« Foreclosure Fetcher Teaches the Importance of Property Value with Real Estate Investing
Connecticut Foreclosures “Surge,” reports NYTimes.com »

TEN WAYS TO BE WARY OF LOAN FRAUD WHEN BUYING A HOME

Foreclosure Fetcher is not only providing you the search tools for your next affordable home.  Foreclosure Fetcher is here to be a general real estate learning resource.  If you are buying a home and in need of a loan make sure you are not easy prey for the loan sharks out there.  Here are ten easy ways to stay informed: (See the full article here http://www.foreclosurefetcher.com/foreclosure-info/How+to+Avoid+Loan+Fraud)

  1. Attend an educational course on homeownership offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
  2. Be fully informed about the price of surrounding homes in the neighborhood
  3. Hire a home inspector you can trust.  Be sure to get references
  4. Always be suspicious if someone tries to steer you to one lender.  Shop around and compare.
  5. Never make a false statement on your loan application, i.e. overstating your income, the source of your downpayment, debt information, or how long you have been employed.
  6. Interview real estate agents to help in the home buying process.
  7. Never borrow more money than you know you can afford to repay.
  8. Never sign a blank document or a document containing blanks.
  9. Read everything you sign.  Ask questions if there is something about the loan process you do not understand.
  10. Finally, Foreclosure Flippers intending to resell, do state on your loan application that you intend to occupy the house if you are renting it.  This violates federal law and is a crime.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007 at 11:36 am and is filed under First-Time Buyers, Flipping Properties, Foreclosure Guide, Real Estate Investing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “TEN WAYS TO BE WARY OF LOAN FRAUD WHEN BUYING A HOME”

  1. Eric Says:
    April 14th, 2007 at 7:51 am

    I think people are most vulnarable to frauds than in most any other area of their life. I think back and I have made for sure at least 3 mistakes with the above. I certainly exagerate my income when applying for a credit card: dumb.

  2. Webmaster Says:
    April 16th, 2007 at 8:42 am

    Thanks for the comment Eric. Care to share any specific stories?

  3. Eric Says:
    April 18th, 2007 at 8:32 am

    You know it’s not so much about fruad for me as it has been about “grey areas” like small type. I’ve got over 60K outstanding on credit card loans to finance my biz. When I wasn’t HYPER careful to read the terms, I’d get nailed with little things. For example, there is 0% financing for an advance, ut 22% for purchases. So I buy a piece of equipment with the card– not realizing I shouldn’t– and that amount is at 22%. That’s all well and fine, but trouble is of course that portion of what is loaned is LAST to be credited– which in the case of this particular great offer is a pretty long time.

    As for income, I have no clue what my income is when I apply for a card. I’m starting a new biz. Successful? maybe income 200K this year, falling flat, then 000 income. So my answer is usually on higher side– not smart for the long term to do that.

Leave a Reply