buyers won’t have certification while they’re trying to negotiate with you. Home buying companies are going to be licensed businesses that are able to help you no matter what your financial challenge, reason for selling, or condition.
Another way that you can avoid a scam before negotiating is to read reviews of the company. When you look at the negative reviews from other home buying companies, it can help give you an idea of what to expect if you were to do business with a company that has a poor reputation.
The BBB is also going to be helpful when you want to research the licensing credentials of a company.
Verify the Communications of a Home Buying Company
Another great way that you can avoid scams is to verify the communications of the company. A lot of online ads and signs placed in public places are usually placed by scammers where they only showcase one phone number in order to communicate with them.
A legitimate home buying company will usually have a website with their accounts for social medial, web pages, and business emails that advertise their services and the ways that they can help you sell. If there aren’t multiple communication outlets and they’re not providing you with some transparent information, it’s best that you avoid them completely.
Research the Home Buying Process
When you are selling your home on your own, it’s a good idea to research the home buying process in Massachusetts to make sure that those deals you’re making with the cash buyer will be legitimate rather than one of the home buying scams. Whether you’re relying on deals that are done face-to-face or you prefer to sell the house online, it’s a great way that you are able to make sure of the security of your financial information.
Even though they specialize in quickly buying houses, they are very eager to buy and it’s often something that is used by home buying scammers.
Some of the factors that should be considered when you’re researching include:
- Your financial status
- Finding a trustworthy and experienced realtor
- Doing property inspections
- Pre-approval for a mortgage
Make Sure Your Information’s Safe
Before you make any deal with a company or person that claims they are able to purchase your house, it’s a good idea that you ask them for some more information before you provide them with your data. With how quickly the Internet’s grown, a lot of scammers are able to locate your information and then locate you online.
Many scammers doing home buying scams are going to request your banking information because they charge fees for the services they offer. You want to ask them a few questions about what they’re going to do once the transaction’s done. If they’re not able to provide you with a clear answer, chances are that they are going to leave you be and then look for another victim.
When scammers are asking you to send them your SSN through a phone call or through email, you should never give that to them. When you give them this important information, it’s going to give them access to personal information and let them steal your identity. When this happens, your credit is going to be damaged as they’re going to apply for credit cards and use them in your name.
Kinds of Home Buying Scams You Should Watch For
Various scammers are going to use different methods that can swindle you for banking information or cash. Even though the home buying market’s really fast-paced for making deals and closing them, you want to slow down. You want to also remain vigilant for those scams that are trying to steal your property and money.
Cash Offer for House Home Buying Scams
The first kind of scam when it comes to house buying will involve a scammer that offers a lot of cash for the house. It’s possible that you are going to get these kinds of offers through unsolicited emails or phone calls.
Even though there are a few that will come from people in other countries, they can also come from anywhere in the world. These individuals or businesses will usually ask to purchase in a short amount of time.
So that you can avoid being taken in by these scams, request the contact information from the buyer before you consider accepting the cash offer. If the email or phone number isn’t getting back to you quickly, with the exception of differences in time zones, chances are that you won’t hear from them again.
Wire Transfer Home Buying Scams
Another very common method that a fraudster will use to access the funds in your bank account is the wire transfer scam. This usually will happen when the scammer sends out an email that asks you to provide your information after they have hacked into an email server of a lender or title company.
When the instructions that they gave you are followed, your funds are received by the scammer and then they move on to the next target. Typically, you are going to find out about the fraud when your title company or realtor tells you that they didn’t get the payment.
Some of the warning signs that you should look for when you’re receiving the message include:
- Last minute changes on the payment type
- Emails with poor grammar or misspellings
- Emails that are sent out of typical working hours
What You Should Do if You’re Scammed While Selling Your Home
If you’re scammed while you’re refinancing your home’s mortgage, there are a few things that you can do. When you seek help quickly, you will be able to avoid becoming a victim of more scams. If you are in any doubt, you should call the local authorities.
One of the resources that you’re able to contact to get help immediately is the FTC. Their main objective is to get reports of scamming from individuals who’ve been affected. Renters and property owners both reach out to this organization for a lot of popular scams, including imposter and wire fraud scams.
You’re able to report the fraud from home buying scams online, call them at 1-877-382-4357 or talk to an assistant. It’s a good idea to provide them with as much information about the scam, including:
- The amount of money asked for by the scammer
- When the money was paid
- The contact information and name of the scammer
It’s also possible to file your complaint about home buying scams with the FBI when you are victimized by a scammer. When you take action quickly, you are going to have a better chance of getting the money back.
As you can see, there are a lot of things to be aware of when it comes to home buying scams. If you are looking for a way that you can sell your home to a legitimate company, contact us through our chat. We are happy to provide you with any information to put your mind at ease and we will never charge you a fee! We’ll simply give you a fair cash offer.
