Be educated all about real estate fraud, real estate appraisals and many others from an Insider’s point of view and never be fooled again. Learn them by attending live seminars and classes from Real Estate Agent, Real Estate Appraiser, SRA with the Appraisal Institute, speaker, educator and creator of numerous real estate classes all based on the experience that only an experienced Insider would have – Richard Hagar.

You could take a 10-hour class or a 2 to 7 hour class. He holds different live seminars and classes from the basics of Real Estate Appraisal up to Appraising Unusual Residential properties. For more information about the classes and seminars he offer check out www.richardhagar.com.

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This one is growing at a phenomenal rate. Be very careful when using your home or your home equity as security for a home improvement loan.

Fast talking salespeople offer to refinance your home at a lower interest rate to provide cash to the homeowner, explaining the cash can be used to pay for home improvements or to pay off bills.

Later, the homeowner discovers that they signed a contract that contains terms in contrast to the originally promised terms. This results in the loss of equity in the victim’s home, and also they have signed a mortgage in which they have incurred considerably higher interest rates. The homeowner is now faced with a higher mortgage payment, one that they may not be able to afford.

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An important step in protecting yourself from real estate fraud is safeguarding personal information.

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Appraisal fraud. Appraisal fraud is a part of most mortgage fraud scams. A dishonest appraiser inflates the value of the property. When the seller gets the check at the closing for a bogus amount, he pays off the appraiser and anyone else involved in the scam. Usually, the borrower doesn’t make any payments and the house goes to foreclosure.

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If you do not know anything and much about mortgage fraud, you should take a class or read some articles over the Internet. On the previous article here on All About Real Estate Fraud, I talked about taking classes and seminars about real estate fraud. Good thing, www.tampa-bay-real-estate.blogspot.com outlined some things on how you would spot a mortgage fraud.

1. Having a real estate license, it does not mean they know anything about real estate.
2. Anytime a buyer wants to get a mortgage for more than the asking price, be very suspicious.
3. If you don’t know much about mortgage fraud, take a class.

Source: Tampa Bay Real Estate
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Foreclosure schemes. These are particularly evil because they prey on people with big enough financial problems that they’re in danger of losing their home. A homeowner in the early stages of foreclosure may be contacted by a fraudster who says he can help the homeowner get rid of his debt and save his house for an upfront fee, which the fraudster takes and then disappears. In another scheme, a homeowner is approached by a con artist who offers to help them refinance the loan. “They sign all these documents and find out later that they actually sold the house — to the fraudster. Then they face eviction.

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Straw buyers. One of the most frequent types of fraud occurs when “straw buyers” are used to hide the identity of the true borrower, who would not qualify for the mortgage. “The perpetrators use a straw buyer because they have good credit and can get the loan,” Fulmer says. Straw buyers may be duped into thinking that they’re investing in real estate that will be rented out, with the rental payments paying the mortgage. In fact, no payments are made and the lender forecloses on the loan. Or, sometimes, straw buyers are in on the scam and are getting a cut of the proceeds. “People may see this as a way to make a lot of money,” Fulmer says. “In one case, a number of straw buyers purchased numerous properties and received boatloads of money back.”

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