If you're buying your first home, you need to know what scams to watch for, because fraud shows up at every stage of the process, from renting your first apartment to the day you close.

Before I worked in mortgages, I was a branch manager at a Credit Union. I've sat in an office with a young woman sobbing on the phone while trying to explain to her mother why she gave $1,000 in gift cards to someone over the phone. I've sat with a sweating first-time homebuyer while I called about wire fraud on $60,000 he sent on closing day that never arrived. I've turned people away from cashing checks because the sender "oversent" and the recipient needed to send money back.

I'm going to list out every scam, scheme, and fraud I've seen in this industry. Hopefully after reading this you'll be skeptical about everything, because that's the right instinct to have.

I'll break this into stages: preparing to buy, the actual buying process, closing day, after you've closed, and what to watch for if you ever face foreclosure. Along the way I'll give you real cases so you know these aren't hypothetical.

How to Spot Most Scams

Scammers follow the cash through a home purchase. The biggest losses land where money moves: rent deposits, the down payment, earnest money, and closing funds. The FBI logged more than $275 million in real estate fraud losses from at least 12,368 victims in 2025, up from about $173 million in 2024.

Here are the red flags that show up again and again:

  • Urgency: "Pay today or lose the house, the grant, the rate."
  • An upfront fee for something free or nearly free: DPA applications, Section 8 waitlists, deed copies, FHA refunds, homestead filings.
  • Odd payment methods: a wire to a new account, gift cards, crypto, crypto ATMs, Zelle, Cash App.
  • New payment instructions by email, text, or phone.
  • Contact you didn't start that already knows your name, lender, or loan amount.
  • Borrowed authority: your lender's name, a government seal, "Final Notice."
  • A request to lie or keep quiet with your lender, bank, or agent.

Here's how to handle it. Verify through a phone number you find yourself: from your signed documents, a website you typed in yourself, or NMLS Consumer Access for lenders. Never use the number, link, or QR code in the message you got.

If you've already wired money, call your bank's fraud line right now and ask for a recall.

Scams Before You Even Start Shopping

Rental Scams

The FTC counted almost 65,000 rental scam reports and about $65 million lost from January 2020 through June 2025. In the year ending June 2025, about half of people reporting one said it started with a fake Facebook ad, and adults 18 to 29 were three times likelier to report losing money.

Hijacked and Fake Rental Listings

A scammer copies a real listing, sometimes a home that's actually for sale, swaps in their own number, and prices it under market. They collect a fee, deposit, or first month's rent before you've seen the inside, sometimes using a self-tour lockbox code they got with fake ID.

Watch for rent well below comparable homes, the same home listed for sale or with other contacts, a "landlord" who's out of state and offers to mail you the keys, self-tour or video only showings, payment by app, wire, gift card, or crypto ATM, and a credit-check link or SSN request before you've even seen inside.

Here's what to do:

  • Match the owner on the county assessor or recorder site to the "landlord"
  • Call the listing brokerage or manager at a number you found yourself
  • See the inside with the owner or a licensed manager, and sign a lease, before paying
  • Pay by check or card, never by wire, gift card, crypto, or payment app

Real cases: In Spanish Fork, UT (2026), a renter was told to pay the deposit at an ATM because the "landlord" couldn't meet. On move-in day, the door code didn't work. In Salt Lake City (2022), a real $1,500 listing was reposted at $800 by a "landlord" in Virginia who offered to FedEx the key. Neighbors stopped the renter before she paid.

Rent-to-Own, Lease-Option, and Contract-for-Deed Traps

An investor sells a "path to ownership" with no bank involved. You pay a big option fee and take on repairs, taxes, and insurance while the seller keeps title. Under many of these contracts, one missed payment lets the seller take the home back and keep everything you paid, with none of a foreclosure's protections. In one study of Texas border colonias, 45% of buyers defaulted and fewer than 20% ever got a deed.

Here's what to do:

  • Get an independent inspection, appraisal, and title search, and make sure the contract is recorded
  • Get in writing how much of each payment goes toward the price
  • Have a real estate attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor review it
  • Ask a licensed loan officer whether FHA, VA, USDA, or down payment assistance could get you a real mortgage instead

Real case: Vision Property Management in Pennsylvania (2019-2025) was sued by the state after it bought 500+ run-down homes through more than 50 companies and sold them on rent-to-own and installment contracts. After a 2021 default judgment, more than 250 homes were deeded to the families living in them, and in June 2025 a company that worked with Vision agreed to pay $992,000 in restitution.

Section 8 Waitlist Fees

There's no fee to join a Section 8 waitlist, and housing authorities don't recruit by phone or email. Find your local housing authority through HUD, never through an ad.

Credit Repair and Credit Score Scams

A credit repair company that charges before it has fully performed its services is breaking federal law, and anything it can legally do, you can do yourself for little or no cost.

A company charges upfront fees and promises to delete collections and late payments fast, often pitched as getting you "mortgage-ready." Accurate, current negative information can't legally be removed, and some firms file fake identity-theft reports to try anyway.

Here's what to do:

  • Pull free reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and dispute real errors yourself
  • Never pay before work is done. You're owed a written contract and three business days to cancel
  • Ask your loan officer about a rapid rescore after a real fix
  • Never file an identity-theft report for debts that are actually yours

Real cases: BoostMyScore in Denver (2020) was accused by the FTC of promising big score jumps to help people get mortgages, charging $325 to $4,000+ upfront, and renting authorized-user spots. It settled with a $6.6 million judgment, mostly suspended, and a ban on selling those spots. Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com (2023-2024) were found to have charged illegal advance fees, and the CFPB announced $1.8 billion in refunds to about 4.3 million people.

CPNs and "New Credit Identity" Numbers

A seller charges for a nine-digit "credit privacy number" to use in place of your SSN. These numbers are usually stolen SSNs, often children's. The FTC calls new-credit-identity offers a scam and warns that using another number on a credit application can bring fines or prison.

Real case: In Raleigh, NC (2021), a CPN buyer used them with inflated income to open seven credit cards and buy or try to buy five cars. He got 33 months.

Rented Tradelines and Debt Relief

Rented tradelines: paying to be added to a stranger's credit card can bump your score, but it's a shaky foundation to build a mortgage application on.

Debt relief: companies that tell you to stop paying creditors while they "negotiate" pile late payments onto your credit right when a lender is looking. Under the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, a phone-sold debt relief company can't charge until it has settled at least one debt and you've made a payment under that deal. Be skeptical of both of these.

Down Payment Assistance "Access" Fees and Fake Grants

A third party advertises guaranteed grants or special access to down payment assistance, then charges an application, "processing," or "insurance" fee. Real down payment assistance is reached through the program or a participating lender, and applying is free. The government doesn't call people about grants, and HUD never calls or emails to award money.

Here's what to do:

  • Do not pay upfront. These programs don't charge
  • Use the program's lender list and make sure the lender is on the approved list, then confirm the lender on NMLS Consumer Access

If you want to see what real down payment assistance looks like in your state, I put together a guide covering programs in all 50 states.

Real cases: In North Miami, FL (2024), a former real estate broker advertised she could get buyers government grants of up to $65,000. About 240 people paid her an $1,800 upfront fee, more than $420,000 total. She pleaded guilty to organized fraud and got 48 months in prison. In Chicago (2018), a hacked friend's Facebook account told a woman she qualified for a $200,000 grant. She sent a $4,000 cashier's check and lost her down payment savings.

Gift Letters That Aren't Really Gifts

This one's more on the buyer, and it's usually a scheme run by an interested party like an agent, a loan officer, or the seller. Don't accept funds from an interested party disguised as a gift.

Here's what to do:

  • Ask your loan officer which donors your program accepts before anyone sends money
  • If it must be paid back, it's a loan. Disclose it, and it counts against you in your debt-to-income ratio
  • Never take "gift" money from the seller, builder, agent, or an investor outside disclosed concessions, and never take money to be someone else's buyer

Real case: In Connecticut (2016), a sitting state representative disguised a $7,000 loan as a gift from a "cousin" on his FHA loan, then repaid it after closing. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Investment and Crypto Schemes Aimed at Your Savings

A "wrong number" text or dating match builds trust, then steers you to a trading app that shows fake gains. Withdrawals need "fees," and the money is gone. Investment scams were the FTC's biggest loss category in 2025 at $7.9 billion.

  • Keep down payment savings in an insured bank or credit union account until closing. Lenders want documented funds anyway
  • Never move savings at the direction of someone you met online, and ignore "recovery" services

Real cases: In Ogden, UT (2022), a woman met a "Bitcoin investor" on a dating app and sent $187,000, partly from a loan against her home. The site then demanded $120,000 to release her "profits." Zurixx, a Utah company (2022), ran free house-flipping seminars that led to costly coaching upsells. Regulators said consumers lost more than $100 million. The operators were banned from selling coaching, and about $12 million went back to consumers.

Scams While You're Shopping, Applying, and Under Contract

Imposter Lenders and "Guaranteed Approval" Fees

A fake lender "approves" you, then demands an upfront fee for insurance, processing, or collateral. The loan never arrives.

  • Confirm the company and loan officer on NMLS Consumer Access, licensed in your state
  • Call the number listed on NMLS or your state regulator's site, not the one you were given
  • Pay early fees (usually just credit report and appraisal) only to the lender, never by gift card or crypto

Real case: California's regulator put out an alert about a "senior loan officer" marketing on Facebook using another real loan officer's NMLS number.

Trigger Lead Callers (Mostly History Now)

This is illegal now, so you probably won't get calls like this, but it's worth knowing as a history lesson and to stay wary. When a lender pulled your credit, bureaus used to sell that "trigger" to other lenders, and calls poured in, some implying they were your lender. The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, signed September 5, 2025 and in effect since early March 2026, bars bureaus from furnishing mortgage trigger leads unless it's a firm offer you consented to, or the company originated or services your current mortgage or is your bank or credit union.

  • Hang up on "your loan was flagged" callers and call your loan officer at the number you have
  • Opt out of prescreened offers at OptOutPrescreen.com
  • Register your phone number on the do not call registry

Bait and Switch Rate Ads

An ad shows a rate or APR the company won't actually give you, calls an adjustable loan "fixed," or borrows VA or IRS imagery to look official.

Get Loan Estimates from two or three lenders for the same loan, close together, since rates change daily. Compare Sections A, B, and J closely.

Real case: In a 2020 sweep, the CFPB settled with at least seven lenders over deceptive VA mailers. One advertised terms it wouldn't actually offer, falsely told veterans their VA benefits were time-limited, and used VA, IRS, and FDIC imagery.

There's also a loan officer culture problem worth naming: throwing confusing jargon at you, swearing they can beat a competitor's rate, then charging more in fees than that competitor would have. Shop more than one lender so you can actually compare.

Fake Agents and Deposit Theft

  • Look up the agent on your state regulator's site (Utah Division of Real Estate, California DRE, Florida DBPR, Texas TREC, Arizona Department of Real Estate, Colorado Division of Real Estate)
  • Send earnest money only to a verified title company, escrow company, or brokerage trust account

Kickbacks and Steering

Agents aren't allowed to be paid by loan officers or title agents in exchange for business. Unfortunately, it still happens. Federal law (RESPA) bars paying for referrals. When an agent is paid in cash, perks, or disguised "marketing" fees to steer you, you lose the chance to shop.

Red flags: "you have to use our lender," warnings the deal could fall apart if you shop, an agent who won't share other lenders or down payment assistance options, and an Affiliated Business Arrangement disclosure meaning someone in your deal profits from your choice.

Get at least one Loan Estimate from a lender your agent didn't pick, and choose your own title company where your state and contract allow. If the loan officer your agent suggested is genuinely good and the fees and rates check out, there's nothing wrong with using them. Just be wary if the agent throws a fit over who you choose.

Real case: In 2023, the CFPB said Freedom Mortgage paid more than 40 brokerages a combined $90,000 or so a month through "marketing" deals that were really referral payments. Freedom paid $1.75 million and one brokerage paid $200,000, without admitting or denying the findings.

Buyer Agreements After the NAR Settlement

Since August 2024, buyers sign an agreement before touring in most states. There's no standard commission, and California's regulator warns against anyone claiming there is. Ask for the agreement before the first tour, negotiate the pay and the term, and ask how to end it.

Fake Listings and "Owner Will Carry" Deals

A scammer lists a home they don't own, often below market or as "owner financing, no credit check," and collects a deposit or the full price through a fake closing that borrows a real firm's name.

  • Match the seller's name to the owner on county records
  • Choose your own title or escrow company and find its number yourself
  • Send no deposit until a signed contract is opened in escrow

Real cases: In the Atlanta area (charged 2024), buyers who answered a Facebook Marketplace ad for property in Ellenwood wired money believing an Atlanta law group was handling the closing. The firm had no record of the sale. Losses totaled about $200,000, and a suspect was arrested in March 2024. In Southern California (2022), companies sold homes that weren't for sale as below-market short sales, using forged approval letters. About 750 victims sent more than $11.7 million. The scheme's organizer got nine years in federal prison.

Seller Impersonation

Criminals pose as the owner of a property with no mortgage, often vacant land, and sell it through a real agent and title company. The buyer can lose it to the true owner. In 2026, 59% of title professionals surveyed had seen at least one attempt in the past year, up from 28% in 2024, and the FBI issued a warning in June 2026.

  • Buy an owner's title insurance policy
  • Ask your title company how it verified the seller's identity
  • Slow down on vacant land, absentee owners, and below-market cash deals

Real case: In Concord, MA (charged 2026), imposters posing as out-of-state owners sold a 1.84-acre lot for about $525,000, roughly half its value, and a builder had started a house before the real owners found out. Prosecutors say the ring took about $1.5 million from four properties.

Flips That Hide Defects

Pull the permit history. Get a full inspection plus a sewer scope. Ask for contractor names and licenses. Check the sales history. Never waive the inspection under pressure.

New Construction Deposit Theft

Confirm the builder owns the lot and holds a contractor license. Put deposits in escrow, not with the builder. Use a construction loan with inspected draws and lien waivers.

Earnest Money Wire Fraud

Earnest money is usually your first big transfer, and it's a real target. About one in five buyers (22%) got a fraudulent or suspicious message during their transaction, according to CertifID's 2026 report.

A criminal reading your agent's or title company's email sends "updated wiring instructions" from a look-alike address right before the deposit is due.

  • Get wiring instructions in person, and save the title company's number from a source you trust
  • Call that number before sending, never a number from an email
  • Treat any change to payment instructions as fraud until verified by phone
  • Pay earnest money only to a licensed title company, escrow company, or brokerage trust account, never to a person
  • Call to confirm it arrived

If you want to see exactly what your closing costs and cash to close should look like so a fake "final figure" is easier to spot, I built a payment and closing cost calculator for that.

Real case: In Clinton, UT (2018), a retired Marine wired his $62,500 down payment after an email that appeared to come from his agent. None of it was recovered. A Utah lawmaker is drafting a bill for the 2027 session to require extra verification, including a code sent to the buyer, before a homebuyer's wire goes out.

If You're Selling: Fake Buyers and Contract Flippers

A "buyer" sends a check for more than the deposit and asks you to wire back the difference. The check bounces days or weeks later, and you're the one who has to repay the bank. Take buyer money only through title or escrow.

A wholesaler signs you to a low price, then sells your contract to another investor at a markup. Watch for "and/or assigns" after the buyer's name, tiny earnest money, and long "partner approval" periods. Arizona, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania (since January 2025) now require disclosure and give sellers a right to cancel. Get a value opinion from a licensed agent before signing. This practice might be legal, but I hate the deceit behind the offers and process.

A subject-to buyer takes your deed but leaves your mortgage in your name. If they stop paying, your credit takes the hit, and a VA borrower's entitlement stays tied up. Have an attorney review any sub-to offer, and if you go ahead, use a third-party servicer and check the loan every month.

Real case: In Bay County, FL (2026), a homeowner paid two mortgages for nearly a year after his sub-to buyer stopped paying. A second mortgage had been recorded the same day the deed transferred. A judge returned the home after the defendants didn't respond to his suit. One local news outlet said 46 of the 99 sub-to properties it is tracking in Florida had foreclosure filings.

Inspection Scams

Colorado doesn't license home inspectors, so anyone can call themselves one there. Utah began requiring a license in 2026. Florida and Texas license inspectors, Arizona certifies them, and California has no state license.

Watch for an agent who insists on one specific inspector, no license (where required) or insurance, "monitor" language on roofs, foundations, or water damage, an inspector who offers to do the repairs himself, and being told not to attend.

Choose your own inspector, check the license and insurance, read the agreement's liability limit, attend the inspection, and add a sewer scope or structural inspection where warranted.

Appraisal Fraud and Fake Appraisal Fees

  • Read your appraisal. For a first mortgage, the lender must give you a free copy promptly after it's done, or at least three business days before closing, unless you waive that timing
  • Compare the improvements it lists with what you actually saw. A big jump in value over a few months with only cosmetic work is a warning sign
  • Pay the appraisal fee only through your lender's known portal

Real case: In Memphis (2013), an appraiser valued homes as renovated when no work had been done. One home bought for $65,000 appraised at $400,000 two months later. He and his partner each got 33 months in prison.

Home Warranty Upsells

A home warranty is a service contract, not insurance. Read the exclusions, caps, and service fees, and decide before closing.

Real case: In New Jersey (2015), the state alleged Choice Home Warranty sold contracts as comprehensive and denied claims over missing maintenance records. It settled for $779,913.93.

Document Phishing and Fake Fee Requests

A look-alike lender email sends a new "secure upload" link, asks for your bank login, or demands a "rate lock fee" by wire. Upload documents only through the portal your loan officer gave you at application, and call your loan officer at the number you already have before acting on anything new.

Pressure to Lie: Occupancy Fraud and Straw Buyers

If anyone tells you to say you'll live in a home you won't, leave off a debt, inflate your income, or take money to be the buyer, walk away. You sign the application, so the false statement is yours.

Real case: In Northern California (2018), a recruiter and a licensed agent used straw buyers and false income and occupancy claims on at least 14 homes, all foreclosed or short-sold. Both got 11 years and 3 months. A dental assistant paid to buy five of the homes got 3 years and 10 months.

Points That Don't Buy Anything

  • Ask each lender for the same loan with and without points
  • Get your rate lock in writing, with its expiration date
  • For a temporary buydown, ask to see the payment after it ends
  • Compare your Closing Disclosure with your Loan Estimate. It must arrive at least three business days before closing

Real case: Peoples Bank in Kansas (2017) was found by the Federal Reserve to have charged many borrowers for discount points that didn't actually lower their rate, and the bank was required to pay about $2.8 million in restitution.

Closing Day: Wire Fraud Is the Biggest Risk

Cash to close is the biggest target in the whole deal. Buyer cash-to-close fraud made up 30% of CertifID's 2025 cases, with a median loss of $239,850. The FBI counted $3.04 billion in business email compromise losses in 2025.

  • Confirm wiring instructions by calling the title company at a number from your contract or its official site
  • Match the amount to your Closing Disclosure, and question any new "final" figure sent by email
  • Treat any new account, new title company, or "send it to the attorney's trust account" as fraud until verified
  • Agree on a code word with your agent, title officer, and loan officer, because voices can be cloned now
  • Call to confirm the funds arrived

If you wired money to a scammer, move fast. Within minutes, call your bank's fraud department and request a wire recall. Call your title company at a number you trust. Contact your local FBI field office, the police, and your agent.

Speed matters. In 2025, the FBI's recovery team froze $679 million of $1.16 billion in attempted theft. Banks are usually shielded if they followed standard security procedures, and lawsuits against them often get dismissed.

Real cases: In one 2025 case, buyers wired more than $449,000 after an email impersonated their attorneys. After they filed an IC3 complaint, the FBI got the receiving bank to put the full amount on hold. In Parker, CO (2017), a couple lost about $272,000, their life savings, after emails posing as a title employee asked them to wire it. They sued the bank, title company, lender, brokerage, and agent.

Scams That Target You After You Close

The day your mortgage is recorded, your name, lender, and loan details become public record, and a wave of mail built from that record follows.

Mortgage Protection Mailers That Look Like Your Lender

Lead-generation companies buy recorded mortgage data and mail urgent postcards ("Important Notice," "Immediate Response") printed with your lender's name and loan details. Calling connects you to an insurance salesperson. A watchdog documented the same mailer coming back in blue, credited to a different company, after it had flagged a yellow version. Both had fine print saying they weren't affiliated with any lender.

"Certified Copy of Your Deed" Offers

Letters with your parcel number offer a copy of your deed for about $83 to $95. The recorder sells it for a few dollars, and you don't actually need one.

Real case: Salt Lake County (2020): the recorder warned about $95 letters made to look like they came from her office. The county charges $10 or less.

Homestead Filing Fees

Filing a homestead exemption with your county is free. In Texas, misleading "designation of homestead" letters drew more than 100 complaints to the attorney general in 2018.

"Title Lock" Subscriptions vs. Free County Alerts

An FTC attorney has said title lock isn't insurance, generally alerts you only after a transfer is already recorded, and wouldn't stop title fraud in the first place. Many counties send the same alert for free. Utah's 2024 law requires every county recorder to offer email notice when a deed or mortgage is recorded on your property, and Salt Lake County and Utah County offer theirs free. Arizona has Maricopa County Title Alert. Florida's all 67 county clerks offer free alerts.

Deed Theft

A criminal records a forged deed moving your home to themselves, then sells it or borrows against it. Turn on your county's free alert and act the same day one arrives.

Real case: In Tampa (2024-2025), a couple recorded forged quitclaim deeds on three homes. One owner couple had signed up for the county's free alert after seeing suspicious activity on their cameras, and they got a fraud alert within two days. The husband pleaded guilty and got 15 years.

Fake "New Servicer" Letters

Your current servicer must send a goodbye notice at least 15 days before a transfer, and the new one sends a hello notice within 15 days after (or they can send one combined notice). For 60 days after a transfer, an on-time payment to the old servicer can't be treated as late. A "hello" letter with no word from your current servicer is a warning sign. Call the number on an old statement to confirm.

FHA Refund Finders

You don't need a tracer for this. If your name is on HUD's refund list, call (800) 697-6967 with your FHA case number if you know it.

Biweekly Payment Programs

You can make extra principal payments yourself, for free, without paying a company to do it for you.

Real case: Paymap (2015): the CFPB found it charged $295 to enroll plus about $2.50 per debit, advertised unsupported savings of over $33,000, and often just paid monthly anyway. It refunded $33.4 million and paid a $5 million penalty.

Loan Modification and Foreclosure Rescue Companies

Federal rules generally bar these companies from charging until you've signed a written agreement with your lender or servicer that includes the relief they actually got you. Call your servicer first, then a HUD-approved housing counselor, which is free or low cost.

Real case: In California (2022-2026), the FTC and the state won a judgment against a group that posed as COVID relief and had homeowners send it their mortgage payments. About 1,800 people are getting nearly $3 million back.

Door-to-Door Solar and PACE

"Free" solar can mean a long lease, a loan, or a PACE assessment on your tax bill that complicates a future refinance. Since March 1, 2026, PACE lenders must check ability to repay. You can cancel most door-to-door sales of $25 or more by midnight of the third business day.

Utility and HOA Imposters

Ignore same-day shutoff threats and call the utility at its official number. Confirm HOA payment instructions with the management company named in your closing documents.

If You're Facing Foreclosure, Watch for "Rescue" Scams

Fraudsters and schemers love a desperate homeowner.

When foreclosure is close, the most dangerous offer sounds like a lifeline: "Sign the house over to me, stay as a renter, and buy it back anytime for the same price." The FTC warns that as soon as you give up the deed, the scammer controls what happens to the home, and transferring the deed doesn't transfer the mortgage, so you can still owe the loan.

Foreclosure filings are public, so "rescuers" reach out by mail, at the door, or on social media. You deed the home to them or an "investor," sign a lease, and get a promise that you can buy it back later. Then the rent goes up until you miss a payment, the buyback needs a mortgage you can't qualify for, or the new owner borrows against the home or lets the old loan go to foreclosure while still collecting your rent. You lose the house and the equity.

Real cases:

  • Atlanta (2025): Georgia's attorney general sued a company it says took title to more than 70 homes through a loan program pitched as foreclosure relief, without telling owners the papers transferred their titles. The complaint says at least 12 households were forced out. The company denies the claims, and a judge has barred it from taking new titles while the case proceeds.
  • Florida (2012): Operators of a foreclosure-help business told homeowners they could stay after selling to "investors" and buy the homes back later. The sales went to paid straw buyers, the operators kept the equity, and the loans went into foreclosure. Owners lost their equity and most had to move. A jury convicted two defendants, and a third pleaded guilty.
  • Philadelphia area (2011): A man got more than 200 homeowners facing foreclosure to deed him their homes for a nominal sum and sign leases, collected their rent, and paid nothing on their mortgages. He was sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison.
  • California (2018): The owner of a "Keep Your Home" rescue business, which promised investors would take over the mortgage while owners rented and rebuilt credit, got 14 years in prison after the business took homeowners' titles and equity.

That's everything I've got. Buying a home means a lot of money moving through a lot of hands, at a lot of different stages. Slow down, verify everything yourself, and don't let urgency push you into a decision.

-Sam

Home Buying Scams: Every Red Flag First-Time Buyers Need
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Originally shared by u/SamTMortgageBroker in r/NewbHomebuyer — view the original thread.