The market is full of criminal activities in all sectors. The mortgage crimes and fraudulent activities are increasing a lot. Mortgage fraud takes place when the con artists find people struggling with their mortgage payments or are in hurry to sell their homes off. These things can only be avoided if you deal with known and reputed companies and organizations. There are other steps to deal with your mortgage payments rather than going for foreclosure. But there are certain fraud scams that take place and ruin you financially.

Important and devious mortgage scams to be aware of

There are many ways you can be scammed if you’re not careful. You must take careful steps or ask an expert when you’re dealing with a mortgage lender. Take a look at the mortgage crimes you must avoid:

1. Excess pricing

If you see that the purchase price of the house is too high to be bought, don’t go for it. If you ask any other lender about the price and get the minimum one, then the previous lender was trying to scam you. Before you go along with any home buying, you must consult with your agent so that he can get all the required information from the lenders about the price and other details. Always deal with experts so that you don’t fall into any sort of scams.

2. Undisclosed items

If you’re charged extra amount for the home by the seller which is not put in any documents, it’s a clear case of mortgage crime. Have everything on your purchase documents so that you know the amount of money you’re paying and the use of that money. If you strike a new deal with the home seller to give him an amount of money which is not written in the documents and even the lender doesn’t have any knowledge about, it’s one of the mortgage crimes.

3. Unknown second mortgage

Not only sellers and lenders, but also borrowers can commit mortgage fraud. If a borrower is not asked for a down payment, he can commit the crime by borrowing the down payment from the seller and in exchange giving him an unknown and silent second mortgage. This is hidden and unrecorded and the lender is unknown about the whole thing.

4. Lying on application

If you’re a buyer and want to take out a mortgage to buy the property, you need to give your details in an application form. But if you give wrong information or lie on your form, then also you’re committing a mortgage fraud. You need to write everything about your salary and other important details. If you keep things away from your lender, you’re committing mortgage fraud.

These are the 4 different types of mortgage fraud you commit if you undisclosed things from your lender. These things will help you understand how a mortgage crime takes place and prevent it. You may also get involved in mortgage crimes without any fault of yours. But if you take help of experts and disclose everything, you can easily get out of these situations.

Are you shopping around for affordable auto insurance? There are a few questions which you should ask to your insurance agent to have a clear view regarding the terms and conditions on your policy. Here are 4 questions which you should ask to your insurance agent before buying an auto insurance policy.

Question 1: What discounts can you qualify for?

Answer 1: While getting auto insurance quotes from an insurance agent to buy a suitable policy, you should at first enquire what discounts you qualify for. Make the appropriate searches such as "can I get a bespoke truck insurance policy?". This will help you reduce the cost of your policy. Most of the companies offer discounts such as, safe driver discount, good student discount, etc. which you may be eligible for.

Question 2: What does your auto insurance policy cover?

Answer 2: It is quite important to enquire the type and amount of coverage offered by the insurer. You should clearly understand this before buying a policy. It is advisable to not rely on verbal talk; always go through the terms and conditions carefully and check policy exclusions so that you’re well aware of the policy you've chosen.

Question 3: If you require new parts for your vehicle, will your insurer cover them?

Answer 3: You should enquire this when getting auto insurance quotes. There are some insurance companies which guarantee to cover OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts while others pay only for after market parts. The latter are comparatively cheaper than the parts made by your original manufacturer.

Question 4: What will happen if you cancel your policy?

Answer 4: While getting auto insurance quotes, check out the consequences you’d have to face if you need to cancel you policy. It may happen that you’re getting a better insurance policy from a different insurer and you need to cancel your existing policy. The insurance companies have different rules regarding how the unpaid premium will be refunded to you if you cancel your policy. Some of the insurance companies charge a cancellation fee while some other companies use ‘short rate’ method to calculate how much amount will be refunded to you. You must know the insurers can charge this fee even if you cancel the policy the day you buy it.

Apart from above, you should also enquire about multiple policy discounts while getting auto insurance quotes. This is because often insurance companies offer discounts when you buy your home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, etc. from a single company. So, if a company is offering multi policy discounts, then you can purchase all your insurance policies from it so as to reduce the premium cost of your policies significantly. However, before doing so, check the financial strength rating of the company to make sure that you’ll be compensated when you have to make a claim.