Paid-off Home Mortgage? No Hassles?
Almost every day I receive soliciting phone calls, text messages as well as email and snail mail requests similar to the above. Like many people our age, our home is paid off. We don’t have to pay rent or an exorbitant monthly mortgage payment. So, we're not at all interested in selling. Why should we? I asked a number of neighbors if they receive these solicitations. Most say they do. A neighbor said they even got in-person requests. So, who are all these solicitors who wish to buy your house? The answer is simple. They are predatory home buyers looking for bargains. They prey on the unsuspecting seeking to buy their home at well below market value. They target homes that have minimal debt leans against the title by scanning the county auditor’s website looking for low or no mortgage homes. They then cross reference these with public records looking at certain demographics such as age. Evidently, because of the numerous phone calls and mailings, this methodology is quite lucrative. The problem with these artful cons is, when the naive person calls the listed number on the solicitation and the solicitor comes to see and inspect the house, they will downplay the value of the house by pointing out all the supposed flaws and code violations. Their sales pitch will be such as to convince the elderly person that the cost of fixing all the infractions would be very expensive. They will then attempt to assure the homeowner they will take care of everything. Then after closing, the house will immediately be flipped (put up for sale at the market price.) These scammers try everything in the book including "no hassles" and the above aforementioned phrase God Bless leading the homeowner to think they are legitimate and caring. Scams It seems we are under attack from a plethora different sources. Be it the web, a landline telephone, the ubiquitous smartphone, in-person solicitations, texts, emails, and postal deliveries as well as door flyers, we face a barrage of people here and abroad who are eagerly willing to take our wealth, what little we have. World governments seem unwilling to do anything substantive about this. Every day, millions worldwide are scammed out of their money. These predators take so much, and it seems they are allowed to do what it is they do – right under the noses of government officials – including US law enforcement agencies. It has been said many times that these situations could easily be fixed. Yet governments as well as internet providers like Google refuse to take action. They even encourage such activities. These web service companies quickly quash dissenting opinions, yet they allow scams. Why? Because it is profitable, and it is definitely politically expedient. The profitability aspect is easy to figure out. As for the political expedience, this will eventually become the foundation for the excuse for even more central control over our lives. Can you imagine stiff regulations governing the use of the internet? Internet businesses would have to be certified and legally registered. Even mom and pop eBay sellers would have to be certified and licensed. It is repeatedly said to be all about the protection of us. No, the real issue is education, for us to learn what is a scam and what is not. As for this situation of scammers attempting to con us out of our homes, it would seem county governments require proper identification of those who wish to transact leans or transfer property deeds. Steal My Home There are countless examples of people losing money and even their home because a scammer took out loans against their property using fake IDs. There are a large number of YouTube videos proclaiming that this is not possible. However, the number of people who did lose would suggest that this is possible. These YouTubers go on and say it is the homeowner’s responsibility to periodically check their county auditor’s web site to verify there is nothing happening. The periods suggested is weekly or even daily.
I think the main way to avoid the possibility of a scam is to have a significant mortgage (80% or greater of the home’s value) against the property. Another is to place a credit freeze against one’s credit through one or more of the three main credit bureaus. However, this is not foolproof. If they really wanted to, they will attempt to take a person’s home. Then the ownness is on the owner to do whatever it takes to recovering their loss. The Internet, The Basis The World Wide Web has been a God Send in so far as communications as well as the dissemination of information and knowledge. It has enabled so many to find stuff that previously was almost impossible for a lot of people. However, the internet has also been a source of significant loss for so many. Because of its free and easy anonymous access, it has lent itself to allowing the less scrupulous to prey on the unsuspecting, either directly or indirectly. In the US, there’s no law enforcement on the web. It has been said countless times by so many, “On the web, you’re on your own.” In the early 1990s, the “old days,” the web was a source of a lot of educational information. Now it has become a jungle of advertisers, information brokers, and scammers, all seeking to sell you something. Virtually gone are free websites where one could find information. Now these sites demand your browser accept cookies and popup advertisements. Then when you wish to enquire about something you are seeking, they want your personal information as well as a valid credit card number. Sure, there are websites like Wikipedia. But these are few in number and are fading due to lack of support. Want to know why we are where we are? Read: Hacker Disaster. Is Microsoft the originator of weak software that led to so much of the hacking that is now prevalent? S July 2022
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