Common Home Equity Scams
The real estate market is filled with opportunists who want nothing more than to convince you to part with your money, and receive very little in exchange. They take many guises, and exist in nearly every walk of life. The schemers in question don’t care about how well you sang in the community choir, how long you’ve been saving up for a down payment, or even what your gender is. The reason they are chatting to you is to relieve you of your money, and quite possibly your home as well. As a real estate buyer, here are some of the common scams that you might be right around the next corner.
Loan Flipping
In the beginning, this scam might seem like a godsend. You get a phone call from an excited lender who let’s you know about a excellent but little know deal to refinace, but only if you act fast. A month or two later, he calls with an even better deal. The thing is, in addition to getting more funding out to spend, you’re also paying additional fees, interest rates, and increasing your overall debt. In the long term, these excellent deals don’t look so excellent after all.
The Insurance Packing Trick
This scheme begins with the mortgage broker adding on unnnecessary insurance items, such as credit insurance. In addition, these products also don’t always protect you in times of real need. Be careful though, the lender will probably regale you with outlandish “what if” scenarios, insisting that they could happen, no matter how unlikely. Before you consider adding on additional insurance, ask yourself if the picture drawn by the lender is likely to happen, and whether or not it is designed to put more money in their pocket.
Bait and Switch
If you’re selling Superior colorado homes, Golden real estate, or anywhere in between, it inevitably works the same way:This scam is often used on first time home buyers, or senior citizens on a fixed income. The first thing that happens is the mortgage broker comes forward with a wonderful deal, one that almost seems too good, and certainly to excellent to overlook. But then near the end of the negotiation, things begin to change rapidly, and not always for the better. First it’s a little item here, a change in the dollar amount there, and soon what was a excellent offer is transformed into a confusing mess. At this point, the pressure build up begins, and the buyer is convinced to sign off on a deal that they can’t afford, and not what they want. The schemes presented here are the most popular, but by no means are the only ones you’ll come across while buying a new house.. The easiest way to protect yourself is to stay aware of the possibility, and walk quickly away when you see the warning signs.e}