Real estate investors are looking for desirable properties at a low price, but beware — some will take undesirable measures to find a good deal.We have all seen the‘we buy houses’signs on the roadside.
Maybe you have received cold calls with offers to buy your home. These are not considered best practice in the real estate world, as these will usually belowballedoffers, but are technically legal and legitimate.
Now, fraudsters are increasingly finding ways to spin this concept into areal‘we buyhouses’scam.
The Rise of ‘We Buy Houses’ Scams
Ƶapp hasidentifieda recent increase in the number of bad actors performing ascambased on‘we buy houses’. Whether the approach is simply opportunistic or carefully orchestrated is unclear.
The caller may just be autodialing to see who they can catch, or they may have done research to find houses for sale or property owners in up-and-coming neighborhoods.
The lattermost likely havenot considered selling but may not be able to resist a good offer.
How the ‘We Buy Houses’ Scam Works
The scammer begins by asking what kind of property youownand if you are interested in selling it,attemptingto make the call sound legitimate.
Then they will make a bogus offer,possibly oneyou cannot refuse. The catch – there is an “administrative fee” which, after being paid, results in the bad actor riding off into the sunset.
Legitimate buyers would not ask for a fee topaidon theinitialoffer, so if this happens,hang upimmediately.
Protect Yourself from the ‘We Buy Houses’ Scam
If you are selling your house, make sure to work with trustworthy professionals and be on the lookout for real estatescams. A bad actor may be too eager to buy the house sight unseen.
Never give out your personal information or pay unwarranted fees over the phone, as it ismost likely ascam. The FBI reported in itsthat more than $213 million was lost to real estate and rental fraud that year.
If you receive a call which you believe to be from a scammer, report it via the FCC website or your state Attorney General website to help combat this activity.
Call-blocking apps, including those powered by Ƶapp Call Guardian®, are also a great resource for reporting and blocking unwanted robocalls.
Scam of the Month
Stay vigilant, share information about scams with others and check out our Scam of the Month page updates.