Email scams are nothing new, and we've all seen them. But, would you expect that an email coming from the closing agency, real estate agency, or your real estate agent might really be from cyber criminals trying to trick you into wiring closing funds to an offshore account?
If you are involved in a real estate transaction, or plan to be in the near future, and you are not already aware of the issue, then you should read this.
Reports by The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and New York Real Estate News all identify cases where buyers, believing they were in communication with authorized parties, wired large sums of closing funds to accounts linked to parties with criminal motives, and were left with no money to complete their purchase.
Warnings to consumers have been issued by the National Association of REALTORS® as well as the Federal Trade Commission, as the criminal activity continues.
Who is targeted, how are the criminals operating, and what can you do to make sure it doesn't happen to you?
All information is believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified with a real estate professional. CENTURY 21 Lakeside Realty Is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® Equal Housing Opportunity.
USDA loans (also referred to as Rural Development loans) are guaranteed or insured by the Department of Agriculture to support affordable housing in less developed areas. Its many benefits include:
ATTENTION HOME BUYERS!! You are invited to join us for the "Lakeside Lender Spotlight Night" Friday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lakeside Realty office.
FHA loans are mortgages that are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is an agency of the federal government within the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). Because the mortgages are insured by FHA, protecting lenders against buyer default, lenders can offer FHA loans at attractive interest rates with more flexible and less stringent qualification requirements.
First, a pre-approval letter is not the same as a pre-qualification letter. A pre-qualification letter can be generated in a few minutes by calling a lender, or on line, and is based on information you provide and a quick credit check. A pre-approval letter, on the other hand, requires verification of income, employment and financial information. It is an actual approval of you, the buyer, subject to the property meeting lender appraisal guidelines.