Market Watch has an article this week called Real Estate Scam that’s devastating prices. I’m not sure I buy the allegations “J.McK” makes in his complaint that his neighbor sold his house to a realtor and is not renting from that realtor. Nonetheless, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.
Banks are much smarter than this, at least in Texas. The asset manager is not going to allow the agent doing the BPO to turn around and buy the property. The article is suggesting that the BPO agent is out sourcing to a straw man buyer. Unless the transaction is a cash purchase, the buyer is going to have a document trail with his/her lender. It is inconceivable to me that the BPO and the straw man buyer (real estate agent) are going to conspire together to defraud two banks for the benefit of the original owner. But I guess anything is possible in this day and age.
As a home seller you will be affected by unscrupulous real estate transactions that fraudulently devalue the market. So what do you do? You don’t sell until there are enough comparable homes selling at the price you want to sell your home for. I know that this columnist, Lew Sichelman, says there is very little that can be done but there are federal and state agencies that oversee the real estate industry. The FTC, your states Attorney General, and your states real estate commission to name a few. When reporting fraud you should have your fact right. These agencies do not deal with suppositions and innuendos.
Yvonne A. Russell, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Associates
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