Steering Clear Of The Rental Scams - Dc Fawcett

Scams with regard to the rental are as old as the relationship between landlord and tenant.  Particularly, the most recurring scam was when the landlords retained the security deposits of the tenant.  This is often done with much liberty.  Many laws have emerged to curb these scandals.

The world is much smaller now, and the technology has become widespread.  The relationship between the landlord and the tenant has become anonymous.  The chance of rampant fraud has not been this much greater.  As one observes, the crises with regard to housing, resulting in number of empty property has given the chance that criminals cannot just ignore.

The existing rental scams

The most rampant rental scam that we have seen in the last couple of years is people with no right to leasing of a property leasing it to a probable tenant and getting away with the security deposit, rent for the first month, and during times even the prepaid rent.

Another existing scam is the charging of possible tenant fees for background verification and getting away with that money.  The particular fee for background check is about $50, an amount with which the thief could get away with.

Sophisticated frauds that are in the scenario

The simplest frauds involve copying of the legal apartment ads from the internet and posting it again with their contact information.  When a possible tenant approaches the poster of the advertisement, he gives excuses for not retaining access to the property and demands that the tenant rent it without the site being seen.  Or, he demands that the deposit be paid.  Once the scammer retains the money, he goes missing.

There are some more complicated scams in which the criminal has direct access to the apartment.  The huge number of foreclosures has resulted in vacant buildings being used for fraudulent purposes.  The criminal goes for a break into the building and he replaces the locks.  He is actually able to show the apartment to the possible renters.  There have been cases where the tenant moved in, and then be told that the property is not owned by the scammer.

Preventing Fraud:

Prevention of the most sophisticated scams could be difficult, but there are some tips to assist in minimizing the danger. Be Cautious of Foreclosure Scam

Never go for cash dealing:

The weakest point in most of the fraudulent schemes is the reception of untraceable payment.  Those who resort to sophisticated scams know that police can easily track down the common kinds of payment putting the scammer in risk of arrest.  Most of the scammers insist that the payment be made to a difficult to trace form.  It is to be noted that the tenant should never pay the cash to the landlord for anything.  This is particularly applicable for a security deposit and first month rent.  The tenant should also avoid wiring the money.

Legal landlords will generally accept the regular checks or those from the cashier.  Those are easier for the police to trace if a culprit disappears with the money.  Even if the landlord is not a scammer, those landlords who demand only cash are very problematic.

Any attempt made by the landlord to be anonymous should be seen as a discouraging factor.  Even in the most conducive scenario, the person may be difficult to reach if there are any repairs to be made.

What should be done if one has been scammed?

Prevention is always better than cure.  It is the choicest option to prevent scams than endeavoring to come out of a fraudulent scheme.  In majority of the cases, one will never see his money again and the culprit may disappear.

• If you have become the victim of a scam, a police report has to be given and full details furnished.
• One has to notify the Alderman for the district, and it is to be noted that many aldermen are as much active in their wards as possible. They will make the police take action.
• One has to contact the Illinois Attorney General, and it is to be noted that the office holds responsibility for the protection of consumer.
• One has to contact an attorney or the rights agency for the tenant. One is often aware of the existing scams and can try to avoid becoming a victim of scam.

Dc Fawcett, a real estate icon and the founder of Virtual Real Estate Investing Club, has suggestions in his blogs to make people wary of the scammers. One could skim through the blogs by Dc Fawcett so that he or she gets a fine idea regarding the danger of scams.

Tricks Employed By Real Estate Agent - Dc Fawcett

 

DC Fawcett Real Estate

Real estate agents play a major role when you are buying, selling, renting or leasing the property. They create an impact on the buyers to take a financial decision. They are the ones who give you the guidance for trading with the property. They use many tricks to get the deal finalized. DCFawcett tells you the tricks they use.

Tricks Employed by Real Estate Agent

The real estate agents use many tricks to close the deal as early as possible. Auctions and sales are very much at the peak during the spring season across the country. The sellers reap the maximum benefit in this season as the housing prices increase rapidly. Whatever it is price, the buyers buy the property though they get the feeling that they have been overcharged. If you are a beginner in this field, you need to be wise about the common real estate tricks. However, the agents can also change their tricks once they know you are wise. In such cases, you need to know about the market in depth so you avoid getting manipulated. Here are the tactics or the tricks the real estate 

1.       Getting tricked into paying advance fees – Real estate agents can request the advance fees from the sellers for flipping or renting the property. In this domain, it is termed as upfront fees which are used in the name of special advertising which must be ordered well in advance. Avoid paying money before they start their work. If possible, you may also have to negotiate the fee arrangement you wish to make.

2.       Unrealistic selling price for a home – The real estate agents, who assure the seller about the unrealistic price they can get for their home through the listing, means they are tempting them to take a hasty decision to go for it. They know very well this is what the sellers would like to hear. However, these words sound too good to be true. After a month or two, the agents say that market has gone down so the price needs to be reduced. However, that month is very much critical as there can be a drop down in the price if the sale is not made quickly. So you should not give the exact price in the beginning.

3.       Selective disclosure – You need to keep a watch on those real estate agents who avoid full disclosure about the property. There are the possibilities that the real owners might have been killed and the property has been illegally occupied, which may put you in trouble after you buy that property. You must ensure that the agents give a full disclosure about the property. You need to insist them to give the same commitment in black and white.

4.       Double ending deals and pocketing offers – This is another trick that real estate agents use. In this strategy, they charge double commissions by bringing the buyers of their own. This is fine as long as the seller does not have to share their commission with other agents. However, in most of the cases, the real estate agents representing sellers who have buyers might conceal the inquiries you get, offers or counteroffers from other agent’s buyer to safeguard their interests.

Conclusion

Hiring a real estate agent should be made like a job application and the interview. The real estate agents should be treated like a candidate to ensure that the person whom you hire should be honest and competent.

Steering clear of the foreclosure scams - DC Fawcett

After a day of arduous work what people expect is the comfort of their homes and being with their families.  Many years would pass by before you raise your dream home and stuff it with pleasant memories.  But, a few missed payments of the mortgage would snatch the home away. The very idea of foreclosure is a bad nightmare for many.  In this article, let us go through options that could be adapted to avoid foreclosure. Also let us skim through methods to evade the foreclosure scam.

The Nightmare of Foreclosure

There is the lingering fear of foreclosure that many homeowners suffer from.  In some cases, unexpected financial crunch, loss of job, exorbitant medical expenditure, divorce or a person dying in the family can influence homeowner’s affordability to furnish his or her payments of the mortgage. A foreclosure happens when one lags behind in payment of the mortgage, thus making the lender retain your property.

In some cases the property is less valuable than the actual amount you have to pay to the lender.  This leads to a complication of things, and it enables the lender to take up a deficiency judgment.  The deficiency judgment depicts the difference between actual price of the property and the amount that you have to pay to the owner.  If such a thing happens, one will not be able to retain his property. Also, he or she will need to pay an extra amount. 

In the worst scenario, deficiency judgments and foreclosures will influence the credit score very badly.  The foreclosure will remain in the credit report for more than seven to ten years.  This will reveal to the future lenders that you might not be a suitable borrower.  Things will get difficult for one to retain a mortgage of avail of a loan in the near future.

Be cautious of the foreclosure scams

As bad luck would have it, there are a huge amount of fraudulent companies which claim to come to your aid when there are imminent foreclosures.  These companies wait to lay the bait for you and cheat you.  These companies call themselves as the consultants with regard to foreclosure and as the foreclosure specialists.  Before choosing any of these fraudulent outfits, check out the credentials and business credibility through sources as the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

One has to know how the foreclosure scam specialists get to know him.  They usually find it in the foreclosure listing in the local newspaper.  Very soon, call start pouring in trying to deceive you into a deal. 

There are various methods adapted by the fraudulent companies to cheat homeowners.  The tricks that they adapt are

• Equity Skimming
• Equity Stripping
• Fishy Counseling Agencies
• Lender Scams
• Fishy Loan Transaction
• Internet and Phone Scams

Foreclosure is a very serious issue.  If sufficient care is not immediately taken, you may lose your home and your credit score is also damaged.  One has to have complete knowledge regarding the foreclosure and find out the exact mortgage assistance companies that pull you out of the difficulty.  When proper attention is not paid to the difficulty, fraudulent foreclosure companies will start laying the bait.  Next to your family, your home is the valuable property that you retain.  One should not allow fishy companies to take him for a ride. 

Experimenting the skills will challenges in trade

One has to put the trades in a virtual environment before beginning to risk the capital that you own.  Dc Fawcett, the founder of Virtual Real Estate Investing Club, has blogs that allow you to submit trades in a virtual environment before investing the capital.  Going through Dc Fawcett’s blogs enables you to know of other traders from different backgrounds and experiences. Also, you can become a better investor by reading through the blogs by DC Fawcett.