Hurricane season is here. Already we've had 4 storms, are you and your family prepared?
Here are some tips from the FEMA website:
Before a Hurricane:
- To begin preparing, you should build an emergency kit and make a family communications plan.
- Know your surroundings.
- Learn the elevation of your property and whether the land is flood-prone. This will help you know how your property will be affected when storm surge or tidal floodings are forecasted.
The housing recovery is underway, but economic conditions don’t impact real estate scams – they never go away.
Homeowners who fall prey to a real estate scam lose an average of $4,000 to $5,000, but even five-figure losses aren’t uncommon for those who have fallen prey to fake loan modifications and other housing fraud.
Forbes highlighted three of the most common real estate scams today:
1. Rental scams: Scammers pull online listing information from an actual home for sale and re-post it as a rental on another site, such as Craigslist. They’ll often ask for money upfront – a security deposit or broker fee – from prospective tenants. Scammers often advertise the home at a low price and collect application fees from several prospective tenants to “hold the property for them.”
