5 COMMON TYPES OF PROPERTY FRAUD ON LAND
Property fraud is actually on the rise, and fraud methods change all the time. You should look out for anything that seems unusual or suspicious.
Impersonation
Criminals and fraudsters can and may impersonate or try to be someone else in the process of doing transactions, including owners, buyers, borrowers, and even lenders.
Buyers
Fraudsters can use false IDs to pretend to be buyers so that they can make an offer and then withdraw later, before even the exchange process takes place.
They can very well use the information they’ve learned during the process to commit title fraud against the owner of the property.
Sellers
Criminals may attempt to sell property by targeting sole owners, especially in areas that don’t have owners in them, or be it that the owners are in the hospital or have gone out on vacation, they tend to take the opportunity and make the most of it by setting a crazy offer that you’d think is a one-time offer that will relapse if one doesn’t seize it immediately.
Lenders
Criminals may submit forged discharges. It is good to be aware if the source of the discharge is not a lender regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Companies
This is actually one of the common acts that fraudsters engage in by coming up with a company that has been imitated so that they can gain trust and interest from clients because many people who always go for real estate always rely on the companies.
It is always good to be careful and watchful in the sense that you always consult your lawyer so that they do deep research about the company to see if it is real.
You could also look at their selling land history records.
If they are not able to provide the same, then you can conclude they aren’t to be trusted, let alone that you can as well look at their website, identify when it was first launched, and look at the numbers of reviews from people who have interacted with them before.
