When dealing with house buying scammers, spotting a house buying scam is the first place to start. After all, how can you deal with the situation if you’re not even capable of identifying a house buying scam? There are different types of house buying scams but there are a few common signs that help reveal whether you are working with professionals or legitimate buyers and sellers or with scammers.

For starters, it’s worth mentioning that people involved in scamming in Utah usually look for properties in need of substantial repairs and renovations or homeowners who are hoping to sell their homes fast. The following behaviors can give away that you’re at risk of falling into a house buying scam in UT:

• Eagerness: If you’re communicating with a potential buyer who is eager and almost impatient to buy the property without even viewing it first, you’re probably right to suspect something’s wrong. This is a common starting point of a wire fraud scam. Even experienced property investors would normally want to see a house before they spend money on it.

• Unprofessional behaviour: Sometimes, you could spot a few details in the communication with a buyer that reveal their true intentions. For example, if you feel pressured or you’re not receiving enough information about the buyer, chances are that they have something to hide.

• You’re asked to send money: Under no circumstance should a home seller transfer money to the buyer. There are certain closing costs that the buyer is responsible for in most home sales but this is completely different and normally takes place towards the final steps of the home sale. If you’re communicating with someone who is asking you to transfer money, consider this a code red.

• A deed transfer: In some cases, house buying scams in Utah start with the house seller being manipulated into transferring the deed of the property to the scammer’s name. You’ll still get to live in the property but you’ll be responsible for taking care of monthly payments. In other words – you’ll be renting your home. However, if you move out, the scammer can legally rent out to another family. Scammers could use this situation to even get a loan and sell the property to another buyer.

• Constant agreement changes: If you notice that the potential buyer is coming up with new changes to the agreement you’ve already negotiated, it’s likely that you’re dealing with a scam. The final agreement will possibly look nothing like what you originally discussed.

• Inability to meet the buyer personally: Yes, there are cases when the buyer truly doesn’t live in the country and is incapable of attending a meeting with you. However, this is usually a sign of a scam. If possible, at least schedule an online meeting and request documentation to see who you are dealing with.

Now that you’re prepared for catching a house buying scam, it’s time to see what you can do to avoid it.