- The seller is not willing to meet in person.
If someone refuses to meet with you in person or does not want to give you a tour of the property, then there is a good chance that they may not actually have the authority to sell that property.
- ‘Agents’ who are not licensed.
If the party claims to be a real estate agent, you can research their company to determine whether it seems legitimate and call the company directly, asking to speak to the individual that you have been discussing the sale with.
- Low sale prices that seem too good to be true.
Scammers often lure victims in with enticing deals and great prices that seem “too good to be true.†If the price is surprisingly low or the agent makes promises of extremely favorable financing, they may be trying to scam you.
- The seller is not willing to provide details of the property when asked.
Whether they are claiming to be the homeowner themselves or a real estate agent, any seller should know and be able to provide information about the property that is available to them. If the seller cannot answer basic questions about the property, this may be cause for concern.
- There’s a strong urgency to close quickly.
Having a strong sense of urgency may be one of the clearest indicators of a scam. While there may be some legitimate reasons for a homeowner to want to sell their property quickly, if they are not allowing you to conduct reasonable checks, then you should take a step back and examine their legitimacy more carefully. You should be able to tour the property, request a third-party inspection, and ask detailed questions about the history of the property at the very least.
Another red flag Ralph Aponte has noticed is that scammers often insist on using their own notary instead of one vetted by the title company. The scammer will often come up with excuses about why they’re unavailable to the notary, such as being out of the country or at the hospital with a family member.