FRAUD PREVENTION
Can appraisals be used to deceive and influence people adversely?
What
are the danger s of a vendor / seller take back mortgage (
VTB mortgage )?
Can appraisals be used to deceive and
influence people adversely?Fraud and
crime in real estate has dramatically increased. At one time
there was just the "Oklahoma" offer now there are many variations of
this fraud and others that
can effect the security of your real estate investment. Sale
prices of properties have been inflated, documents have been altered
and properties have been destroyed. Starting with appraisals, this
document is the cornerstone of your independent review of the
property's market value to ensure your investment in the market
whether it is the ownership of the real estate or to ensure the investment in
the property's mortgage is secure and has equity.
First you should ensure that you have hired a
professional to complete the appraisal assignment. Appraisers
are not not licensed in Ontario, anyone can hang out a shingle and
call themselves an appraiser. Investigate the background and
expertise of the appraiser you hire. Appraisers from INHOUSE
Appraisal are members of the Appraisal Institute of Canada.
Now you have an appraisal. What are some of the dangers?
Appraisals are usually written for the person who ordered the report
for their specific use. Not all appraisal reports are the
same! You should read the purpose, scope, assumptions and
limitations of the report to see what was investigated and
researched. If you receive a report that
someone has forwarded to you, be careful! The report my not
have been written for your use. Your purpose and reliance on the
appraisal could effect the security you thought you were getting.
As a user of our appraisal reports, we
support only originally signed reports or electronic reports sent
directly from INHOUSE APPRAISAL. Reports forwarded from
another user should not be relied upon. Any digital document
generated from a computer is compiled in 1's and 0's. Even
though this document has been secured by passwords and has encryption
codes, some creative fraudsters could modify the appearance of
appraisal reports and change information.
For example: An appraisal report could be ordered
by an individual as they were thinking of of obtaining financing.
A report was prepared and picked up by the client.
Dissatisfied that the property value was not as high as they
wished in order to obtain the financing desired,
they scan into a computer and modify the value from (say)
$440,000 to $560,000 and send it off to a lender. The potential lender
would be lending an amount that is higher that the value of the
property and could lose his investment.
Visit our
Electronic Reports web page for other information.
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