In this day and age, scammers are everywhere! You have to be very careful with everything you are doing, especially via the internet. Lately, we’ve seen a lot more scammers in Real Estate. Below we will give you a couple of things to keep an eye out for.
They don’t want to get on the phone with you.
Most of the time, if you are trying to work with someone and they avoid getting on a phone call with you. It’s a scam.
They don’t want to meet you in person or let you into the property.
Before you put any money into a property, make sure you see it first. Lately, we’ve seen a lot of people trying to sell properties they don’t own nor have the keys to. Watch out for this!
The price is just too good to pass up.
So there is a difference between a good deal and a deal that doesn’t make sense. If the prices are just too low and it seems unreal, do some research to make sure you are not being SCAMMED.
The person showing you the home is not the owner or the property manager.
When you initially start communicating with someone for a property, ask them if they are the owner. Look up the owner’s name on the county assessor in your area. Are you speaking with the right person?
They want you to send money over immediately.
When dealing with buyers, sellers, landlords, or lenders they aren’t going to pressure you into sending them money right away. If this is happening, do your due diligence to make sure that you aren’t getting SCAMMED. If it seems a little suspicious, do not send them money.
The listing has typos or poor grammar.
We’ve seen a lot of scam posts lately and most of them have a ton of grammar errors and don’t really make sense. Make sure you confirm the person you are dealing with is who they say they are…
The listing is copied from another listing with different contact information.
If you’re seeing the same post multiple times with different contact info or a different address, it’s probably a scam. After dealing with so many scammers, we are skeptical about engaging in conversations with these people. You can always try if you would like but be careful!
They want to charge you extra upfront for a background check.
If you haven’t met the owners or seen the property, do not send any money. 9/10 times when someone asks you for money upfront, it’s a scam.
Look up the name of the person or business you are working with. What do you see?
Oh, how wonderful Google is! You could look up almost any name and something will come up for that person. If you are seeing stuff from other countries or nothing is coming up, make sure you are very careful.
Suspicious Links
If you are a little skeptical about the person you are communicating with and they send you a link, DO NOT CLICK THE LINK! Even if you haven’t been in communication with them and you get a text/email with a link in it, don’t click the link! Clicking the link can compromise your personal information.
Real Estate Scams
This goes for buyers, sellers, rentals, lenders, etc. They’re everywhere, in all aspects of the business you will run into scams. Be careful with everything you are doing over the internet! If you ever have any Real Estate related questions, reach out to us! We’re happy to help!
Thanks for reading!