4 ms·

Having gone through the purchase and sale of houses I'm honestly confused at how this happens. It involves a ton of paperwork, phone calls and in-person appoint

by cletus 5y ago

Having gone through the purchase and sale of houses I'm honestly confused at how this happens. It involves a ton of paperwork, phone calls and in-person appointments, generally. If there is a mortgage on the property, the bank holds the title. The bank has a relationship with the owner. How did the bank sign off on the transfer of funds and title? They'd have to verify the identity of the seller. If there was no mortgage, at least in the US some bank normally holds onto the title on behalf of the owner so the same applies. There would need to be a settlement process where the sale proceeds (minus mortgage repayment) needs to be paid to the seller. What happened here? Being aware of the possibility of fraud, banks can and do make simple checks in my experience. A simple phone call with the contact details on record would've probably prevented this. In addition the Land Registry authorizing title transfer, the bank would have to be on the hook here too. It's a colossal screw up and a huge nightmare for the owner to deal with but I imagine restitution will be made. It sounds like he probably won't get his house back. I assume the buyer acted in good faith. It sure does suck though.

whartung 5y ago
> Having gone through the purchase and sale of houses I'm honestly confused at how this happens. It involves a ton of paperwork, phone calls and in-person appointments, generally. It seems that this was sophisticated identity theft. If someone managed to get a DL with your name on it, but their picture, and your SSN, then it's pretty much carte blanche at that point. Go into a bank and say "I need to close my accounts". "What are the account numbers?" "Oh, golly, I forget -- here's my DL, my BDay is XX-YY-ZZZZ and my Social is 123-45-6789. I recently moved from 1234 Main St. to 4567 First Ave." "Of course sir, one moment." Next thing you know you're walking out with a check. And..that's it, it all comes from that. Buy a house, sell a house, request some documentation. Especially, since they're SELLING the house, they don't have to go through the rigors of a background check for the loan. The BUYERS are placed under a microscope. The sellers? "So, you got the key?" "Yea." "We're good, sign here." And it's noone's fault except the original perpetrator. Everyone else did "due diligence". If the questions were answered properly, showed appropriate ID, what more can they do?
- iso1631 5y ago
  It sucks that the bank has its money stolen in your scenario, but at least the person who the bank owes the money to (the real holder) doesn't lose anything.
meltedcapacitor 5y ago
The fraudster probably picked a property with both an absentee owner and no mortgage for that reason.

by cletus 5y ago

whartung 5y ago

> Having gone through the purchase and sale of houses I'm honestly confused at how this happens. It involves a ton of paperwork, phone calls and in-person appointments, generally. It seems that this was sophisticated identity theft. If someone managed to get a DL with your name on it, but their picture, and your SSN, then it's pretty much carte blanche at that point. Go into a bank and say "I need to close my accounts". "What are the account numbers?" "Oh, golly, I forget -- here's my DL, my BDay is XX-YY-ZZZZ and my Social is 123-45-6789. I recently moved from 1234 Main St. to 4567 First Ave." "Of course sir, one moment." Next thing you know you're walking out with a check. And..that's it, it all comes from that. Buy a house, sell a house, request some documentation. Especially, since they're SELLING the house, they don't have to go through the rigors of a background check for the loan. The BUYERS are placed under a microscope. The sellers? "So, you got the key?" "Yea." "We're good, sign here." And it's noone's fault except the original perpetrator. Everyone else did "due diligence". If the questions were answered properly, showed appropriate ID, what more can they do?

iso1631 5y ago
It sucks that the bank has its money stolen in your scenario, but at least the person who the bank owes the money to (the real holder) doesn't lose anything.

meltedcapacitor 5y ago

The fraudster probably picked a property with both an absentee owner and no mortgage for that reason.