Unfortunately, the real estate industry also falls victim to scams - and one of the most common ones is someone posing as would-be cash buyer.
These scam cash buyers come in different forms, but they all have one thing in common: they are on to swindle you out of your hard-earned cash. Here are 5 signs your cash buyer is a scammer according to Trulia:
The buyer is foreign
Who would buy a property without ever seeing it? If you are being offered a cash deal for your property by someone who doesn't emanate a sense of curiosity and is not even interested in asking any question, then you should see that as a major red flag.
The buyer is unavailable
If for some reason - most commonly, time difference - this cash buyer cannot make in-person phone calls with you or your attorney and only would like to establish communication via their attorney alone. This cash buyer probably just doesn't want you to discover that they do not at all sound Chinese (or whatever) and do not want to leave tracks for you to trace them.
The buyer gives you too much information
Instead of being careful with sharing information, scam cash buyers make themselves obvious by volunteering detailed financial information to strangers over emails. In order to make you think that they are legit, they would often provide you with a bank statement or other financial records and contact information more than you need.
The buyer is eager
Watch out for scam cash buyers who begins talking about methods of payment before you even bring the matter up. They would often make themselves appear so eager to send money for the down payment, or even the full payment for your house.
The buyer makes a mistake
Not only are they eager to send a payment, they also send too much. How generous, huh? Then, they "come up with a lie about why they need [you] to refund a portion of their funds immediately after depositing the check," says Brad Chandler, CEO and co-founder of Express Homebuyers.
But of course, you will soon find out the real score once the check clears and turns out to be a forgery.
