Absentee property owners BEWARE

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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:45 am

Although some members view lads as not always being that intelligent an example of how they have refined their tactics and how sophisticated their scams can be is illustrated in the article below.

In this case the scammers contacted the real estate agent posing as the property owner and arranged for the sale of the property by providing identification documents sufficient to satisfy the real estate agent. Once the property sale was done the new owner is legally entitled to the property and at this stage the original owner has no grounds to reclaim the property or sale proceeds.

The problem with this case is that at this stage government departments and real estate agents are just looking shame faced and trying to shift the blame.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/perth-scam-targets-absent-property-owners-20110811-1io9l.html

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:05 am

Was also a story last night (11 August) on Today Tonight (Prime7). They said it was "Nigerians" but as we know scammers are not only Nigerians.

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 9:17 am

How does the law differ in the case of buildings? If you buy a stolen car and it's found out later, it gets seized.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 15 Jul 2011 Posts: 3

Really I cannot understand how this can happen. Here in Italy, when someone sells his house, both seller and buyer must meet in person at a lawyer's office (called "notaio") to sign the selling act... I thought it was the same all over the world Confused

P.S. it's the same for cars... you must go to the Notaio and give him some 400 euros even if you buy a 1,000 euro car Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 10:57 am

Rooted wrote:

Once the property sale was done the new owner is legally entitled to the property and at this stage the original owner has no grounds to reclaim the property or sale proceeds.

If this is true, this is more shocking to me than the scam itself. How in the world can the true owner, who had nothing to do with the scam, not be entitled to his property back once the scam has been discovered?? Shocked

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:34 pm

I can't imagine the true owner not being able to get the property back. Otherwise why would you not "own" both sides of this transaction. I.E. "sell" the property to a friend? That way the friend does not lose money and ends up owning a property. Easy score.

Now, I understand it might be a royal pain in the @%*& to unwind the transaction, but a thief cannot pass good title (at least not in any jurisdiction I am familiar with).

Here in the US any land transaction is going to involve a title insurance policy. So the buyer is protected as well. The title company has the duty to make sure the seller is really the person they say they are and the true owner of the property. Both seller and buyer go to the title company to sign the documents and the title company checks ID etc.

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 2:17 pm

While I do not know the Real Estate laws where this occurred, having been a real estate agent, I believe that the owners do have legal recourse being able to sue the real estate company the agent was associated with and if any title companies were involved.

It possibly would turn into a criminal matter as well.

When a property is being closed, all parties are usually in the room together to sign the paperwork. There are, of course, exceptions, where the buyer or seller is in a distant location. In those cases, the buyer or seller's agent (usually a real estate lawyer) is present.

The article stated:

Quote:

Ms Driscoll said there was no evidence to suggest the agent involved in the transaction had failed to act with "due care and skill".

The real estate agents in most all the companies I was associated with and the State Real Estate Board would have severely slapped that agent's hands (with loss of license, fines, court action).

When buyers or sellers would come into the office, we required photo identification also and if they were the sellers, we also required proof of ownership. If a seller tried to list a property and did not reside in the local area, we would have another affiliated realty company send an agent to that seller to gather the information for the listing.

I am not saying this could not happen in the US, but RE agents are held to a high standard.

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