False Deeds Equal Real Estate Fraud

With the U.S. in a deep recession, there is another very popular scam making the rounds – stealing property using a false deed.

It’s disturbingly safe for a thief to steal someone’s property using a false deed. In fact, this kind of scheme or real estate scam has become so popular it almost rivals other kinds of fraud scams. It makes one wonder what the world has come to with people taking advantage of others so blatantly. In a nation that once prided itself on neighbor helping neighbor when the hard times hit, it’s become neighbor stealing from neighbor to stay afloat.

There are a number of very popular real estate scams and if people are aware of them, it is easier to be on the alert for fraud. It’s the kind of knowledge that will come in handy should something strange look like it’s going down. In other words, knowledge is power and protection from fraud. This is particularly the case when it comes to elderly people who are often pressured into signing away their homes.

Typically speaking, most often real estate fraud centers around forged deeds. The most often used scam invokes a false deed to get a loan secured on a certain property. Once the loan has been dispersed, the thief vanishes like smoke in the night leaving the “real” property owner in the lurch and possibly facing bank foreclosure. The “real” owner has no idea anything happened until they get a warning note from the bank. If they don’t take action on it, perhaps thinking it’s a mistake, the foreclosure becomes a real possibility.

Here is another favorite real estate scam; selling a piece of property without the owner’s consent or knowledge. Generally speaking, this kind of fraud is perpetrated on an uninhabited, possibly inherited house or other property (land). Some very creative fraudsters are even able to sell the same property several times over. On the other hand, if the property was only sold once, this kind of fraud can go unnoticed for up to a year or longer.

Up to this point, most of the scams covered have been done with false deeds. The other more successful real estate fraud comes at the hands of a person who used a “real” deed to accomplish their illegal ends. While false deeds can often be reversed, real ones usually cannot be reversed. Unfortunately, the thieves in this type of case are often members of the family circle; the last people anyone would suspect of committing real estate fraud.

Isn’t a signature on the deed an even better move? Having a signature from the owner of the land in question is often a bonus in the real estate scam and the criminal can do pretty much as they please without worrying about getting caught. It’s easy to get signatures from elderly people, and this kind of fraud is very prevalent.

There are other kinds of fraudulent schemes out there today that leave many people penniless, without their land and in some instances homeless. The only way to ensure that fraud is not being committed is to speak with a skilled attorney.

Gomez Law Group is a Dallas employment lawyer and Dallas business lawyer. To learn more, visit http://www.gomezlawyers.com

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