Categories
- Sacramento County
- Foreclosure
- Sacramento Real Estate Videos
- Short Sale
- Placer County
- El Dorado County
- Yolo County
- Home Buyer
- Fun Things
- Realtor
- Seller
- Real Estate
- Mortgage
- Condo
- Statistics by City
- Investor
- Living Green
Archives
Real Estate Fraud Victims Once Again
June 23rd, 2008 categories: Fraud, Real Estate
Sacramento saw a Realtor and several unlicensed mortgage lenders picked up by the FBI this week for fraud.
Don’t let your guard down, there’s plenty more out there.
Real Estate fraud is alive and well gathering more victims each day.
Just this past week, as I had my ears to the ground, I learned that fraud had occurred right here in Sacramento again. Not just once but three times with REO properties. Renters were the easy targets. It seems that three Bank Owned properties had been unscrupulously rented by a woman posing as a Realtor.
Yes, this woman rented out three REO properties and collected the security deposit, first and last months rent from unsuspecting renters. No, she was not a Realtor but was using the name of a Realtor.
Can you imagine, having just lost your home to foreclosure, looking for a house to rent only to find yourself a victim of real estate fraud?
In this day and age where most transactions start on line, use email or text messaging and the social aspect of getting to know a person is by-passed, fraud is ever so much more prevalent. It’s a lot harder to pull off a scam when you meet a professional at the office, check their credentials through the California Department of Real Estate and meet face to face or actually talk.
Do you know for a fact the person is the person you think you are working with? Are you sure, they are who they say they are? Are you just emailing, text messaging and assuming you are “communicating” with a Realtor? What do other home buyers and home sellers say about the Realtor?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating getting rid of the Internet or Email or even Text messaging (although I must say I find it very impersonal) but all of these things have their place and should not be used exclusively. There is nothing that beats, eye to eye contact, establishing a rapport and learning about a person. So much is gathered when you take the time to get to know the professional Realtor.
Remember, that we live in an era where it is easy to make business cards, have websites and establish identities that are false. It is up to you, to step outside the Internet and know who you are trusting to handle your hard earned money. I suggest that you take the time to get to know the professional that you are working with and not be the next victim of Real Estate Fraud.
With the economy in poor shape, gas prices sky high and homeowners losing their homes it is imperative to step-up and do your due diligence. Know the person you are working with, check out their credentials, make sure they are who they say they are and step out of your comfort zone on the Internet and cell phones. Be social, face-to-face interaction, eye-to-eye contact…it’s worked for many years and it continues to be the best judge of character in doing business.
Put a stop to Real Estate fraud, don’t be victimized, do your homework and be social. Slow down the process. These parasites who take advantage of the public want to work fast, make things happen quickly for you…so they can move-on change their identity and not get caught.
Don’t think it can’t happen to you…those three renters didn’t think it would happen to them, either.
If you would like to know more about my character and experience be sure to read my mission statement, goals and what Sacramento Real Estate Voice is all about.
If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe 
to get the latest articles sent to your email.
If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to be sure to check out 
and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked or feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email.
And of course if you are interested in buying a home or condo or selling your home or condo, feel free to contact me and lets talk.
If you just want to look for Sacramento homes for sale, be my guest. I pay each month to provide this service for you and would love to represent you should you find a house or condo that meets your specific qualifications.
Other Articles That Maybe of Interest:
Home Buyers and Sellers Talk About Realtor, Gena Riede
Matt Teiken, Granite Bay Home Buyer
Home Buyer in Sacramento Buying in Granite Bay Speaks Up
Leave a Reply
What I'm Doing...
- CA IOU's, unemployment, furloughs...definite impact on housing. Toss out the legislators. They haven't been able to do the job for YEARS! 33 mins ago
- #sacrealestate @retomato here's the traffic from SiteMeter for Sacramento Real Estate Voicehttp://twitpic.com/938v7 2 hrs ago
- #sacrealestate 2nd time my buyer's have been blown out of the water with all CASH investors 2 hrs ago
- More updates...
Posting tweet...
Powered by Twitter Tools.
 | Awarded Top 10% in the Nation for Consumer Satisfaction by the Internet Consumer Group |
Local Resources
- Loans
- Title Co.
- Home Inspections
- Twin Termite Pest Company
- Neighborhood Crime Arrest Report
- Neighborhood Crime Tracker
- Great Schools
I am in a lawsuit here in placer county where we did a lease option on a house and he was to give us a lease option contract for us on our house which he never did, He then turned around and leased optioned our house to another couple without our knowledge, nor did the couple know about us. He called it a wrap around, now we need to find out how to bring a complaint to the commissioner for violation of the re brokers license requiremrnts and do not know where to start. We won the unlawful detainer case and they were evicted.
Darlene,
I would suggest that you contact the DA and file charges.
Sorry that you had to go through that.
It’s so important to deal with reputable real estate brokers. Lesson learned.