Avoiding short-sale fraud
The National Association of REALTORS might be accused of confirming the obvious when it reports that banks keep an eye out for short-sales fraud:
Short-sale fraud totals $310 million annually and the average amount of fraud is $41,000 per transaction, according to real estate research firm CoreLogic’s 2010 short-sale research study.
But avoiding short-sale fraud requires the diligent attention of all brokers and agents and parties in every short sale transaction.
California real estate broker and risk-management specialist Kathy Mehringer reminds us that
Short sales have unleashed a fury of creative practices many of which are harmful to all parties involved in the transaction. Whether you are a real estate licensee or homeowner or a prospective purchaser you must be ever alert to "Red Flags." (Emphasis added.)
Kathy lists three such "Red Flags" on her Real Estate Risk Management blog.
Spending some time at Kathy's blog could be worth your license!
