Free Specialist Consultation!

Short Sale Guide

Short Sale News

Connect With Us

California Realtors Urged To Help Against Short Sale Scams

Real Estate Commissioner Jeff Davi called on the California realtors to help in the fight against short sale fraud by turning in companies or individuals suspected of involvement in short sale scams.

Davi also urged them to remind short sale sellers to work with professional tax advisers and stick to documentation protocols in all short sale transactions to protect them from offers by fraudulent companies.

Foreclosure and short sale scams have been growing in hard-hit California as distress hit many homeowners. A common scheme involves false short sale realtors making money off deals with home sellers.

Property flipping, a scheme that involves buying short sale homes and immediately selling them off for a profit, is the most popular form of fraud these days, according to Davi. Often, sellers are still stuck with the difference between the sale price and the mortgage, unaware of the profits made by their scam agents.

In a conference in Riverside last week, Davi told members of the California Desert Association of Realtors that their help was essential in finding these scammers and keeping them out of the industry.

The DRE is a leading enforcer of real estate law and controls close to half a million real estate agents in California. Current market conditions have forced them to turn their attention to problems in the short sale and foreclosure market, Davi said.

Davi added that the market may take another two or three years to stabilize, although prices have started to settle in homes under $600,000. At the current pace, he said, a full market recovery is still very likely.