Houses can now be stolen through ID theft and this activity is fast rising. The FBI is already involved and they have been warning people about these scam artists whose initial move is to steal your identity then afterwards your property. Now, after several years of exposure and marking this kind of menacing act, the FBI is moving one step forward to educate homeowners of the relation between identity theft and real estate scam. First the scammer will choose a property. Using information from the Internet, he will assume the identity of the owner of the property using fake IDs. Then they will transfer the house deeds to their names through falsification of documents.
Sub-prime lenders are those who provide people who have poor credit history with loans like in the form of mortgage. What’s not so good about it is that they charge higher interest rates. Because of this, a coalition of civil rights groups in the United States has called the attention of these sub-prime lenders to discontinue repossessing the houses of the borrowers. Their plea is to have six-month moratorium on foreclosures and that should be adjusted in favor of the borrowers. Because of the downturn of the economy, bankruptcies are all over and what is happening is that lending corporations and even banks are very much alarmed resorting to anything to save themselves.
The fraud goes like this, first there will be ringleader. He is to look for a buyer with good credit history and convince him to invest in a certain property. The ringleader will bring to the picture an appraiser. As part of the scam, the appraiser will provide an assessment that is radically higher than the actual cost of the property. Then the ringleader will make arrangement for the buyer to make a loan under his name. Actually it is a no-document loan and the details are falsified. Then the buyer will purchase the property from the seller who is also part of the scam. The seller will then make a lot of profit and he will distribute parts of the profit to the other accomplices leaving the helpless buyer.
Today’s real estate market condition is rising up concern to people not just in the real industry per se but practically everyone in the neighborhood. Foreclosures, descending home prices, and sub-prime chaos are just some of the issues. Unfortunately at times like this, some people find opportunities to defraud innocent people. Our folks used to say, “if it looks too good to be true it probably is”, and it is really applicable to this kind of situation. Scammers are con artists. They prey on neophyte investors. Sadly, some victims don’t go to the authorities for help to the point that some fraudsters are able to swindle many times in the same neighborhood.
The exclusive right to represent is similar to the non-exclusive agreement except the buyer agrees to work exclusively with the agent or the broker. This means that the buyer cannot hire more than one broker or agent to represent him or her, that the commission is negotiable, that the buyer is not obligated to pay the commission if a third party like the seller pays for it, that the agent or broker can get a higher commission than the fee in the agreement if the seller wants to pay more and the amount is disclosed. The terms of an exclusive agreement can last from three months up to a year. If the buyer chooses to buy a property introduced by the agent, the buyer owes a commission to the agency. This agreement also allows the agent to negotiate with unrepresented sellers on the buyer’s behalf.
The non-exclusive buyer-broker agreement lists down the broker or the agent’s duties to the buyer, scope of duty, agency relationships, and the buyer’s obligations. It also provides for compensation and removes the buyer’s obligation to give a commission if the broker or agent is paid by a third party such as the seller. The buyer is allowed to buy a property through another agent or broker as long as this property was not introduced by the first broker. The buyer also has the right to single agency. Finally, the broker or the agent can get a commission higher than the negotiable fee in the agreement if the seller agrees to pay more and if the amount is disclosed.
If you’d like to understand how real estate agents earn a seller or buyer’s commission, you need to look at how agents get paid and how they share commissions. First of all, real estate agents work under a real estate broker. All fees that the real estate agent gets has to go through the broker. Only a broker can give a real estate commission and sign the listing agreement with the seller. New real estate agents usually receive only 30% or 40% of the total commission the broker gets. Other fees might be deducted like sign rentals, office expense, or advertising. Top agents might get 100% commission and only pay a desk fee to the broker.
Today, foreclosures are happening at an all-time high, and the mortgage crisis makes it even more difficult to obtain financing. With all this happening, people wonder when the best time to buy or sell a home is.
The truth is that the best time to buy or sell a home is whenever it’s right for you. It isn’t based on market factors like the number of credit worthy buyers or the number of houses for sale. The only thing that you should really consider is whether you have adequate finances to buy a home in the near future.
If you are unhappy with your home or cannot afford to keep it, then it might be the right time to sell. Whether or not you are downsizing or upsizing, don’t let the market dictate your timing. While considering your finances is very important, let your situation be the main factor for deciding to buy or sell.
Foreclosure occurs when a buyer cannot afford to make payments on his loan. When this happens, the property gets reposessed by the bank or the lender for the amount that could not be repaid. The lender becomes the owner of the bank but instead of keeping reposessed property, they put it on sale in the open market.
Even though real estate prices are starting to come down, homes in foreclosure are still 25% cheaper. Another thing you can do with forclosed homes is to buy it, fix it up, and re-sell it. This is called home-flipping and there is a lot of money to be made in it. However, lots of research on the home and the area need to be made before undertaking in any investment. You’ll need to figure out not only how much the home will cost, but how much renovation needs to be done.
To make sure you get the maximum value out of your house before you sell it, you need to treat your home as if it were any other consumer product. Here are some things you can do to put yourself in control of the selling process.
Walk through your home, look at it objectively, and see what needs improvement. Look for defects buyers might not like, such as stains, peeling paint, or cracks on the wall.
Fix any cracks in your tiles or walls and put on a new coat of paint - you’ll be amazed at what a dramatic change new paint can do. Pay special attention to the kitchen and bathrooms as buyers are very particular about them.
Depersonalize your home. Removing all personal effects will make it easier for buyers to imagine themselves living in your home.
Rearrange your furniture to make your house look bigger. The less clutter there is, the better everything will look.
