Beware of Home Buyer Scams

Avoid scams by choosing reputable real estate investors / companies.  There are many scam artists out there that are taking advantage of the home sellers living in distress situations.

TMC Property Solutions:  You may be stressed for having to sell your house to get out from under a mortgage obligation, behind on payments and heading towards foreclosure, divorcing, inherited a property you don’t want, two payments you can’t afford, or the house needs repairs you can’t afford.  Perhaps you’ve found a great job but it’s in a different state or you received military orders and the time is drawing near for you to move with no hopes of finding a buyer.  Whatever the reason, you must sell your house in a hurry.  There are honest and very helpful real estate investors /companies that are glad to help you.  With some details of your situation an experienced investor can put together a Win Win offer that will benefit you both.

With a nationwide trend of difficulty in any circumstance comes the advent of scam businesses that want to jump on the opportunity to separate you from your money and your property.  The worst part of this is the situation you may be facing, the stress your entire family is under, and their ability to take advantage of you in your weakest and most vulnerable moments.

Many families are happy to hear from an “investor” who wants to buy their house.  The ads come in the mail, they come by email, and they may visit your home and knock on the door, just as friendly and accommodating as you might imagine a con artist to be.  They offer to help you get out of your financial difficulty by taking the home off your hands or making some other slick arrangement.

Sad Truth About Real Estate Scams

The sad truth about many of these scams is that they look good to you and give you a big sigh of relief, but you may be asking for even more trouble than you already have.  Some popular scams are called contract bait and switch, which involves the buyer giving you a verbal version of a contract that you can easily live with.  He comes back in a few days with a ‘formal, legal version’ which has been altered and not what you had agreed to verbally.

Another involves the investor getting the deed to your home.  He allows you to stay in the home (which is a no-no), which sounds good, and you pay the mortgage to him.  He isn’t paying your mortgage with the money, however, and may be taking loans against the property, or uses your equity to buy himself some things, leaving you with the mortgage unpaid and he with the deed.

Another scam is the Liberian FSBO, or Nigerian Scam.  Someone out of the country offers to buy your house for cash.  All he needs is the account number for your bank so he can ‘transfer’ your funds to your account.  Guess what comes next?

So What Can You Do?

Do your homework.  It’s easy today with the internet.  Research who you are dealing with before you commit to anything.  Google the investors name and their company name, check the BBB web site, check with the local Chamber of Commerce etc. and see what comes up.  You can also ask for references or testimonials from past customers and lastly, do not do anything that isn’t clearly in writing.  Read the contract close, ask for clarification, and if you’re not comfortable, pass and don’t sign the deal.

TMC Property Solutions is a Veteran owned and operated Real Estate investment company and has been helping families with their difficult real estate situations and selling their houses FAST for more than 12 years around the Dallas and Fort Worth Metroplex and can help you as well.  For more details visit us online at www.IBuyNorthTexasHomes.com or call our assistant 24/7 at (817) 550-5069 for your free consultation.  We’ll need some info from you about your house and situation and we’ll call you back and explain how we can help you.  Everything will be explained in detail and in writing.

Together, We Can Create Your Solution!

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Tim Cook

TMC Property Solutions

1706A Santa Fe Dr

Weatherford, TX 76086

(817) 599-8058