LOS ANGELES, CA – With the rise of the Internet and a competitive online housing market real estate scams have unfortunately become extremely easy for crooks and common. Homebuyers and home sellers are not the only ones being affected by scams; renters and landlords are also victims. The Local Records Office in Bellflower, CA created a list of the most common housing market rip-offs and how to protect your assets.
Wire Money Rip-Offs
Crooks have gotten so good with online scams that a fake email will look like an authentic email that was sent from a bank or real estate agent. The email will usually have a link to an offshore account and if you wire your down payment for what you thought was your house you will be out of thousands of dollars in seconds.
How to Avoid: The best way to avoid being a victim of the wire scam is to make sure you follow the instructions of the real estate agent on how the payment should be made and how.
Keep in mind that talking to a lawyer is also a great idea since he or she will walk you through the process.
Local Records Office says, “Don’t send money without confirming first who the other person on the other side is, the sophisticated ways scammers are using are incredible.”
The Apartment That Doesn’t Exists
It’s 2020 and most people search and rent apartments online. In large cities like Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle and San Francisco where finding an affordable apartment are as rare as seeing a four-leaf clover. Renters will be in a hurry to send money to get the keys to the unit. Unfortunately, not everything is as good as it seems. Most of the time these apartments don’t exist,
The listing will have pictures of a nice apartment unit in a great location for a great price but the problem is that the unit doesn’t exist. Those are pictures of a real apartment with a marked-down price linking to a phony account. The scammer will require up-front payment but the person sending the money is not aware that the unit is vacant already.
Local Records Office says, “If the deal is too good to be true, it probably is, we see families falling victims of this scam on the local news all the time across the country.”
How to Avoid: The best way to avoid a fake apartment scam is not to send money without seeing the apartment unit first. Even if you do see the apartment make sure to pay with a money order or credit card and ask for a receipt. Never give them cash or a blank check.
The Cover-Up Scam
The cover-up scam is simple, the crook will cover up mold by painting over it or covering it up with wallpaper. Most cover-up scams are usually the most expensive to fix on the house like a damaged foundation, a rooting roof, septic tank repairs, and much more.
How to Avoid: The best way to avoid a cover-up is to hire a professional home inspector that you can trust. An experienced contractor will let you know about the problems in the house and any cover-ups.
Cover-ups are not only a burden but dangerous and possibly deadly. A leaking roof can collapse and cause serious injuries and damages to property inside the house.
Local Records Office says, “There should be stricter regulations on cover-up scams because of how dangerous they can be. Not only are cover-ups misleading they are extremely dangerous.”
Media Contact
Company Name: Local Records Office
Contact Person: Roberto Romero
Email: Send Email
Phone: 1 (800) 790-0721
Address:2202 S. Figueroa St. #406
City: Los Angeles
State: CA 90007
Country: United States
Website: https://localrecordsoffices.net/