Fraud in real estate transaction is on the raise. What types of fraud occur in real estate transaction and how can you protect yourself?
Right now wire and title fraud are two of the biggest scams happening in the real estate industry and both are occurring in Horry and Georgetown counties.
What is title fraud? One form is when a scammer poses as a legitimate owner of a property. The scammer calls real estate agents to list the property for sale. Their goal is to list the property, get it under contract, close and receive the proceeds of the sale without the legitimate owner knowing.
We see this most often with vacant land. Most of the time, the owner of the vacant land lives out of state. They would not be driving by the property daily or weekly to see a for sale sign on their property.
How can you protect yourself form this type of scam?
If you live in Georgetown county, you can register for their new service, the Recording Alert System. You enter a personal or business name and will receive email notices when documents are recorded for that property. THIS IS A FREE SERVICE!!!
Comment below and I will send you the link to the article explaining the service and a link to register for the service so you can protect your property!
Kathy Rukat Smith
REALTOR
Palmetto Coastal Homes
843-267-2710
Kathy@TeamRukat.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exploremurrellsinlet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathyrukatsmith
