The thought of being taken advantage of by a mortgage loan con artist is quite scary. While there is no way to 100% guarantee that you won’t fall victim of real estate fraud, there are several steps you can take to help prevent yourself from falling victim.

Know Who You are Dealing With

The single best way to prevent yourself from falling victim to a mortgage scam is to know the people you are working with. Ideally, you should personally interact with everyone who is involved with the process of selling or buying your home. After all, instincts can go a long way toward weeding out the bad seeds. In addition, it is far more difficult to pull off a scam when everything is done in plain sight for you to see.

In addition to meeting face-to-face with everyone in the selling or buying process, you should know more about the people you are working with. In other words, look into the backgrounds of those who are involved with the transaction so you can be reasonably certain they are reputable.

Don’t Allow Yourself to Be Rushed

Although there are times when real estate transactions are time sensitive, such as when purchasing a foreclosure or short sale property, you shouldn’t allow yourself to be rushed through a purchase. Con artists count on rushing through the process because they hope you won’t notice the fraudulent or illegal activities that are taking place. Read the rest of this entry »