Avoid fraudulent business practices in your Real Estate Transaction

For most people, Buying or Selling a home will be the largest financial transaction they will make in their lifetime.    When you engage in a real estate transaction, it will require you to have direct or indirect business relationships with practitioners of several different areas of specialization (Realtor, Real Estate Broker, Mortgage Originator, Title/Escrow Company, Home Inspector, Appraiser, etc…)

 

 

 

 

Throughout time, in all professions, there have always been practitioners who have done things that are unethical or illegal.  Taken as a whole, this has always been a small fraction of practitioners, and the Real Estate Industry is no exception.

 

 

 

 

That said, a practitioner who wants to bend the rules or engage in unlawful practices can have a devastating effect on your life if you are unfortunate enough to get involved with one of these people.   Even here in Minnesota, in the Twin Cities, there have documented cases of such scams as equity stripping, straw buyers, appraisal fraud, mortgage fraud, escrow funds fraud and the list goes on.  Some of the affected parties in these cases had no idea they were being taken advantage of until it was too late.  See this article from the Star Tribune.

 

Your real estate transaction all starts with your real estate salesperson.  A good agent who has a history of successful transactions will also have relationships with professional of every other related field you will need to complete your transaction smoothly and safely. While all real estate salespeople have to be licensed by the MN Department of Commerce, not all salespeople are Realtors.  Realtors have to join the Board of Realtors and abide by the Realtors Code of Ethics.

 

As experienced Realtors, we have relationships with reputable mortgage brokers, title/escrow companies, home inspectors, appraisers, etc…  We have helped hundreds of families complete their real estate transactions smoothly.  We have the track record, testimonials and references to prove it.

 

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