Buying a property is one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make. Therefore it requires careful planning and utilization of resources. Regardless you’re looking to buy one of the flats for sale in Thane West or a commercial property, there are certain things you must watch out for., particularly real estate scams.
Many people have become a victim of these scams in the past and have lost their life-savings. To help you stay protected against them, we are going to discuss some common property scams that you should be aware of. Read on to know all about them!
Escrow Wire Fraud
Escrow is a very popular form of fraud that has been going on for quite some time now. In this scam, buyers who are about to close deals for their new homes receive an email having all the right information. After providing all your required information correctly, they ask buyers to transfer cash to some distant bank account. As these scammers provide all the basic information correctly, many people fall prey to them by mistaking them as their sellers.
The easiest way to avoid these scams is by properly going through the fine print that your title company provides you. Reading it in detail will give you every minute detail you need to know for preventing such scams. Moreover, if you’re purchasing your property through some agent or lawyer, you must inform them in case you have received such an email.
To prevent such frauds, large upcoming residential projects such as Piramal Vaikunth have created a one-window operation for their customers.
Flipping of loan
Loan flipping is another common scam using which fraudsters snatch money from people who have already mortgaged their homes. The soft target for this type of scams are seniors particularly those who have memory issues.
For this scam, the scammers trick the homeowners into refinancing their mortgage. They get the required papers signed by the homeowners and get more loans on the property. This eventually puts the homeowners in vulnerable situations where their homes are pledged for huge amounts whose installments they’re not able to pay.
The most common way of preventing such scams is by directly inquiring from your loaning agency whether they’ve sent an agent or not. Moreover, you must develop a habit of properly scrutinizing the papers before signing them.
The Invisible House Scam
An invisible house is any residential project that is too much a great catch to be true. Usually, property agents are involved in this type of scam.
When you’re searching for properties to buy, you get a call from an agent telling you about some house that isn’t officially on the market yet. However, the pictures and layout plan that the agent has sent you is too good to ignore. Therefore, driven by a desire to buy based on only the photos, you go to buy that house. However, when the time to sign the final deal comes, you can no longer contact the property agent as he has already fled with the initial deposit.
The only way to avoid such scams is to never buy properties that aren’t listed on the market. Always view the place first.
Cover Up Scam
The cover-up scam is an old trick that sellers use to sell a faulty home. During this scam, sellers cover up major property faults cosmetically and then list them on the market. The potential buyer falls prey to the visual appeal of the place and ends up buying it.
The best way of avoiding property snagging is to get it thoroughly inspected before you finalize the deal. Getting the property inspected beforehand may cost you a bit initially, but it will save you from major losses in the future. Because of such scams, real estate experts always recommend that whether you are going to buy flat in Thane or a house in Virar, get it from a known realtor.
Holiday Switcheroo
Another popular property scam that people usually fall prey to is the holiday switcheroo. These scams usually take place during the holiday season. During such scams, potential scammers make use of those empty homes whose owners have gone abroad for vacations. They list these homes on the market and sell them using forged or fake papers, and scam money from buyers. However, when the real homeowners return, buyers end up in a miserable condition.
In all, falling prey to any such scam can land you in great trouble. Therefore, it is recommended to be very diligent and careful when making a real estate transaction.
