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 )?

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.