Juliana Tu Don’t be fooled that only those masked, hooded crooks sitting in an underground basement hunched over a computer can perpetuate fraud. Anyone can commit fraud, if they have the incentive. Document fraud especially, can be perpetuated by all …
Continue Reading →Threats to Escrow – Part 5 – Document Fraud!
The loan got sold while the property was in escrow? What kind of consequences are we looking at? We all know that loans get sold from one lender to another all the time. Normally, it is no big …
Continue Reading →When the Loan Got Sold and You Just Closed Escrow
OH, THOSE HAZARDS OF THE ESCROW DESK! It is the day before closing and the file is set up for recording. Buyer and his lender’s money are all in and documents are all signed. Out of the blue, …
FIRPTA Withholding in California – Federal regulations under IRC Code section 1445 (FIRPTA) Are you an individual who is looking to buy a property in the U.S. but you are a foreigner? There are no restrictions for you to …
Continue Reading →Are You a Foreigner and Need to Know About U.S. FIRPTA Withholding Laws?
What are the three MOST important items to remember regarding the FIRPTA withholding? The withholding is held on the Seller who is a FOREIGNER The Foreign Seller should have an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification number) when the withholding …
Let’s say you purchased your property 30 years ago, and you never did a refinance or other transaction which needed a third party title company to run a check on your ownership. Do you know what the ownership …
That loan still shows unpaid? What happened? Who dropped the ball? How do I get it resolved? Every once in a while, and more often than we like, an Escrow Officer will review a preliminary title report and …
My final on the Threats to Fraud series is about EMAIL FRAUD and it takes us in full circle all the way to the beginning. Email fraud, as I consider it, is the GATEWAY, the enabler of Wire …
Continue Reading →Threats to Escrow – Part 4 – Email Fraud Short Video
See how different types of identity fraud can affect the transaction and what steps can be taken to prevent it!
Wire fraud is only one of four different threats to a real estate transaction. I want to bring attention to CHECK FRAUD, which is Part 2 of my Threats to Escrow series. This is a reminder that we …
Continue Reading →Threats to Escrow – Part 2 – Check Fraud! A short video message