Know the laws / country!

[Rabscuttle]

A big scam was uncovered here recently (Carlsbad, California) that targeted mexican home owners that were in trouble with their mortgage - they managed to sucker more then 400 people with this scam because of taking advantage of the ignorance of their victums of US law and its differences between it and mexican law. In mexico, what they were proposing to the owners sounded OK, because a program like it DID exist in that country but not here...

The moral, know the laws or get a trusted property person who knows them for the country you hope to invest in...

[Mindy]

Interesting story, its great reading advice on the forum but nothing brings it home like a true story. As ever take legal advice

[sandra]

Hi there,

I agree with you that it is very important to know the laws of the land, especially when buying and selling property. So when purchasing or selling property it is important to deal with a good conveyancing firm. I have always dealt with [URL="http://www.convex.net"]Convex[/URL], they are very good and professional. You can try it out too. Bye

[Mindy]

As I have said many times on this forum do take proper legal advice and find someone to act for you that has been recommended or if you know someone that has just moved why not ask them who they used. Its much better than using someone that promotes themselves on forums.

[tamgoose]

As I have said many times on this forum do take proper legal advice and find someone to act for you that has been recommended or if you know someone that has just moved why not ask them who they used. Its much better than using someone that promotes themselves on forums.

Touche! Good post

[EugenS]

As usually, it pays to do your research properly. Too bad they got scammed, though. Were the scammers caught?

[ShadoCat]

Heck, know the local laws as well.

As a real estate investor who operates throughout the US, I can tell you that state laws can very considerably. If you are thinking of buying in a new area, talk to a real estate attorney in that area or a real estate investor with experience in that area.

I have learned to not pay too much attention to realtors though. In my experience, "you can't do that" simply means that they don't know how to do that.

Just a few off the top of my head:

Assignment of Purchase contract is illegal in New Jersey and (I believe but have not confirmed) Oregon.

Lease Purchase Options: illegal in Texas and a few other states

Buyer receiving money as closing (even when it is fully disclosed): illegal in Michigan.

[elvenrunelord]

Its really sad that we all need lawyers today for something as simple as refinance planning. Lack of law enforcement is causing this problem. white collar crime is just not considered serious enough to justify the penalities these people deserve.

[DianaR]

Originally Posted by Rabscuttle

A big scam was uncovered here recently (Carlsbad, California) that targeted mexican home owners that were in trouble with their mortgage - they managed to sucker more then 400 people with this scam because of taking advantage of the ignorance of their victums of US law and its differences between it and mexican law. In mexico, what they were proposing to the owners sounded OK, because a program like it DID exist in that country but not here...

The moral, know the laws or get a trusted property person who knows them for the country you hope to invest in...

What happened, exactly? What were the differences in the laws that were used in this scam?

[mandiees]

Did these people get arrested? What exactly where they telling people? I live in the area and have some friends going through house issues, I would love to know more so I can give them a heads up.