The apartment buyer is a scammer. The most common way to deceive apartment buyers! How to Avoid a Lifetime Annuity

Deception schemes when buying an apartment on the secondary market They are only getting better every year. We will tell you in this material how to avoid fraudulent activities when purchasing real estate.

How to protect yourself when buying an apartment on the secondary market? There have always been many swindlers, swindlers, unscrupulous sellers in the real estate market, as well as buyers. The secondary market is indicative in this regard. Fraud schemes can be very different, and even prudent and legally savvy people, when purchasing an apartment, cannot always quickly realize that they are faced with fraud, and when this becomes clear, it is almost impossible to change anything.

Cases of deception are associated not only with deliberate fraud, it happens that sellers simply do not agree on something, and then it turns out that the housing was not sold legally, and the unfortunate buyer ends up without an apartment and without money. Therefore, you should not neglect any precautionary rules, and in particular, do not agree to illegal methods of concluding a transaction.

What should raise suspicion

Professional scammers know how to handle things in such a way that their potential victims simply do not have any reason to be suspicious. This must be remembered in order to be guided by the rules of precaution, no matter what. However, here is a list of the most striking signs that the transaction may be fictitious, and that this is probably a fraudster or a person who is not telling something and is hiding something:

offer apartments at very low prices;
According to documents, the owners of the apartment have changed frequently over the past few years;
the technical plan of the apartment and the actual layout are different;
they require a large deposit from you;
the seller delays for a long time in providing documents, or at least one of those you ask;
the transaction is made by a person under the power of attorney of the owner of the apartment.

The presence of these signs does not always indicate some kind of deception. People very often sell apartments using powers of attorney if the real owners are ill or live abroad, and the lack of documents can be caused by objective reasons. And yet, any of these signs is a reason to seriously think about it.

Methods of deception

As mentioned above, not only sellers, but also buyers can enter into transactions fraudulently. But the former, perhaps, have more opportunities. And sometimes buyers unwittingly help them in this.

What types of deception schemes exist:

the transaction is concluded with several buyers at once;
the transaction is executed using false documents;
the seller hesitates to check out of the apartment, and, according to a court decision, returns the money partially and for a long time;
the seller asks in the contract to indicate an amount that will be less than the actual amount, and then, by a court decision, terminates the transaction and returns only the value specified in the contract;
the buyer is not warned that there may be other applicants for the housing who in the future have the right to go to court.

This is not a complete list of the methods that unscrupulous homeowners can use to make a transaction with maximum benefit.

One apartment - several buyers

One of the most criminal ways to profit from buyers is to sell an apartment to several buyers at once. And this is possible. For example, a person lives abroad or is planning to move. He finds several buyers, concludes a purchase and sale agreement with each of them using duplicate documents for the apartment, most likely from different notaries, receives money from each buyer and leaves. In this case, the owner of the home will be the one who manages to register his rights to a new apartment first, but for the rest the forecasts are disappointing, because it will be almost impossible to get your money back if it is impossible to find and bring to court a seller living abroad. If none of the buyers passes state registration, the one who first concluded the deal will have an advantage in court.

How to avoid

First of all, remember that it is premature to transfer money to the seller before registering property rights. Give him the main amount after the authorities approve your right to the premises. Another important piece of advice - if you become aware of a double sale of an apartment, immediately go to court, perhaps you will be the first to prove your right to the purchased housing.

False documents

Using false documents, they can sell, for example, someone else's rented apartment. An unsuspecting person enters into a purchase and sale agreement, perhaps with a fake notary, transfers money ahead of time to the supposed owner of the property, and then finds out that the apartment has a completely different owner, and that he has entered into an agreement with a stranger. The price of such paper is zero.

How to avoid

To avoid getting into such a situation, be sure to check the legal ownership of the apartment. It is confirmed by the following documents:

a certificate of state registration of the object in the name of the seller with whom you are dealing;
an agreement of gift, inheritance or sale confirming the acquisition of ownership rights.

The seller does not specifically write out

The situation may be this: after the transaction has been concluded, and perhaps long before that, the seller decides not to check out of the apartment, explaining this by the fact that he simply has nowhere to move. The new owner, naturally, will try to get the former owner of the apartment out as quickly as possible, but he goes to court and asks for permission to stay and to cancel the contract. And the court may allow him to do this if it considers the arguments for terminating the contract to be justified, ordering the return of the money received during the sale. The problem is that the plaintiff can claim that the money was stolen or was spent, for example, to pay off some debt; he will not refuse the return, but will ask the court for a deferment or agree to a phased return of the money, as they say, from payday . Now you can imagine how long the repayment of this debt may take. For years.

What to do

In principle, there is nothing terrible in the story of a long discharge. This may be a vital necessity for the former owner of the property. According to the Housing Code, a citizen is obliged to vacate the premises in the event of termination of the right to use. That is, the Law protects buyers in this case. Difficulties may arise if the seller is able to somehow cancel the transaction through the court. To avoid such a situation, include in the contract a condition on the timing of the seller’s discharge, as well as a clause on penalties if the citizen does not check out, for example, before a certain date.

Reduced price in the contract

The owner of the apartment, concluding a deal with the buyer, may ask the latter to indicate a reduced amount in the purchase and sale agreement in order to pay less taxes or not pay them at all. In this case, the sale will take place partially by oral agreement; money in excess of the specified amount is transferred to the seller, at best, against a receipt, and sometimes without any written confirmation at all.

Perhaps after this the buyer will have the housing at his disposal and will not encounter any problems, although he must understand that he has become an accomplice to a tax violation, which is no longer good. It could be worse if the seller suddenly decides to go to court and invalidate the transaction. If the court sides with him, he will be obliged to return the money specified in the contract, everything that was paid to him in excess of the contract amount; if the buyer manages to return it, it will be with great difficulty.

How to avoid

Do not agree to the homeowner’s requests to indicate a reduced price in the contract. He will have to pay taxes on the transaction, not you, and you, if you agree to his terms, are greatly risking a certain amount of money. Demand that the contract indicate the full cost of the home being purchased.

Unexpected contenders

Another situation that home buyers often encounter is the unexpected appearance of the seller’s relatives who claim their rights to the purchased apartment. This is not always associated with fraud; most likely, the former owner simply did not want to warn about possible difficulties, out of cowardice or greed. In this case, this relative will have a chance to win the case in court if he really has the right to the apartment, and the buyer risks both housing and money.

How to avoid

Before the transaction, be sure to find out how the seller acquired the apartment. If by inheritance, the sale will require the signatures of all heirs, if under a gift agreement, keep in mind that in some cases the property may be alienated by the donor, but if under a sales agreement, find out whether the housing was purchased during marriage, because in In this case, you will need the written consent of your spouse to enter into a transaction. It is also very important to find out whether the children of the owners can apply for the apartment; sometimes for a transaction you need to obtain permission from the guardianship authorities.

Other troubles and how to avoid them

In fact, when buying an apartment on the secondary market, you may encounter other serious problems that arise from the fact that the seller hid something or did not tell you. For example, if redevelopment was done in an apartment without permission, the buyer may be denied registration, and sometimes this can result in serious fines, which the new owner will have to pay. Therefore, always check the layout of the premises and the approved technical plan of the apartment.

You may also get an apartment with utility debts; to prevent this from happening, ask for a certificate from the utility services before signing the contract. The situation can be much worse if the apartment is pledged or guaranteed, or is the subject of a dispute in court with third parties. In this case, she may be alienated. It is sometimes simply unrealistic to find out some details about such proceedings; you can only protect yourself by adding a list of certain risks to the text of the purchase and sale agreement.

Transactions for the acquisition and sale of residential space occur so often that most citizens already cope with them on their own, without turning to professional realtors for help.

Dear readers! The article talks about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is individual. If you want to know how solve exactly your problem- contact a consultant:

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Despite this, not everyone can prevent fraud when buying an apartment.

Purchasing a home

– a joyful moment for many citizens. Unfortunately, it can be marred by deception or fraud on the part of the seller or realtor.

What should you pay attention to?

To prevent fraud on the part of sellers, two main factors are necessary::

the condition of the alienated apartment;
legal documentation.

First of all, they must meet all the requirements.

Additionally, you need to pay attention to the following points:

Are there any debts on utility bills?
whether the owner of the apartment is , or another person with incomplete legal capacity;
Are there any arrests, etc. on the property?

Risks

In advertisements there are increasingly references to the fact that the apartment is being sold directly, without an intermediary. This allows you to save money, but at the same time increases the level of risk.

First of all, this:

forgery of documents;
multiple sales of real estate;
presence of other owners, etc.

Often associated with. There are two ways to transfer funds for real estate – non-cash and cash payment.

The latter option is safe only if a number of conditions are met - the correct choice of place for transferring funds, obtaining a receipt and the presence of witnesses.

Scam when buying an apartment

How not to be deceived when buying an apartment? To do this, you must first study possible ways of fraud and ways to prevent them.

From the realtors side

The task of realtors is to help customers sell or buy an apartment. Since these procedures involve large sums of money, some brokers do their work in bad faith.

This may be expressed in the following:

Using documents provided by the customer for personal gain.
An increase in the cost of the apartment being sold (with the dishonest realtor keeping the difference for himself).
Preliminary conspiracy with the seller (for example, concealing a number of facts that the buyer should not know about, forgery of documents, etc.).

At the same time, realtors take advantage of the fact that after registering the contract they do not bear any responsibility, so former customers will no longer be able to catch them in deception.

In a new building

If an apartment is purchased, then the following methods of deception must be taken into account:

Sale of real estate by construction companies without the relevant documents - permission to conduct construction work. Without checking this paper, buyers transfer funds, and after that the house cannot be put into operation, since its construction was carried out illegally.
Inconsistency between the clauses of the building regulations, building codes and the condition of the apartment. Often, the construction of real estate is carried out hastily, which is accompanied by violation of construction requirements.
Incompetence of the developer – violation of obligations stipulated in contracts (for example, delay in delivery of a facility).

On the secondary market

More often than not, buyers of secondary housing are deceived. The purchase of such apartments must be approached seriously, since they have a history.

It is important to check the following points:

Title documents for real estate from the seller (this could be an agreement of purchase, inheritance, exchange, etc.). If the object was inherited, it is important to check whether there are other heirs claiming the property and having the opportunity to have the transaction declared invalid.
Pay attention to the house register, which indicates all the owners and persons registered in the apartment and discharged from it. Be sure that all persons are discharged from the property. Do not trust buyers who convince you that they will check out after depositing funds and registering the contract.
If an apartment has been sold several times within a short time, then this is a reason to seriously think about whether it is necessary to buy such real estate?

For a mortgage

If you purchase an apartment with a mortgage, you need to pay attention to:

terms of the loan agreement with the banking organization;
consequences of non-payment of funds or late payments.

It is important that the property is not pledged at the slightest violation of the conditions, but that additional terms are provided.

Common Schemes

Scammers use several proven schemes in their work - indicating an incomplete cost of an apartment, multiple sales, using fake documents, etc.

Despite their prevalence, most buyers fail to identify them during a transaction.

Price

The first scheme, which is often used in practice, is to indicate the wrong value in the contract:

the seller (sometimes even under the condition of a discount) asks to indicate a lower value of the property in the agreement, stipulating this by the fact that he does not want to pay a tax deduction;
By agreeing to this, gullible buyers risk losing; if for certain reasons the seller wants to terminate the contract, then the buyer will be returned only the amount indicated in it.

Several owners

Another scheme is based on the sale of an apartment to several people, thus creating several property owners, each of whom asserts their right to the apartment.

In this case, the scammer convinces you to transfer funds for the apartment after the contract is notarized, but not after its registration.

In such a difficult situation, the one who first registers the agreement with the BTI will win.

Fake documents

One of the most common schemes is document falsification.

Can be provided:

false title documents;
false evidence of ownership of real estate.

Often, scammers steal documents from the seller and then use them to their advantage.

It will not be possible to determine the authenticity of the papers on your own; this will require the help of professional lawyers.

Other ways

Other methods of deception include:

purchase of a non-privatized apartment;
carrying out actions by a person under an expired or false power of attorney;
long term return.

In the latter case, the seller may refuse to move out of the apartment due to the fact that he has nowhere to live.

In this case, the court will order the funds to be returned to the buyer. The seller may refer to the fact that he has already spent part of the money and will pay the rest by deduction from wages.

Of course, this method of reimbursement will take more than a dozen years.

Fraudsters use a variety of schemes to deceive customers. They use double sales, the use of forged documents, the sale of apartments rented under a rental agreement, and a lot of other ways to take money from the buyer. The latter, in turn, are less inventive: the number of schemes they use is small.

Fraud in real estate transactions on the secondary market is a common occurrence: the cost of apartments increases in direct proportion to the desire of individual Ostap Benders to take money from the population. However, in most cases, the Criminal Code is not observed on their part.

Most of the described and disclosed deception schemes were identified on the part of sellers or persons posing as sellers.

Loans

An old method that was used back in the criminally famous period - the 90s. It is simple and is still used not only in real estate, but in others. Its essence is to provide a loan secured by the right to dispose of property. It has common features with a mortgage, but the mortgage is drawn up in a separate agreement and registered.

When there is an urgent need for money, a person takes out a loan not from a bank, but from dubious offices or even from private individuals. As a guarantee of repayment of the debt, he issues a power of attorney to the scammers, giving them the right to dispose of the apartment that belongs to him. Real estate can be sold at any time: if the debtor has paid 50% of the debt or has not paid anything. And fulfillment of an obligation does not guarantee the return of the power of attorney and preservation of ownership rights.

It's easy to protect yourself:

Do not use the services of dubious persons and organizations.
Revoke the power of attorney.

Deposit

Making a deposit (advance payment) is a normal practice when making real estate transactions. Thus, the seller and buyer demonstrate their determination to conclude a transaction on the agreed terms. But advances can also be used as a tool to take other people's money without the intention of selling the apartment.

The seller enters into a preliminary agreement with one or more buyers, the obligatory condition of which is the payment of a deposit. Its size can vary between 5-10% of the cost of the apartment.

The next stage is delaying the timing of state registration of the transfer of ownership. These actions have the same goal - to force the buyer to skip the period allotted for returning the deposit.

When the deadline for returning the security deposit expires, the seller refuses to enter into the main contract. The victim goes to court, but it is not always possible to get the money transferred back. In addition, the party bears additional legal costs.

General power of attorney

Powers of attorney give rise to various types of apartment fraud. This group includes fraud schemes involving documents received from incapacitated or already deceased people, false or revoked powers of attorney.

When agreeing on the terms of sale, the buyer must see the owner and communicate with him. Thus, he will assess the condition of the apartment owner, the likelihood of him being declared incompetent (due to alcoholism or drug addiction, for example). Personal communication will eliminate other risks associated with receiving a power of attorney from a deceased person, or the actions of a representative on a revoked document.

Low price

Real estate prices are high, so types of apartment fraud are often associated with the creation of an advertisement for the sale of an apartment at a price below the market price. Cheap properties are always in high demand from people wishing to buy cheap housing. Fraudulent tricks in the form of low prices are used in a variety of schemes:

Double or triple sales. It is not necessary to bring the transaction to the point of registering ownership; it is enough to take advances from buyers.
Sale of someone else's apartment rented under a rental agreement.
Alienation of real estate obtained illegally.
Selling a non-existent apartment.

Attention! A situation where the price is reduced by up to 15% for a quick sale is possible when the owners need funds. However, even the most needy owner will not agree to provide a significant discount.

Indication in the contract of a lower price for its subsequent termination

There is a practice of underestimating the actual cost of an apartment. It is related to taxation: if the owner sells real estate that he has owned for less than 5 years (previously the period was 3 years), he pays tax on the income.

In order to pay less tax or not pay it at all, scammers ask buyers to indicate in the contract a different amount, significantly less than the real one.

Sale of a non-privatized apartment

Not the most common method due to a significant reduction in the amount of state or municipal property. The vast majority of citizens have already registered ownership of real estate; not many objects remain on the state’s balance sheet.

It is difficult to sell a non-privatized one. To realize this plan, you will need a copy of the resident’s passport and his long-term absence. The apartment is opened and privatized, and then sold.

Sale of an apartment with the right of lifelong residence

This method is associated with privatization. The fact is that refusal to register ownership of the apartment entails the emergence of the right to lifelong use of the residential premises. However, this fact becomes clear after the transfer of ownership has been completed and the transaction has been registered with Rosreestr.

A person who has the right to use square meters moves into the premises through the court. The next step for the owners is to challenge the purchase and sale agreement. Even with a positive decision, there is no chance of getting the money back; scammers dispose of it quite quickly.

Fraud with documents

Methods of fraud when selling an apartment related to the use of documents are conventionally divided into scams involving the use of duplicates and the production of false documents. This group also includes the reuse of unredeemed certificates.

Table 1. Types of schemes using documents

*Duplicates*	*Forged documents*	*Uncanceled certificates*
They have the same legal force as the original documents. Issue is made when the original papers are lost. Another option is that they are obtained by fraudsters to commit illegal actions. Several apartments are being sold using duplicates: one agreement is supposedly registered by the seller himself, and the others by the buyers	Illegal origin is suspected. Fraudsters make them themselves or enter into a conspiracy with a notary or a person impersonating him. One or more sales contracts are also concluded using forged documents	Double or triple sales using a still valid document

Pay attention! Certificates of registration of ownership are not issued, but they remain valid. In any case, it is recommended to check eligibility through an extract from the Unified State Register, and not solely with papers provided by the seller.

Non-allocation of children's shares in apartments

The family financial support program, called , has been in effect for a long time. During this time, many families improved their living conditions by partially paying for an apartment or house with allocated money. The peculiarity of this program is the obligation of parents to allocate shares to all family members, especially children.

When purchasing an apartment in a building under construction, when its transfer occurs after a long period of time, the parents sign a notarial undertaking on the distribution of shares after registration of the property. A similar document is signed in all cases where it is impossible to allocate shares immediately.

An apartment or house purchased with maternity capital is a documentarily troublesome event. If only because you have to involve the guardianship authorities and draw up additional documents. The sale of an apartment with unallocated children's shares may lead to a challenge to the transaction by the guardianship authorities or the prosecutor protecting the interests of the children. The purchase and sale is canceled with all the ensuing consequences: the apartment is returned to the previous owners, who undertake to return the money received.

Selling at a false address

This trick is used by out-of-towners who have recently moved or are in the process of moving, but do not have sufficient information about their place of stay. It is complicated by the lack of opportunity and time to verify the purity of the transaction.

The deceptive scheme works as follows. Fraudsters rent a nice apartment in a good area of the city and allegedly put it up for sale, showing it to potential buyers. But the documents are drawn up for a completely different apartment, which actually exists, but is located at a different address.

A replacement apartment has a lower cost, may require investment in repairs, and is located in another part of the city. The streets on which the premises are located are usually consonant to the point of confusion, especially for non-residents. It often happens that scammers change apartment or house numbers during inspection.

The deception is revealed after registration actions have been completed, when registration service employees make the appropriate entries in the register. Therefore, buyers are advised to carefully check the actual address of the property with what is indicated in the contract.

Sale of the deceased’s apartment before inheritance

Buying an apartment after inheriting carries various risks. The most popular are three schemes used by scammers.

Table 2. Options for deceiving buyers when inheriting an apartment

*Escheat*	*Selling before inheritance*	*Sale bypassing heirs*
This is property that remains after single people who have no heirs. Fraudsters forge documents and declare themselves heirs, after which they sell the apartment	The sale of the apartment takes place using forged documents within the 6 months allotted for accepting the inheritance. After the transaction, the heirs are announced and dispute it	The sale of an apartment seems to be carried out legally, for example, by an heir under a will. But then legal heirs, such as illegitimate children, may appear and challenge the will. Another option is disputes between the heirs themselves

Schemes from buyers

Options for fraud when buying an apartment are most common among sellers, but there are also buyers who use deposit fraud or put a “doll” instead of cash.

Deposit

This is a security payment that the parties do not return in case of refusal to conclude the main agreement, and in some cases have the right to demand payment in double amount. The buyer can apply the following schemes:

Violation by the seller of the deadline for preparing documents for execution of the contract. In response, the buyer demands payment of a double deposit or a reduction in the cost of the apartment.
The second buyer beats the deposit of the first and demands a double return of the deposit, blackmailing the seller with double sales.
A play on terms: the deposit is replaced by a deposit, and the seller owes the buyer money.

Doll

This does not mean cut up newspapers, but counterfeit money. It is preferable to use non-cash payment. When choosing a safe deposit box, it is recommended to count and check the money in this bank.

Pay attention! Fraud is possible not only from the buyer or seller, but also from the realtor. Check contracts with agencies and do not give money to the realtor without a receipt.

Ways to mitigate risks

To avoid the risks of losing money and an apartment, the following actions are recommended, which are relevant if you intend to buy both an apartment and a share in it. They will help you recognize signs of fraudulent activity:

The contract specifies only the actual amount.
Before signing the contract, it is mandatory to obtain an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.
Request for information from the guardianship authorities about the seller’s legal capacity.
Contacting a psychoneurological clinic about being registered with the seller.
Checking marital status, presence of children and documents permitting sale.
Checking the fact of purchasing an apartment using maternity capital.
Verification of the authenticity of the power of attorney, its validity, meeting with the owner.
Verification of persons registered in the apartment.
Checking the date of entry into inheritance.
Availability of debts to pay for utilities and other services.

If you have any difficulties, seek help not from realtors in or purchasing a home, but from lawyers who specialize in real estate transactions.

Watch a video on the topic of fraud in the sale of apartments:

Higher education. Orenburg State University (specialization: economics and management of heavy engineering enterprises).
January 22, 2018.

With the development of possible schemes for the purchase of housing (through the privatization of municipal housing, with the help of credit funds, maternity capital funds, etc.), the schemes of fraud when purchasing an apartment also change, and the number of fraud schemes and the total share of real estate transactions associated with fraudulent actions.

With the increase in housing construction, the number of fraud schemes aimed specifically at the primary housing market has also increased. However, the topic of this article is to study new popular types of fraud used in the secondary housing market.

The secondary housing market, or secondary housing market (name according to different sources), consists of real estate that already had owners, and more than one, in contrast to the primary housing market, where real estate is newly built apartments, townhouses, houses and other facilities, sometimes not even fully put into operation yet. Secondary housing, of course, is attractive from many aspects:

This is ready-made and lived-in housing. There is no risk that a year after the house is commissioned, the foundation will shrink and cracks will appear throughout the house;
there is no risk of detecting several applicants for the object, as is still the case when trying to register a built

an apartment in a newly completed building;
there is already (not always) more or less decent repairs in the residential premises;
the price is often much lower than the price for a similar property in a new building;
no long wait is required to register the transaction (as is the case with waiting for the construction and commissioning of housing in a new building) and for actual occupancy.

There are other significant advantages.

However, buying a home on the secondary market also has a number of important disadvantages. As a rule, the difficulty is checking the legal purity of all transactions with a given real estate for the entire period of its existence or at least 10 years before the upcoming transaction.

1. Fraud when buying an apartment, living and related to its cost

New types of real estate fraud in the secondary housing market, as a rule, are based on the history of the property being sold (in the future, as an example, we will talk about a transaction with an apartment in a multi-story building).

Option 1: creating unbearable conditions in the neighborhood.

This is the newest type of fraud in the secondary housing market. The method is quite simple: scammers are looking for an apartment with two owners (registered in shares, for example, by ex-spouses, brothers and sisters), between whom there is no particular harmony. One of the shares is officially purchased. The other owner is offered to sell his share for half of its actual market value. Naturally, he refuses. After this, the newly created owner of the share moves into the apartment legally and begins to actively create unbearable conditions for the remaining residents. Any available methods are used: loud music all day long (without violating the norms of “silence”), constant and large numbers of guests who come at any time of the day or night (“What? I’m the owner, I have the right to receive guests whenever I want!” "). Own initiative does not help - the apartment is rented to tenants as cheaply as possible and to as large a family as possible. The optimal solution is to create unsanitary conditions and disorder, that is, to create the most uncomfortable living conditions for people. There is only one goal - to force the owner of the second share to sell it immediately, for any price. The “ugly” new co-owner finally buys the second share on his own terms. As a rule, this is not even half the price, but even less. Result: the fraudster becomes the full owner of the entire apartment for a relatively low price and can already sell it at the market price.

A variation of the considered option is to force the co-owner to buy a share from the fraudster at the highest possible price. The method is the same. In this case, the emphasis is on the desire of a conscientious tenant to live in peace. However, this is not always possible, since if the tenant had enough money, he would have long ago bought the share from the former co-owner (former spouse, etc.).

The result: having bought cheaply, sell at a high price part of the apartment, which, in principle, is not needed by anyone except the co-owner who already lives there.

Option 2: exchange for an inexpensive apartment with an additional payment.

Despite numerous multi-volume criminal cases and high-profile trials of gangs of fraudsters throughout the country, this type of fraud used by them is still alive and thriving. Its main focus is on lonely elderly citizens of an asocial type: alcoholics, not completely mentally healthy people and others. The main criteria: the apartment is owned, the owner is a single person whom no one will look for. Using a person’s passion for addictions and his own eloquence, a person is persuaded to sell his apartment in the center, exchanging it for housing in the periphery with an additional payment, so that he has something to comfortably live out his life on and indulge his habits. At the same time, the housing to be purchased is not even shown. Housing, as a rule, is of the lowest quality: much smaller in area, located in the most uncomfortable areas (near railway stations, train stations), remote from all infrastructure. As a rule, such housing is on the outskirts of the city or in the countryside. It’s good if the deceived citizen is allowed to purchase this premises, that is, the purchase and sale transaction actually takes place. Most often, the housing provided is not even purchased by the defrauded citizen. It can be rented in advance by paying six months in advance. Or move into a house prepared for demolition, from which half of the residents have already moved out. They simply move him there... and forget about his existence. What then happens to the citizen, where he is evicted by the owners of the premises, is no longer of interest to the scammers. From the proceeds from the sale of a citizen’s own comfortable apartment, they give him a little money - only so that he does not immediately come to his senses and does not understand that he has become a victim of deception.

Result: the fraudster gets almost the full cost of the single citizen’s apartment, minus a small part of it spent on renting housing for relocation (or purchasing the citizen’s property), as well as on giving the citizen a certain amount for personal needs (the so-called surcharge).

Option 3: planned challenge of the transaction in court.

This option actually includes several varieties that are equally actively used depending on the specific situation.

Situation 1: understatement of the cost of the apartment in the purchase and sale agreement.

The apartment has a good history, previous transactions (if any) are beyond doubt, there is a “clean sale”. The method of fraud is typical for new buildings that have recently been registered as property. The buyer is asked to indicate in the purchase and sale agreement the price of the apartment, which is reduced to 1 million rubles, in order for the seller to avoid paying personal income tax. Or (counting on the greed of the buyer) it is proposed to buy an apartment at the offered price plus the amount of tax that the seller will have to pay when selling the apartment at its real cost. The basis for the offer is clear and transparent to the buyer: after all, three years have not yet passed from the date of registration of ownership of the apartment (or from the date of the last purchase and sale transaction). The risk of challenging the transaction is somehow little predicted: the seller looks decent, the history of the apartment is clean. This is where the trick lies. Loss of vigilance can cost the buyer the price of the apartment. After the transaction has taken place, the legal process of challenging it begins on various grounds permitted by law. The court makes a decision on bilateral restitution, orders the former seller to return the apartment, and the buyer - the money. The apartment has to be returned to the defrauded buyer. But, as a rule, it is not possible to get the money back in full. In 100 cases out of 100, they have already been spent and begin to be collected from the seller through the bailiff service - for a long time and little by little, until, finally, the collector (deceived citizen) finally loses hope of receiving the entire amount or the debtor discharges himself and moves to place of residence unknown to bailiffs. At this point the performance usually subsides.

The result: instead of a major purchase and a happy and comfortable life in the purchased home, the buyer is left with nothing - without an apartment and without money. The seller and the realtor (without them, as a rule, such scams cannot be carried out) are left with a double benefit - both the apartment and an amount of money equal to the cost of this apartment.

Situation 2: challenging one of the previous purchase and sale transactions with an apartment.

Studying the history of transactions with an apartment, it is discovered that earlier, during the commission of one of them, violations of the law were committed (especially dangerous if the rights of minors were violated). The apartment is put up for sale, and after registering the buyer’s ownership of it, the process of challenging not the last, but one of the previous transactions with the apartment begins. Further, the process and outcome are similar to those described in situation 1.

Situation 3: challenging the long-standing privatization of an apartment.

After the sale of the apartment, transactions on the privatization of this premises are disputed. As is known, the statute of limitations for these transactions can be quite long and amount to 10 years (Part 1 of Article 181 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Moreover, the requirements of the owner or another possessor to eliminate any violations of his rights, even if these violations were not combined with deprivation of possession (Article 304 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), are not subject to limitation at all (Article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Basically, this type of fraud (as in all three development situations) is entirely the initiative of “black realtors” who are looking for apartments that at the same time have “blank spots” in their history, allowing them to challenge the privatization transaction and expect the consequences of invalidating this transaction to be applied. The process and outcome are similar to those described above. The buyer is deceived. Moreover, the person who brought the claim (whose rights were violated during privatization) may not even know anything about his rights or about the process that took place. Persuading someone to issue a power of attorney for the right to conduct court cases and participate in enforcement proceedings is a fairly simple task for a fraudster with the proper amount of charisma and eloquence. Subsequently, at the stage of enforcement proceedings, within the framework of the law, it is possible to conclude a rather complex settlement agreement, as a result of which the buyer of the apartment remains to live in the purchased apartment, the ownership rights remain with him, and the citizen whose rights were violated (the plaintiff in a legal dispute, whose interests are allegedly represented by scammer) receives a certain amount of money from the last buyer.

Option 4: sale of an apartment with encumbrances.

The most common type of encumbrance now encountered is the mortgage of an apartment from a bank. Less often - arrest. Considering the specific consequences of this type of encumbrances, a buyer who does not check before the transaction (and even before giving a deposit) the fact of the existence of encumbrances risks being left with nothing. The bank, as a mortgagor, in the event of non-repayment of the loan, will foreclose on the collateral. And the presence at this moment of another owner of the property is not an obstacle to this. Arrest in practice means the presence of controversial claims to the apartment, which, quite possibly, will not be resolved in favor of the seller.

It should be noted that when concluding a preliminary purchase and sale agreement, when transferring the deposit, the seller can present a certificate without a note about the presence of an encumbrance. The procedure for registering transactions, as well as the ability to obtain a duplicate certificate of ownership, allow you to do this without much effort. Fortunately, this type of deal is becoming rare. The caution of modern real estate buyers prevents not only the completion of this scheme, but also the implementation of even its beginning.

Not from a legal point of view, the presence of relatives of the seller registered in the living space, including those removed from registration long ago and without their desire (for example, those sentenced to long terms), can also be considered a “burden” from a legal point of view. However, in this case we are talking only about the availability (or restoration) of the right of residence of these persons. This is a nuisance, of course, threatening, most likely, monetary “payoffs” from such proximity in the same apartment. But in this case there is no talk of losing the apartment or its full value.

Result: loss of a certain amount of money while maintaining housing.

In all of these cases, a citizen deceived by scammers, as a rule, risks either the entire apartment (or a share in it), or the full cost of the apartment (share). These are the largest and most popular real estate fraud schemes in the secondary housing market.

2. Fraud with a deposit when buying an apartment

Not a smaller part of the total number of frauds in this area is occupied by schemes of smaller deceptions, when fraudsters “stop” at the amount of deposits, without claiming either the apartment or its full cost. Among the most popular methods of deposit fraud are the following:

2.1. Fraud using a general power of attorney. A person who has a general power of attorney not only shows the apartment for sale, but also takes a deposit. After this, the trusted person disappears and does not answer calls. When trying to find it, it turns out that the apartment was not planned for sale, the general power of attorney was issued a long time ago and only for the sale of a country house or a car and a garage, or was generally canceled a long time ago. It’s even worse if the power of attorney is fake, that is, it was never issued and was never certified by any notary. Yes, there are still cases when a buyer with low vision cannot distinguish the original from a skillfully produced color copy.

2.2. Tenant fraud. The tenant, having rented an apartment and received a copy of the certificate of ownership (or even without it), presenting a copy of the power of attorney (which is not difficult to produce with the help of modern office equipment), deceitfully and cunningly assures potential buyers that the apartment is for sale, he is engaged in its sale and is authorized accept the deposit. The goal is to pay for your stay in the apartment plus earn a little more from deception. The scammer has no real goal of selling the apartment.

2.3. Dumping price and speedy deal. A situation of haste with the upcoming transaction is artificially created: the buyer is assured that because of the good price for the apartment there are several applicants and whoever gives the deposit first will ensure that the transaction takes place. At the same time, the deadlines for preparing a transaction are set to be unrealistically short, within which a buyer who does not have the entire amount for the purchase at once will not be able to “meet it.” Fraudsters find out in advance about the composition of the amount of money for which the apartment is planned to be purchased (cash, credit funds, maternity capital funds, etc.). Naturally, the deal falls through due to the fault of the buyer and the deposit remains with the seller. At the same time, it is very difficult to prove that this was originally intended and not to conclude a real deal.

As a result of the above methods of deception, the fraudster is left with the amount of the deposit, and no transaction with the apartment is made at all.

Advice from a real estate lawyer on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud:

1. An excessive and rapid reduction in the price of an apartment for sale, together or separately from the announcement of an urgent sale, is a reason to be wary. Of course, there are times when life circumstances force property owners to do this. But more often than not, such actions are one of the signs of a fraudulent apartment scheme.

2. When buying an apartment, it is important to deal with the owner himself, at least at the first stage (when transferring the deposit and determining the term and parameters of the upcoming transaction) and at the last stage - with the registration authority itself when signing the purchase and sale agreement (or other agreement serving as the basis for transfer of ownership) and transfer of money. The seller's insistence on making payments and conducting negotiations with the owner's relatives and proxies may be one of the components of a fraud scheme.

3. The presence of “blank” spots in the history of transactions with an apartment potentially increases the risk of disputes arising on one of the previously completed transactions with this property, which ultimately may lead to the loss of ownership of the newly acquired apartment while receiving in return a weak hope of recovering the amount paid for it the cost from the seller.

4. The presence of numerous transactions with an apartment in its history may indicate the presence of irreparable problems in the apartment itself, which each seller, of course, kept silent about (for example, freezing of the apartment in winter, lack of hot water for six months, constant noise from a nearby restaurant, persistent cockroaches throughout the house, etc.). But not only that. This may also be evidence of the presence of problems with its residents (for example, the presence of persons registered in it who have retained the right of residence to this day). Numerous and frequent transactions with apartments also indicate that the traces of a long-standing or recent fraudulent transaction are becoming confusing.

5. The buyer or seller who has become victims of fraudsters, in most cases, themselves show carelessness and naivety when making a transaction and treating people. Large amounts of money that make up the cost of an apartment, and even small amounts that make up the amount of the deposit, are always of interest to scammers.

6. A thorough check of the history of transactions with an apartment, unfortunately, is not a panacea for scammers. Although the risk, of course, decreases significantly.

7. The naivety of the participants in the transaction is not the only factor that provokes fraudsters into real estate scams. Gaps in the legislation, options for actions not prohibited by law when making transactions - all this makes fraud in the real estate sector possible and accessible.

Buying an apartment is a big deal for most Russians. And you need to carefully prepare for it. Familiarization with the above list of popular fraud schemes in the secondary housing market will not be superfluous in this process, and, perhaps, will protect you from risky transactions.

Plastinina Natalia

Tags: 0 0 Lawyers https://site/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/logo1-300x40.pngLawyers 2016-02-16 23:54:39 2016-02-16 23:57:31 Popular types of fraud when buying an apartment

Any real estate transaction, and especially the purchase and sale, always involves some risk. Any participant in such a transaction is at risk. The seller is afraid that the buyer will deceive him, the buyer does not trust the seller, and the third party (realtors and other professionals) risk their reputation.

Real estate fraud is as old as time. Probably, it arose when the first real estate appeared, those people appeared who decided to “get their hands on” this property.

Therefore, in real estate transactions you should be especially careful and vigilant, and at the slightest suspicion, stop the purchase or sale until you find out everything completely.

Real estate fraud by the seller

Forged documents

The most common type of fraud is the use of false documents. It is not difficult to create a complete set of documents from professional scammers. In addition, scammers often use the services of dishonest “notaries” (and this “specialist” may not even be a professional in the legal field).

2) Duplicates of real documents

Obtaining a duplicate document is also not difficult, which means it is quite possible to collect a complete package of such documents. In such cases, scammers act like this: they collect several sets of documents, enter into several sales contracts (and these contracts are completely legal). Moreover, the seller registers one agreement himself (receive the entire due amount), and the remaining agreements will have to be registered by the buyers themselves (in this case, the “seller” receives only part of the money after notarization).

3) Selling one apartment under the guise of another.

This type of fraud is becoming a thing of the past. But its essence is this: the buyer is shown an apartment (quite decent, at a good price), he buys it. But when he starts using it, he discovers that they bought a completely different apartment. Usually in such cases, scammers posted apartment numbers (and sometimes even street signs) and showed them to buyers. In fact, no one is selling the apartment shown. They sell a “bad” apartment at the stated address.

Now such a scam can be uncovered if you carefully study the BTI documents, which indicate the actual condition of the property being sold.

4) Selling real estate under the guise of a real seller.

Never leave your passport and documents for the apartment if you are going somewhere for a long time. It's easy to fake a passport, just re-stick the photo and... the new home owner is ready!

Taking advantage of your absence, scammers may well conduct a real estate sale transaction. The main condition for a successful fraudulent sale of an apartment here is not to show off the passport of the owner of the property.

5) Understating the value (ostensibly to reduce taxation) of the property being sold

In reality, this means that you buy an apartment at one price, but the documents indicate a completely different price. And in the future, the seller finds a loophole to terminate the transaction and returns you only the amount specified in the contract.

6) Cancellation of the transaction

Almost any real estate transaction is returnable. Within 3 years, the seller (or the one who claims the property) can challenge the legality of the transaction through the court.

The basis for termination of the transaction may be the “insanity” of the seller. To do this, he just needs to go to the hospital and undergo an examination, which will recognize him as incompetent or partially incompetent. According to the law, the seller can terminate the transaction within six months by proving that he was insane. Scammers often take advantage of this, because there are quite a lot of property owners in the country with medical diagnoses (for example, schizophrenia).

In addition, the seller may return to his home because his “circumstances have changed” and he has nowhere to live. At the same time, he claims that he has already spent the amount received for the property, but is ready to reimburse it from his salary. No one can prohibit the seller from giving your money in this way, but in reality, the entire process of returning your money will drag on for many decades.

Children (even grown ones), ex-spouses (who do not agree with the deal), missing relatives, former prisoners, as well as incapacitated persons who were registered in an apartment and have nowhere to live can also apply for real estate... For each such category of citizens there is its own legal loopholes for the return of real estate.

Real estate fraud by buyer

The buyer can also deceive. Moreover, he can give the buyer a “doll” instead of real money, or he can demand the return of the deposit (and in double the amount).

How to get simple pieces of paper instead of money?

When transferring cash at the time of transaction. Few people can boast that they can tell a well-made counterfeit from real money.

Transactions involving non-cash payments with a fixed account are safer. Not with a cell! In the case of a safe deposit box in a bank, you don’t have to know what exactly is stored there - whether it’s money or simple pieces of paper representing banknotes.

2) Deposit scams

the seller does not have time to collect all the documents in time. In response, the buyer demands the return of the deposit, and double it, or the cost of the purchased property must be significantly reduced. In the deposit agreement, the terms were clearly discussed, and it was these terms that the buyers insisted on. Now they insist on returning the money, more than the amount they gave out.

The first buyer's deposit is offset by the second buyer's larger deposit. Then the second buyer demands his money back, and double the amount. Since the seller has already violated the terms of the deal with the first buyer. Fraudsters can also appeal to the court that the buyer was going to sell the apartment to two people at once...

Use of spelling errors and descriptions. So, for example, if the word “deposit” is replaced with “collateral,” then the transaction takes on a completely different character. The seller becomes a debtor, because the pledge means that the seller owes the buyer a certain amount.

Real estate fraud by third parties (realtors and other professionals)

Fraud on the part of realtors or real estate agencies is the most widely known, because as a rule, such persons (organizations) work on a large scale. But there are cases when the deception is not so noticeable, when we are talking about small amounts (in such cases, you may not even understand that you were actually deceived)

Typical deception schemes and tricks to lure clients from realtors and real estate agencies:

Tell the seller the obviously inflated price of the property being sold. There is a psychological moment at work here - any seller is interested in greater profits. Agents actually list the property at an inflated price, but after some time they ask the seller to reduce the price so that buyers can be found. And the seller is forced to set an already reduced price, and at the same time he continues to cooperate with agents who initially said that the property is worth much higher than he expects.

Pick up original documents. When concluding an agreement with a company, the seller undertakes to hand over the original documents. And in fact, he can no longer change the company, because the documents are not in his hands.

Deception of both the seller and the buyer. It was especially relevant in 2005-2008. Let's say a buyer is found for the property. He even paid a deposit. And then the realtor says that real estate prices have increased and now you will need to pay a larger amount. The buyer understands that if he refuses to buy, he may lose this property, and while he is looking for something similar on the market, prices may rise even more... As a result, he pays more for the property. But the seller does not know about this. They give him the amount that was initially determined. Now guess who has the difference?

Very often, when concluding contracts, companies require a certain amount - the so-called “guarantee obligations”. And here you need to be extremely careful when concluding contracts. Often, contracts contain such conditions that it is not possible to return the “guarantee”.

A scam that definitely falls under the article of the same name. Black realtors present as a seller a person who in reality cannot be one (for example, a false heir, a person who has gone missing, and other categories of persons). This also includes situations where sellers and “realtors” work together.

How to secure purchase and sale transactions. Tips for the buyer that will not be superfluous.

Beware of people who want to make a deal quickly, bypassing all procedures.

Check everything you can check. If a company is recommended to you, do not rush to go there, make inquiries about it. It will be simply wonderful if you communicate “live” with the clients of this company. It will not be superfluous to have a legal check of all documents.

Ask the seller to evict all tenants before completing the purchase and sale transaction.

Ask your neighbors about the property you are planning to buy. Who lives in it? How often do owners change? How often did the local police officer appear there...

Let the seller pay for all utilities and subscription fees. It would also be a good idea to ask the seller for a certificate of these payments.

Certificates from psychoneurological and drug addiction clinics for all property owners will not hurt.

Ask if the seller has any minor children, or if there are relatives with children living in the apartment.

Find out whether any redevelopment has been done in the apartment and whether it is legalized.

Do not leave all documents (passports, certificates...) with third parties.

Be careful about using obviously low prices in contracts.

When transferring money, make sure that there are witnesses (for example, relatives) who, if something happens, will be able to testify in your favor.

Having purchased a home, try to occupy it immediately: change the locks. Achieve the final discharge of unwanted residents.

Fraud in the purchase and sale of real estate, unfortunately, is not uncommon. However, most transactions still take place within the law. Therefore, when you decide to buy/sell real estate, you are taking a risk. But this risk is completely justified. Be vigilant (and one might even say paranoid) and be on the alert. And in case of the slightest suspicion, stop the transaction (until all doubts are resolved).