January 6, 2021 GetHom expert 123 945
This article contains the most complete information on the Internet for 2021 on how realtors deceive when buying, selling or renting an apartment. All the fraud schemes and tricks in the work of a realtor are collected.
And at the end of the article, their most dangerous representatives are considered. These are raiders and black realtors. For those there are no boundaries at all. They are ready to do anything, even murder, for the sake of your property.
It is important to know all the tricks and dangers of realtors. People who encounter intermediaries for the first time may not know how they work and fall into a trap. The information in the article will be useful to everyone who encounters realtors. Sometimes intermediaries can be useful, and sometimes they themselves can deceive you and leave you without money or an apartment.
Schemes for deceiving realtors are constantly changing and becoming more thoughtful and tough. We will look at the main ones. Just based on these techniques, you will be able to recognize others. You will also understand who to contact and what to do in order to avoid fraudulent schemes and not lose your apartment.
How realtors deceive you when buying an apartment
Let's consider options for deception if you want to find an apartment and end up with intermediaries. And you will find a realtor in 90% of cases. They create information noise and junk ads.
Thus, it is extremely difficult to get to the owner. And all this is the result of the work of realtors and their deception. And realtors charge a lot of money for their deception.
Related article: How much do realtors charge for selling and renting an apartment
Thousands of advertisements
At the very first contact with a realtor, they already begin to deceive you. This scheme is called a fake apartment. Intermediaries replicate thousands of advertisements with non-existent apartments and their phone number. This is done in order to hook the buyer.
When you call the apartment you like, they will tell you that it has already been sold or has an advance payment, but there is another one that is even better and you can look at it. As a result of such deception, the realtor finds clients.
It is easy to identify such an ad. The information will be incomplete. There will be no floor, total area, or exact address. The parameters will be inconsistent. And the photos were taken from the Internet and are too good for the price of the apartment.
The price is usually set low and attractive. The purpose of such advertisements is only to hook the victim, and then continue working on real offers.
Real apartment with realtor number
The second method of the same type is to take the owner’s ad, copy the photos and replicate the ad on all sites, but with your contacts. This is done without the consent of the owner. This is a dishonest method, because the intermediary simply copies the photos, changes the description and lists the apartment on his own behalf.
The deception lies in the fact that the client thinks that the apartment is from the owner, but ends up with a realtor. And you have to spend a lot of time calling and finding out who is the owner and who is just trying to make money and take a commission.
Thanks to this deception, the realtor gets involved in the sale of an apartment and wants to earn several thousand dollars.
If you want to find an apartment from the owner, then look for sites without intermediaries or similar advertisements from owners. On the GetHom website we publish advertisements for the sale of real estate from owners in Odessa:
Link: Buy an apartment in Odessa from the Owner. Without intermediaries and commissions.
A friend's apartment, I'm helping to sell it
Such realtors even often write that the apartment is from the owner. And already on the phone they tell me that I am a relative, a neighbor, a friend and that I am simply helping to sell. You think that you can go look, which means there will be no commission.
As a result, when you come to the apartment, it becomes clear that this is an ordinary intermediary and he wants a commission. And they deceived you over the phone so that you could come for a viewing.
Deception for profit. It wastes time and nerves. Because you come to see the apartment from the owner, and there are intermediaries again. A very annoying way. And the main thing is that they won’t tell you about the commission at all over the phone.
Only when you are already in the apartment and begin to discuss the issue of price. This is where the commission arises, that you owe an additional 2 thousand dollars. I'm not a middleman, I'm a neighbor, but I have to earn money.
The owner usually says that, for example, my 40 thousand, and decide for your neighbor Masha’s remuneration yourself. Neighbor Masha shouts that without two thousand I will not allow the transaction to take place and convinces the owner that, most likely, scammers want to buy because they do not agree to our terms and do not want to pay a commission.
The owner has known the neighbor for more time than you have and trusts her. As a result, people argue and disperse. You were deceived, the owner did not sell. And the realtor continues to look for buyers.
A chain of shows with the most terrible options
A very common technique. You will be taken to apartments that partially meet the parameters, but are in terrible condition. In apartments that make you want to immediately get out and run. Usually they show 5-7 such apartments. So that you become disillusioned and more amenable to decisions.
The realtor says this is the best thing on the market right now. You are upset. You think that everything, nothing good, and you will have to live in an old apartment. And here is a psychological trick
The intermediary shows you an apartment that is profitable for him to sell and suits you in all respects. This is usually a 7-10 apartment. It was there from the beginning, they just led you to a purchase and wasted your time showing scary options.
Straw buyers and people with advance payments
You are rushed and not allowed to calmly make a purchasing decision. If the realtor understands that you should definitely like the apartment and suits all the parameters, then he can call additional buyers at the moment when you look at it.
The intermediary agrees in advance so that when you are in the apartment, more people will come and be interested in the purchase. A buzz is created and you are pushed to close the deal.
The same method can be used over the phone. In front of you, they call the intermediary and say that they are ready to give an advance if the owner gives in a little. The intermediary tells you this and says that if you buy without bargaining, then the apartment is yours. Any psychological techniques are used in order to receive a commission and earn money.
You gave an advance, but they don’t return it to you
Not all realtors understand what an advance is and what a deposit agreement is. There is a big difference in legal implications between these concepts. The intermediaries say - let's arrange a deposit, but it cannot even be mentioned in the preliminary agreement for the purchase and sale of the apartment.
The transfer of money is called an advance or security deposit. This is the first deception. The deposit agreement cannot be formalized in a preliminary agreement.
Useful article on the topic: Deposit, advance payment or preliminary agreement - which is better
But when they refuse to return your advance, arguing that it is a deposit and it is not returned, then this is deception number two. Read the article above and you will understand that in almost 90% of cases, no matter what is written in the preliminary agreement, an advance payment is issued.
It happens that penalties and a security deposit are prescribed, but if an advance is written, then they are obliged to return it to you. If they do not return your money, saying that it is a deposit, then you are simply being deceived.
Viewing at a time when there are no disadvantages
The realtor will not tell you about the shortcomings of the apartment. It's simply not beneficial for him. The realtor's job is to sell. If the neighbors are drunk and rowdy, they will bring you in the morning while they are sleeping. If there are traffic jams in front of the house, the intermediary will show the apartment when there are almost no cars.
If the view from the window is scary during the day, then the apartment will definitely be shown only in the evening. For example, from the window you can see a cemetery, factories or a landfill. And there are a lot of such moments.
Therefore, you need to look at the apartment several times and at different times of the day. And check everything yourself. But those who agree to buy through a realtor are most in danger.
We check the apartment legally
This deception comes first. There will be many difficulties. Realtors only talk about legal due diligence. In fact, they provide only information services and do not carry any guarantees.
You can buy an apartment with problematic documents and not even know about it. Until the previous owner appears and sues you to invalidate the transaction.
This is how almost all agencies and all intermediaries deceive. An ordinary realtor cannot understand all the legal intricacies of real estate documents. This is an area where lawyers first study for 5 years at university, and then gain experience and knowledge over the years.
And when an ordinary realtor says I’ll check the documents now, you must understand that this is a danger. You can buy any apartment through intermediaries and then sue for 10 years, but the realtor won’t care.
The main thing is to take the commission and forget it. They do not bear any guarantees under their agency agreement. It doesn’t matter to them what documents there are for the apartment and what will happen to you later. The main thing is to get a commission and sell. Nothing else matters.
How to protect yourself from this deception
You must understand that a realtor is only a seller. He wants to sell what is profitable for him. But, if you found it through a realtor, then you shouldn’t trust them to check the documents. You need to hire a real estate lawyer. The transaction support service costs ten times less than the services of intermediaries.
Link: Legal check of real estate before purchase. Online throughout Ukraine.
Documents for the apartment are the most important part. Because if there are problems with the documents, then it doesn’t matter where the house is located or what the view is from the window. You will lose both the apartment and the money you paid for it.
Therefore, we recommend using the services of real estate lawyers before purchasing an apartment. They have experience, knowledge and can guarantee the purity of the transaction. In America, all transactions are carried out only with the assistance of lawyers. Therefore, there are significantly fewer frauds and scammers in the real estate market there.
Payment of rent
Any payment for housing occurs only after you sign a rental agreement with the owner of the apartment. Try to find an agent who offers a discount of up to fifty percent. Such a person most likely conducts all transactions past his agency, which means he will not share it with anyone. Such an agent will ask to sign a certain agency agreement. The main thing is to remember that according to the law, before signing the papers, you do not owe him anything. In this way, the possibility of any joint transactions will be excluded - this is when two agencies are involved in it. With the proper desire, it won’t take much effort to find such agents. Many options for rental housing are basically the same, because they are taken from one special inter-agency database, which is always closed from tenants.
If you are offered to sign a contract before showing the apartment, simply politely refuse. This can be argued that perhaps the option will not suit you or you are afraid that you will be deceived. It is better to warn in advance that you will not sign any papers before the inspection. After all, there are now a lot of information agencies offering to immediately conclude a rental agreement, and simply blatantly deceive their clients. In most cases, an agency employee offers to conclude an agency agreement directly during the inspection of the apartment. The agent's commission is paid on the basis of a work completion certificate. Also, the contract often states that if you sign papers without the presence of an agent, then the commission may be demanded from you in full. Try not to sign agency agreements.
Fraud when selling an apartment
When you sell your apartment, realtors are ready to do anything to ensure that the transaction goes through them. In this case, their earnings will be 5% of the cost of the apartment. And this is several thousand dollars. This money pushes the intermediary to deceive. He is ready to use the entire arsenal of tricks and schemes to make money.
Bait ads
The intermediary posts advertisements on poles and advertises on Internet resources that he will buy a 1-2-3 room apartment for himself in any condition and guarantees a quick payment. It's just bait and deception.
When you call the phone number, it turns out that this is a regular intermediary. In this way, the realtor finds an apartment from the owner for further sale. He just adds it to the database and starts looking for clients.
We are ready to give an advance, what is the minimum price
An intermediary and a figurehead, the same intermediary or his girlfriend, come to the apartment. They play, make a scene that they like the apartment and are ready to give an advance if there is a good bargain on the price. Since you want to sell and, seeing that people are serious, you reduce the price to the lowest possible.
For example, it was 40, you concede to 38, only to be taken away. These are real buyers, and the realtor says they are ready to buy right now.
At the end of the meeting, the mediator and the figurehead say that everything is agreed. We'll meet the next day and sign all the papers. The next day you are excited about the sale and are waiting for the call. And they call you and say that the deal fell through, they changed their mind.
But it’s all staged and played by actors. Nobody even thought about buying an apartment. The intermediaries simply pressed you down on the price in order to find out how much you were really willing to pay for.
After that, according to all advertisements, your apartment is no longer listed for 40, but for 38. And they will bargain with you exactly from this amount. The deception is quite severe. The impressions remain unpleasant.
Realtor reduced the price in the ad
An extremely common practice. The realtor copies your photos and displays your apartment on all websites, but with a price lower than yours. How is it that my apartment costs 50, but the realtor put it up for 48? This is how he attracts the buyer.
Now they will call not your ad, but the intermediary’s phone number. He will bring a client and the buyer will be very surprised why the price of the apartment is 50, but it was written 48.
The buyer’s mind doesn’t add up, but mentally he no longer believes that the apartment costs 50. The buyer thinks that he is being deceived. But that's how it is. The realtor deceived both the seller and the buyer.
The hope here is that the buyer will like the apartment and bidding will begin, where they will ultimately settle on 48 or less. And the intermediary will earn his commission in this fraudulent way.
Can I take pictures?
For the methods above, it is advisable to take new photographs. You can copy it from the seller, but new photos are always better - clients think that the apartment is different.
Under the guise of buyers, the realtor brings the same intermediary, who asks to take some photographs for her husband and show him the house. Walks around, takes pictures, shoots videos.
After that, in a couple of days you will see all these photos on all sites. The intermediary created advertisements in his own name and with his own phone number. Now it will be easier for him to sell your apartment.
Straw buyers
Very often, instead of real clients, realtors bring in dummy buyers. Each serves a different purpose. One bargains with you to the last, the other wants to give an advance and bargains even cheaper.
The third walks around and takes photographs of the apartment, the fourth just came to look and then offer it to his clients.
And all these people waste your time showing the apartment and viewings. A lot of useless calls and shows. All in order to make money for you and sell your apartment. Everything would be fine if you warned that they would come to look and tell buyers about your apartment. But often they don’t warn about this.
Related article: How much do realtors really earn?
Real buyers, but not your apartment
Deception is also associated with ordinary buyers who are looking for an apartment through an intermediary. They completely trust their choice to the realtor, having previously told him the search parameters. An experienced realtor will use your apartment simply in a chain of showings.
People may say that we want to see two-room apartments, all except the first floor and those apartments that face the road. Only Czech and 16-story buildings.
As a result, the intermediary leads them to the first floor of an old house with windows overlooking the highway. It will also show a one-room apartment, but with a large area. He will show you a three-room apartment in a five-story building. It will show everything that is at least somewhat similar to your parameters, but does not suit you. It is important for him to sell what he has, and not to look for what you want.
Sometimes such deception happens by accident. The intermediary herself did not know where the windows faced or where the house was located. Often it’s her first time in the apartment and she can’t know it. That's how they work. Not all intermediaries are in the apartment before the showing. But they often take people to obviously unsuitable apartments on purpose.
As a result, due to the incompetence and deception of intermediaries, the owner of the apartment wastes time on showings, and buyers go and look at offers they do not need. Everyone suffered, but this is the job of a realtor.
How realtors deceive you when renting an apartment
In this area, it is often not the realtor himself who works, but in collusion with the owner. You can rent out the same apartment every month and receive a commission. You can bring clients and rent it out once a week or even rent it out to different people.
There are a lot of schemes, but the essence is the same - you are evicted onto the street and the money is not returned. But the realtor is not responsible for anything and simply provided information services. But this is already close to fraud.
Selling a database of apartments
This is a scheme of fly-by-night agencies. The deception is based on obviously non-existent options. They invite you to the office and ask you to pay 500-1000 hryvnia for access to the database of apartments, where you will definitely find a place to live. They sign the contract. Most often, the database is not in electronic form, but simply on paper.
After transferring the money and signing an agreement on information services, the company simply moves to a new office. They work in each office for no more than a week. If you are offered to give money for a piece of paper with information about apartments, then this is a similar deception scheme.
But there are sites that sell access to a database of apartments with owner numbers. If the site inspires your trust and there really are real apartments on it, then you can pay for the services. The main thing is to determine who is in front of you.
If the company was registered more than a year ago and exists at all, the advertisements are in the form of an electronic database and the website is similar to the real one, then most likely there is no fraud.
This is just a site with apartment numbers from the owners, and if you need the owner’s number, you can pay for the services. Usually on reliable sites payment for services is made electronically, where you see that you are paying to the company’s bank account.
Bait ads
Realtors use this very often. They create dozens and hundreds of advertisements in all possible resources with the text that an apartment is for rent or for sale in a good area for a long time. The price of the apartment is significantly cheaper than the market.
The deception is that there is actually no apartment and this is just a way to find clients. When you call on such an advertisement, they will say that the apartment is rented, but there is almost the same one. And they will simply start offering other options.
In cahoots with the owner
The realtor and the owner jointly rent out the apartment, and then the development of events depends on the impudence of the owner. All conditions are being created to evict residents.
The owner comes to the apartment, shouts, swears, and leads strangers around. He plays crazy and gets rowdy. Interferes with a quiet life in every possible way. People don’t last long and start looking for another apartment.
Related article: How realtors work
If there are two owners, and you signed an agreement with only one, then almost the same scheme works. The realtor's deception comes to light when the second owner comes with a local police officer or strong friends and throws your things out of the apartment.
Because without the second owner the contract will not be valid. The second owner has every right to kick out those who occupy his part of the apartment without his consent. But the realtor deceived me that everything is fine, sign, there will be no problems.
When the first residents move out, the chain repeats. The same intermediary finds new ones and takes another 50% commission. And each time the owner remains the price of a full month and a deposit for the last one. This pattern can be repeated at least every week. This is beneficial to everyone and can serve as a source of permanent income.
It’s also beneficial for a realtor to work this way. In any case, he takes his commission 50% of the monthly price. And then it’s not his problem anymore, what happened there, and why the client was evicted. He will hide behind an information contract for the provision of services. And there are no guarantees in it except information. The realtor fulfilled his part under the contract.
In cahoots with a fraudster
This scheme is much more profitable and blatant. Here the realtor cooperates with the scammer. Thanks to a realtor, we rent an apartment from the owner for a week on a daily basis. After this, the scammer, together with the realtor, begins to sign long-term rental agreements with the maximum number of people. To an apartment that they rented by the day, posing as the owner.
The deception happens thanks to the realtor. He will tell you that the owner is reliable, they have known each other for a long time, and there is no need to worry. Everything will be fine, you can trust. Gullible people will believe and trust. And when they trust, they don’t even look at the documents. They may be shown, but they will be fake copies. This is where the tricks of scammers come into play.
So, in a few days, through the efforts of a realtor, you can sign dozens of contracts, take payment for the month and a commission of 50% of each. These are significant amounts. Let’s say an apartment costs 5 thousand hryvnia. We take the first month's rent, the last as a deposit and a commission for the intermediary.
The total is 12,500 hryvnia per person. A cunning realtor can bring up to 15-20 clients to an apartment these days. And in total they and the scammer will get over 180 thousand hryvnia in a week.
Scheme one: agreement in favor of the agent
How it works: the owner of the property places a post on some bulletin board saying that such and such an apartment is for sale for so much money. Almost immediately after publication, he gets a call from a buyer who is ready to take it, holding the money in one hand and the contract in the other.
And during the inspection of the apartment, it turns out that the buyer is a real estate agent. And for some reason he no longer likes the apartment, although he is looking only for himself. But he has a buyer who was looking for just such an option.
In reality there is no buyer. A realtor doesn't need an apartment. The trusting seller is taken to the agency’s office, where they offer to conclude two contracts: one for the provision of legal services, and the second for the deposit of the imaginary buyer. This is what comes out:
- The ghost buyer is ready to take the apartment; according to the contract, he gives a deposit of 15,000 rubles.
- And under the contract for the provision of services, this buyer was brought by an agent, and the seller must pay him a commission, the amount of which is equal to a penny to a penny deposit.
In fact, the seller not only does not receive the deposit, but also gives away his 15,000 rubles. And it seems like there’s no way to undermine: the agent’s services actually seemed to be provided.
Then there are two possible options: either the realtor disappears from the buyer’s radar, or he really starts looking for a buyer.
What to do in this case? Don't sign anything and don't go anywhere. If the agent really imposes his services, then:
- Ask to see the buyer. Talk to him at least in the presence of an agent. During the conversation, it will become clear whether he is really the buyer or a figurehead.
- Ask for documents to review. And if the agent does not give them, then the matter is not clear.
In general, it is better not to sign anything until a lawyer you trust has studied everything and given his expert opinion on the transaction.
Black realtors
These are people without any moral principles. They make money by selling apartments obtained through criminal means. They deceive you, gain trust and offer to sign a power of attorney to sell the apartment. And after that, and if there is disagreement, people are taken into the forest, tortured, and ultimately killed.
Article on the topic: Black realtors - all current schemes and frauds
It would seem that the plot is from the 90s. But no. Such realtors still work in agencies. Intermediaries may be in criminal conspiracy with professional criminals, murderers and notaries.
And the group is usually covered by police officers and authorities. And there is no list of black realtors. Everyone can be in cahoots - from the director of a real estate agency to employees of the housing office.
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Apartment Raiders
These intermediaries are not as cruel as black realtors, but they are also far from angels. They no longer deceive anyone, but simply buy part of the apartment and use methods of physical violence against the remaining residents, but without murder.
The scam is that after dividing the property through the court, one of the owners sells his part of the apartment. Realtor-raiders buy out his share and after that do not give life to the second owner.
The apartment is broken into and a family of gypsies, criminals or bandits familiar to the realtor moves in. Such a neighborhood does not please the person in any way, and he himself is happy to sell his part of the apartment for any money.
And if he doesn’t agree to sell, he is put under pressure and forced by all means. The police do not interfere in the conflict because they are the same owner.
Related article: Apartment raiders - who are they and how to deal with them
As a result, the person loses part of his apartment, and the realtor and his accomplices successfully sell the entire apartment. The business is very profitable and many people get into such trouble.
Realtors are scammers
Not all realtors are honest people. Some are simply scammers. They acquire rights to real estate through deception and forgery of documents. This is where people’s legal illiteracy comes into play. The intermediary gains the victim's trust and looks for the fastest and most effective method to take away the apartment and appropriate it for himself.
A trusting person, knowing that realtors can help arrange an apartment, signs any documents that are given to him. And he doesn’t read contracts or consult with lawyers. After this, the owner is simply thrown out of his home, and the apartment is sold. Below we will look at the most common schemes of intermediary fraud.
Selling while you're away
Many apartments leave the hands of owners this way. Temporarily empty apartments fall into a special risk zone. If the owner of the apartment went to live abroad for a while, moved to the country for the summer, went on a flight or a long business trip, then his apartment is in very great danger.
Fraudsters carefully monitor apartments where no one is present and the owner is out of town. After receiving the object for work, the scammers make a false power of attorney or certificate of ownership.
They create a fake certificate from the housing office and other documents for the transaction. The owner's things are taken away or the apartment is simply sold along with them. And then, through your notary, the property passes to the new owner.
When the owner returns, he will find that the locks on the doors are new, and other people live in his apartment. You can’t just kick them out, they have documents. Then the trial will begin and a long process will begin to find out who is right. And such a scheme was carried out thanks to an entire criminal group that had already divided the money and disappeared to scam the next owners.
Some scammers are very fond of selling distressed apartments. The risk for them is insignificant, and the earnings are very large. On one, you can get not 2 thousand, but 10 thousand dollars or more. The problem here is due to the fact that people do not check the documents before buying an apartment, and then draw it themselves. The realtor is not responsible for this. He might not have known about it himself.
Similar story on video
The girl simply rented out the apartment, and a few months later she found out that the apartment was no longer hers, but had been transferred to new owners. She cannot get into her apartment. And she was forced to sue for recognition of the transaction as invalid.
The scam was carried out using forged documents and thanks to a purchased notary. The trial will drag on for a long time. And the apartment is put up for sale again and realtors guarantee the purity of the transaction. They want to scam more people.
Main contract instead of preliminary
How many people know what a basic real estate purchase and sale agreement looks like and what a preliminary agreement is? Only lawyers understand this. This means that a realtor can easily take possession of the apartment of gullible people through deception and leave them without money.
A man wants to sell an apartment. Doesn't understand documents. He completely trusts the deceiving realtor. He, without thinking twice, says that people want to buy and give an advance, sign the documents. Instead of a preliminary agreement, he slips in the main one.
The man glances briefly and signs. As a result, with his signature, he transferred ownership and lost the apartment only for an advance payment of a thousand dollars. And such stories are not uncommon.
Misrepresentation and deception
They don’t even come up with anything complicated here. They do not falsify documents and are not exposed to danger. A scam based on simple deception. But the scale is larger. The realtor cheated all his former clients and acquaintances out of $366 thousand. And he calmly enjoys freedom.
To implement it, he needed to gain trust, deceive and promise to buy a cheap apartment. But the condition was the transfer of its full cost before signing the documents.
After this, the realtor said that the sellers had cheated him, it was not his fault, and the case was lost. As a result, people were left without money and without apartments. We only gained bitter experience.
General power of attorney
Sometimes realtors fraudulently want to obtain a general power of attorney to dispose of an apartment.
Under the guise that it will be more convenient to receive certificates, you won’t have to go anywhere and the sale will go faster. This happens especially often to those who live abroad and cannot come during the showings and sales of the apartment. This method is an almost 100% guarantee that you will lose your apartment and the money for it. While the intermediary is looking for buyers, the apartment is resold several times and the last buyer, by court decision, will already be a bona fide owner.
You will not return the apartment, and the fraudulent realtor may face a year and a half in prison at best. But he will give a kickback from the sale of the apartment and will walk free. And at this time you are suing and living in a rented apartment.
Apartment on bail
You want to borrow money and turn to realtors or any other companies for help. A cunning realtor, quickly overlooking the client’s inexperience in legal matters, easily slips you, instead of a loan agreement, an agreement drawn up as the purchase and sale of your apartment.
At the time of signing the contract, you have already lost your apartment, but, unknowingly, you will still be paying off the debt. Double benefit for scammers. And the apartment was taken away, and part of the money was received.
This practice is used frequently. While you are paying off your debts, your apartment will be resold several times. And you won’t be able to get it back even through court.
Decoration of apartments of deceased people
In Kharkov, scammers forged documents and sold apartments of recently deceased people. And this happens not only in Kharkov, but also in Odessa, Kyiv and any other city.
Realtors, criminals and notaries worked together. To achieve this, powers of attorney and wills were forged retroactively. And then they drew up sales and purchase agreements for the new owners.
Information for such scams is leaked by realtors, funeral home workers, local police officers and those simply wanting to make money. They don't feel guilty. They are only accomplices. And no one cares about the fact that the future owner will most likely lose his apartment and have to go to court for years. Everyone took the money and forgot.
False power of attorney
A false power of attorney is often involved in all of the above methods. Because it doesn’t require much effort to make it, and the result fully justifies the investment.
By falsifying a few documents, you can sell an apartment and get thousands of dollars. Profiting from the misfortune of other people who will now be left to live on the street.
GUILD OF REALTORS OF THE MOSCOW REGION
Is it possible to conduct a transaction with an apartment on your own, without a realtor? Of course you can. There is nothing super difficult in it that a competent, intelligent person could not do. It is quite possible to navigate the prices - to understand approximately how much the apartment you want to sell or buy might cost, it is possible to advertise the sale yourself, organize showings, collect a package of documents, conclude contracts, deposit money in a bank safe deposit box and register the transaction.
All the main stages of this procedure are well known. You can even check the apartment you are purchasing yourself - go to the passport office, talk with neighbors, order an extract from the Unified State Register of Property Rights (USRP) to see when and to whom the property was sold. And if there is the slightest doubt, stop in time and not take risks.
There really is nothing supernatural in what we have listed, but a real estate transaction cannot be called a simple matter. Still, certain knowledge is needed here: for example, you need to understand why it is very undesirable to buy housing received by inheritance, why it is better to refuse to buy an apartment sold by proxy, or why you should not “peck” at a big discount.
You need both skills and dexterity, but excessive delicacy and intelligence can only do harm. You need to not be shy about bargaining, insist on your own, be a good psychologist, and intuition won’t hurt.
Finally, you need to be aware that a real estate transaction will require a lot of your time. You won't be able to do it in between. Therefore, if time is valuable to you, then you should consider contacting a realtor.
A good mediator, in addition to the qualities that we have listed, also has professional tricks. The realtor closely monitors the market and distinguishes “fake” offers from real ones by eye. He has connections - he can go to the archive on a day off, negotiate with overly vigilant guardianship authorities, get in without a queue to the technical inventory bureau (BTI), advertise an apartment on the resource you need. After all, there are databases intended for professionals, and there are those that are read by the people. The agent will not be too lazy to plaster the area with advertisements if he deems it necessary (yes, don’t be surprised, the “fence” technology is still considered very effective).
In this case, we are talking about an experienced, decent professional. By the way, this is not always necessarily a full-time employee of the agency; it may well be a free Cossack - a private realtor. It is excellent professionals who go into private business.
But there are realtors who are inexperienced, beginners and downright weak, who got into the profession by mistake. As Komsomolskaya Pravda recently reported, the real estate profession in Moscow holds one of the first places in hiring nonresident Russians (“Are provincials fed on their feet in Moscow?”).
No, we are absolutely not against good people from different parts of the country. The main thing is that they work decently. But real estate work often attracts random people. It’s quite easy to get a job as a realtor; this is not Gazprom - you don’t need any work experience or special education. And employers are more willing to hire newcomers - they supposedly have more incentive to run around and earn money. However, there is a temptation among “strays” to defraud the real estate agency itself - to disappear, for example, after a transaction has been completed with a fee that actually needs to be shared with the company. And if a person is able to deceive the company where he works, then why can’t he deceive the client? This is much easier than years of developing connections, clientele, reputation...
Since we're on the criminal topic, it's worth saying that the real estate market is really full of various dangers and traps. In addition to unscrupulous realtors, there are also outright bandits pretending to be realtors... How to distinguish them from the “real” ones?
Of course you can tell the difference. You need to look at the agency’s reputation (if you decide to contact the company), its fame. Good signs - if the agency takes part in professional events - exhibitions, forums, its employees actively comment on market events in the media. It is very useful to study the agency’s website, consumer reviews, come to the office, read the terms of the transaction, and look at the documents. If you want to contact a private owner, then the recommendations of his clients are very important here.
These are our ideas about choice. But we are a professional “Real Estate Magazine MetrInfo.Ru”, we write about these problems every day, so we can give such advice to people. What do they themselves think about the problem? Do they trust realtors? And how are they going to distinguish “black” realtors from “white” ones? www.metrinfo.ru talked to the people on this topic, as usual - through a sociological survey.
By asking the first question to the study participants, we sought to find out what people would do if they decided to carry out a real estate transaction - whether they would turn to professionals or not.
Here are the answers we received: - 23.8% of survey participants would do everything on their own (find suitable housing, complete documentation, etc.); — 21.1% would contact a private realtor; — 19.3% chose a real estate agency; — 15.6% would start with lawyers; — 10.1% would ask knowledgeable friends and acquaintances for help; — 2.8% would prefer familiar realtors; — 2.8% would have acted differently; — 4.5% found it difficult to answer.
The second research question was: “Do you trust realtors?”
The opinions of survey participants were divided: - 45% answered that they did not trust; — 44% — trust; — 11% found it difficult to answer.
Naturally, we asked people to explain their choice.
In the group where realtors are not trusted (45%), they say that they are afraid of fraud, but know about it thanks to the media and television: “we hear a lot on TV, they often deceive”; “a lot of negativity”; “I’m wary because I’ve heard a lot of bad things”; “They show on TV how dishonest they are”; “too much bad gossip”; “they say they often deceive and steal”; "there are many rumors about them."
The second major disadvantage that confuses respondents is that realtors charge dearly for their work: “high interest rates”; “commissions are too high”; "They take a lot of money." (Let us clarify that we are talking about 3-5% of the transaction amount.)
Among those who do not like realtors were their former clients who were dissatisfied with the work: “there is a negative experience”; “I encountered them, a very bad impression.”
And finally, this group traditionally included people who never trust anyone at all.
Now let's get acquainted with the arguments of those participants who trust realtors (44%). People noted the professionalism of realtors: “they prepare documents competently, they are polite”; “solidary, qualified, decent organizations”; “There’s no point in doing it yourself if you don’t understand it”; “Realtors are competent specialists; I carry out real estate transactions only through them.”
Many group members recalled positive experiences of cooperation with realtors: “we bought an apartment for children and contacted realtors; At first we inquired about them via the Internet, we liked everything and didn’t spend very much money”; “we haven’t been disappointed yet”; “I applied 15 years ago, I really liked it, I think that the companies do everything honestly”; “I contacted him, everything went fine.”
Some respondents turned out to be real estate specialists: “I work in marketing myself and know everything”; “I work as a realtor myself”; “The realtor himself, who can do it better than me.”
And finally, it is worth highlighting another subgroup of respondents who trust exclusively trusted realtors: “if you know a realtor, everything is done quickly, competently, reliably”; “if the realtor is recommended by friends, they are cheaper”; “faster than in a real estate agency”; “We’re contacting a realtor we know, he’s decent and efficient.”
Citizens who found it difficult to answer (11%) said that they had not encountered realtors, so they could not judge, but still gave us sensible advice: “you need to choose realtors very carefully, so that it is a large organization that has been working for a long time, then, if there are money, there is no doubt that everything will be fine.” Let's summarize the results of the survey and try to draw conclusions. Despite the fact that when answering the first question, the largest group of respondents said that they would carry out the transaction on their own (23.8%), still more people chose the services of realtors: 21.1% - private realtors, 19.3% - an agency real estate, 2.8% - familiar realtors, that is, a total of 43.2% of survey participants. An interesting position is “they would turn to lawyers” (15.6%), to some extent they are also specialists in the field of real estate, only with a narrower profile - they will help draw up an agreement, look at the documents for the apartment, and give some useful advice. So, in general, more than half of the respondents chose professional help - 58.8%.
As for people who trust realtors (44%), their number practically coincides with those who would turn to them to carry out a transaction (43.2%).
So, almost half of the respondents do not trust realtors, half do. People are scared away by the fear of being deceived (they talk about this a lot) and high commissions. What is attractive is professionalism, however, judging by the comments, there is a certain desire to contact realtors on the recommendation of friends - be it a private owner or a real estate agency. It's cheaper and more reliable.
It should be noted that a negative opinion about realtors is formed more under the influence of television stories, news about regular deceptions and just conversations, while a positive one is more due to personal communication with realtors and the experience of friends and acquaintances. Conclusion: realtors (we mean, of course, only professional and decent specialists) tell the public little about the essence of their work and do not pay enough attention to the image of the profession. The negative image of a realtor formed by the media is a good reason to think about how to combat this.
The magazine www.metrinfo.ru received the data using a telephone survey conducted on a representative sample.
It allows you to reflect the opinion of the population of any large city and maintain the ratio by gender and age of respondents depending on the population size in the districts of Moscow. The survey involved city residents of working age. www.metrinfo.ru
How to protect yourself from realtor fraud
In order to protect yourself and not get into dangerous situations, you need to carefully read the documents and consult with lawyers before buying or renting.
Don't leave your apartment for a long time. Let people you know live in it or ask relatives to visit. All methods of fraud are based on gullibility and ignorance of legal subtleties.
For these purposes, it is better to hire a lawyer to support the transaction and assess the risks. A professional lawyer simply will not let it happen that you are evicted from your apartment because you signed the wrong document.
Both when selling and when buying, it will help you not to be deceived by buyers and realtors. Read carefully all the documents that are handed to you. Don't sign anything under pressure.
Related article: Real estate lawyer in Odessa. Transaction support
Paying a lawyer is disproportionately less than paying realtors. And hundreds of times less than the cost of losing an apartment and money for it. You receive a guarantee of protection from problematic situations. And as you can see, there can be many of them due to the deception and fraud of realtors.
Our GetHom real estate lawyers can provide you with advice and help in any city in Ukraine. Contacts will be on the main page of the site.
