6 Real Estate Scams You Should Know

As a real estate agent, you’re entrusted with guiding clients through the sale or purchase of their home, which is likely their most valuable possession. Scammers understand the high stakes involved, which is why real estate fraud can be so devastating. A single fraud scheme can not only derail a closing, but it can also result in massive financial costs.  

For those reasons, it’s essential to recognize the most common real estate scams so that you and your clients can be proactive in avoiding them. Position yourself as your client’s first line of defense by educating them on early warning signs such as forged documents, unverified identities, and companies demanding large upfront deposits on a short timeline. Doing so can safeguard the transaction and reinforce the trust and confidence your clients have placed in you.  

1. Wire fraud

Wire fraud occurs when someone is tricked into sending funds to a fraudulent bank account. In real estate, this commonly happens during the closing process when large amounts of money are being transferred (typically hundreds of thousands of dollars). Wire fraud is incredibly risky because once the funds have been transferred, it can be virtually impossible to recover. 

2. Mortgage relief

Mortgage relief is a scheme that targets homeowners in danger of losing their homes due to non-payment of their mortgage obligations. Scammers will typically pose as foreclosure specialists who can negotiate reduced payments or fees with the homeowner’s lender. In exchange, the homeowner would just have to pay an upfront fee. Instead of providing the promised services, however, the scammer will simply take the money and run. 

3. Loan flipping

Loan flipping is a predatory practice where a lender convinces a homeowner to continuously refinance their mortgage loan without any material benefit. Each time this happens, additional fees are charged in the form of either closing costs, higher rates, or less favorable repayment terms. Homeowners might be tricked into only seeing the short-term benefits, with the long-term risks being masked. This type of scam can result in homeowners losing equity and an inability to reduce debt in the long run. 

Note that this is different from a typical mortgage loan refinance that offers material benefits in the form of gaining access to home equity, a lower permanent interest, or reduced monthly payments for the life of the loan. 

4. Moving scams

A moving scam occurs when a moving company deviates from the originally agreed-upon terms. This can take the form of drastically raising prices and refusing to give back personal belongings until the fees are paid. It can also occur if a moving company simply disappears with no trace of the homeowner’s belongings. 

5. Rental scams

A rental scam is a scheme in which scammers trick others into paying deposits and other fees to secure housing. However, in actuality, the property either doesn’t exist, wasn’t authorized by the property owner, or otherwise isn’t available for rent. 

6. Disaster contractor scams

This type of scam typically happens following some sort of natural disaster, with a contractor approaching a homeowner with the promise of repairing or rebuilding the property. Secretly, however, they may never actually intend to follow through with the repairs or may do so, but with shoddy workmanship. 

Scammers will commonly try to put pressure on the homeowner to reserve their spot by paying some sort of upfront cash or deposit. Ultimately, they’re also relying on the homeowner’s urgency and desire to get life back to normal, making it fairly easy to fall prey to this scheme.  

How to report a scam

It’s an unfortunate reality that real estate scams continue to be a growing problem in today’s market. From wire fraud to fake rental listings and more, clients can easily become targets if they don’t know what to be looking for. As a real estate agent, you can play a role in reducing their likelihood of falling victim to these fraud schemes by not only educating them on common scams but also by reporting suspected fraud to the appropriate entities. 

If you or a client encounter a potential scam, here are the steps that can be taken:

• Report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): The FTC website allows you to report fraud incidents, something that can allow it to potentially take next steps in better protecting the community against fraud, scams, and bad business practices. 
• Report to your local or state office: On top of reporting it at the federal level, your local state board may have another specific entity responsible for reviewing and addressing fraud schemes. Residents of Texas, for example, can file a complaint online with the attorney general. 
• Contact local law enforcement: This applies especially if the fraud was local. You can contact your police department to have a police report filed for them to conduct an investigation. 
• File a report with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): The FBI runs an online internet crime complaint center, IC3, and is primarily used to report cyber-enabled crime. 
• Notify your banks or credit card companies: If you or a client is directly impacted by fraud or any type of scam, the applicable banks or credit card companies should be contacted as soon as possible to determine if funds can be recovered. 

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Bringing it all together

Real estate scams aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they’ve become much more commonplace over the years. But by staying informed yourself and educating your clients, you’ll be able to provide much more value than just helping them buy or sell a home. You’ll be able to help them better protect their finances, possessions, and overall peace of mind. And in an industry built on relationships and trust, that’s a great way to stand apart from others.