With technology evolving more every day, it’s easier than ever for scammers to find their way to you and sell you on whatever they may be offering. Between phony telephone calls, get rich quick schemes and fake online listings, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not. Let us help you with identifying some of the most notable real estate hoaxes and how to avoid them. 

1. Bogus real estate investment seminars

Chattanooga’s real estate market is booming, and you want to get in on it! So, when someone advertises a  FREE real estate investment or house flipping seminar, that sounds like a great plan, right? Maybe. Many real estate “gurus” will get the public in the door with the promise of free information, but then it goes downhill from there. They’ll promise you dollar signs if only you buy into their program, which is usually a tape set, further workshops, etc. Some will even have you call your credit card company to raise your limit so you have more investment potential, then with your newfound buying power, ask you to buy those things from them. Now, that’s not always the case. There are some legitimate courses out there for the would-be real estate investor or house flipper, but you really need to do your research. Be sure to look up the person leading the seminar to get a feel for their track record from other people’s reviews and be very wary about spending money with them before finding out if the basic techniques they are providing you for free actually work!

2. Fake properties “for rent”

Every day new postings pop up online on popular websites like Trulia, Zillow and Craigslist that are meant to scam you. Oftentimes fake rental posts will use legitimate information and photos stolen from a home that is listed for sale. Look out if the landlord is “out of state” or unavailable to meet with you for some reason and requires you to mail or wire transfer your deposit. That is almost always a hoax. If you are an out-of-town renter and can’t meet in person, you really need to contact a real estate professional as opposed to scanning Craigslist and falling victim to this common scam. Also, be careful of the landlord asking you right off the bat to fill out an application before you even see the property. Most of these applications require you to include very personal things like Social Security numbers, bank account numbers and contact information that you don’t want to give out freely.

3.  Mortgage relief scams

There are many con artists out there are preying on those who are struggling to make ends meet and are looking for refinancing to make their mortgage more affordable. Posing as mortgage professionals, these scammers promise better interest rates and lower mortgage payments, and sometimes desperate homeowners don’t spot the signs of a fraud. Be sure to never pay upfront fees for a loan modification, even if the program seems to be government affiliated or looks professional. Also, verify any letter that tells you your mortgage has been sold from company A to company B to make sure that this is accurate before you start sending your payments elsewhere. Sometimes it truly does happen that your mortgage will be sold, but you need to check into the legitimacy of that before stopping payment to your current mortgage company. 

4. Fraudulent open house posts 

Possibly the most scary out of all of these real estate scams is the fake open house posting. Sometimes scammers will post that there is an open house at a property to lure people to the home. From there they may ask you to fill out an application form on the spot and capture your personal information or they may even try to con you out of a downpayment to secure the home. These are hard to detect sometimes, particularly if the scammer is posing as a real estate agent or the property’s landlord. Don’t rely on the phone number provided in the posting to check and see if the posting is legitimate. Be sure to look up the agent’s name listed on a separate website and call their number to verify. When showing up alone at a home with someone you don’t know who may have bad intentions, getting scammed out of money or your information is the least of your worries. Bottom line—do your homework. 

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