Real estate scams for property owners, buyers to know about

I was listening to the radio recently, where it reported the FBI in Boston noted that between 2019 and 2023, New Hampshire homeowners were scammed out of more than $4 million in quitclaim deed fraud. It appears 239 people in New Hampshire have had their property sold out from under them by scammers.

Quitclaim scams tend to target vacant land or homes, properties with liens, or vacation homes and properties owned by people living out of state. Scammers will forge documents for the quitclaim deed transfer without your knowledge. They then attempt to have the forged documents recorded with the county’s registry of deeds. They also forge IDs to take advantage of remote closings, so they never have to present themselves in person.

The scammers locate properties by searching public records for vacant lots or properties that don’t have a mortgage. They impersonate the owner(s) and contact real estate professionals to list the property. Many property owners don’t find out their property was listed for sale until after the sale has been recorded.

One of my realtors at Roche Realty Group recently received a call from a gentleman purporting to be the owner of a building lot in Laconia and requested to list his property for sale. My agent researched the property extensively and provided a price recommendation based on a comparative market analysis.

The individual approved of the evaluation and indicated he wanted it listed prior to the weekend, so my sales associate prepared documents and sent them through DocuSign for him and his wife to sign.  Fortunately, my agent was very astute and experienced. She noticed that his wife’s email address showed a middle name that started with the letter E, when on the deed research she had completed indicated it was an M.  That was her first red flag.

The individual then told her he didn’t want a sign on the property because he didn’t want friends and family to come at him for money, which was her second red flag.  

As a follow-up, she came into the office and Googled the phone numbers he had given her to confirm that it was him, but she could not find any listings. She then researched the owner for any other numbers that she could find. 

She did all the right research and came to me and my office manager for help; we were then able to obtain the real owner’s number from a third source. She then contacted the actual owner of the property in question, and he confirmed he was not in any way looking to sell his property and is, in fact, going to be building soon.  Needless to say, he was very happy we checked with him and called the Laconia Police Department to report the scam.

Real estate scams are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated. Whether you’re buying, selling, renting, or refinancing the mortgage on your home, the last thing you want to worry about is being scammed. 

I’ve pulled up some research. It was reported by the FBI in 2024 that there were 9,359 real estate fraud complaints resulting in more than $170 million in losses. In 2023, there were 9,521 victims of real estate fraud. In 2022, there were 11,727 victims. In 2021, there were 11,578 victims. In 2020, 14,000 people were scammed. In 2019, 11,677 people fell victim to wire fraud in the rental and real estate sectors. From 2019 to 2023, there were well over $1.3 billion in losses.

Here are some of the real estate and rental scams you should be aware of:

Rental Scams: We have seen this practice in the Lakes Region. In this case, a scammer poses as a legitimate landlord or rental agent and lists a property for rent on an online platform, such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. The listing looks real, with pictures of the property. Unfortunately, after someone has paid a security deposit or rent in advance, they discover the listing was a scam. Always check records to make sure the landlord is real. Never transfer the money via wire transfer without looking at the rental in person and doing due diligence. 

Wire Transfer Scams: This is one of the fastest-growing scams I’ve seen occur in the Lakes Region, where a very reputable closing agent was a victim of a well-orchestrated wire fraud. In a wire fraud scam, typically, your real estate agent or title company’s email gets hacked, which would reveal your information and closing details. The scammer will then impersonate the seller, asking the title company to wire transfer the escrow funds to the scammer’s account instead. Email spoofing is the forgery of an email header so that the message appears to come from someone other than the actual source. At Roche Realty Group, our emails always state “wire fraud: during your representation by Roche Realty Group, you will never be asked, via email, to wire or send funds to anyone. Not even a Title Company. Never comply with email instructions to wire funds.” During the past couple of years, we have seen several foreign buyers trying to purchase properties with attractive email solicitation that appears suspicious. We always make phone calls, perform due diligence, or use an escrow service to ensure we don’t become a victim of real estate fraud. 

“We buy homes for cash” scams: There are some legitimate businesses that specialize in buying homes for cash. However, there are a few unscrupulous scammers who will prey on the vulnerable. This scam works by promising a usually desperate homeowner a quick cash sale. The scammer convinces the homeowner to sign over the deed to the home early, promising a rapid mortgage payout, giving the scammer control of your property, which they can now rent the property for pure profit. Flyers tacked on telephone poles could be suspicious. Even if the company is legitimate, be careful; their objective is to acquire your property at a wholesale price. Always work with a well-respected realtor in order to obtain the highest price with the best terms in this competitive market. You want to make an informed real estate decision and not be led by pressure to accept an offer considerably less than the market value. 

Vacation rental scams: This scam can ruin any vacation as it victimizes potential renters of vacation rentals. In this case, a vacationer scrolls through a popular short-term rental platform like Airbnb or VRBO to find a rental for an upcoming trip. They find the perfect place and contact the owner of the listing to book it. But scammers who post fake listings on these platforms pose as the owners to redirect renters to an outside platform. Rather than through the reputable site, the scammer directs their target to go off the platform to make a payment to book the rental, usually to a platform like Zelle or Venmo for payment. When the renter arrives, they realize they don’t have a reservation and are out the money they spent to book the property. Never book outside of the platform. 

Lipstick on a pig: Knowing that a home has major defects like mold, foundation issues, fire or water damage, structural damage, rodent damage, oil leaks, hazardous materials, etc., and not disclosing it on the seller’s disclosure statement is misleading and deceitful. It is possible that some property owners have knowingly made alterations to a property to hide these defects, then lie about them on the seller’s disclosures. Often, on for-sale-by-owner properties, a seller’s disclosure is never used. It is critical that all potential buyers use a well-respected licensed home inspector to review all aspects of their home and compile a detailed report. A copy of the seller’s disclosure should always be filled out by the seller and reviewed thoroughly by the buyer. You want to be aware of all issues before purchasing the property to make an informed decision and not find out about them after the closing. Always work with a well-respected, reputable realtor. 

We live in a world where we always have to be looking over our shoulders, whether it’s phishing calls, spam calls, phishing emails, and more. Real estate scams are just another branch of a very serious problem that has been infiltrating our daily lives to be aware of.

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This article was written by Frank Roche, president of Roche Realty Group with offices in Meredith and Laconia, and can be reached at 603-279-7046. Visit rocherealty.com to learn more about the Lakes Region and its real estate market.