Real estate fraud is a broad term used to describe the different types of fraud that the real estate industry faces. 

Mortgage fraud

Mortgage fraud is a type of real estate fraud that most often hurts the financial institutions that lend money for purchasing property.  The most common form of mortgage fraud involves fraudsters acquiring property and then artificially increasing the property’s value through a series of sales and resales between the fraudster and someone in cooperation with them.  A mortgage is then secured on the property based on the price that has been artificially inflated.

Title fraud

Title fraud is a different type of real estate fraud that most often hurts individual homeowners.  In comparison to the more than two million real estate transactions that occur each year in the province, there are a limited number of cases of title fraud.  The most common forms of title fraud involve fraudsters using stolen identities or forged documents to transfer a registered owner’s title to himself or herself without the registered owner’s knowledge.  The fraudster then obtains a mortgage on this property and once the funds are advanced on the mortgage, he or she disappears.  This type of fraud is also sometimes referred to as “mortgage fraud.”

Protect your property by protecting your identity

Ontario’s land registration system has a proven track record for security, accuracy and efficiency.  Property owners in this province can trust in a constantly improving system that has introduced automation, electronic registration and enhanced security to land registration.  The system is built on 200 years of legal and regulatory best practices, using the best technology currently available.

However, in any system, it is impossible to completely avoid fraud.  Ontario homeowners can take an active role in protecting their property by protecting themselves from identity thieves.  Fraudsters have been known to impersonate the owner of a property by obtaining false identification and then transferring property that does not belong to them.  To help avoid this situation:

• Always store personal information, including your birth certificate, Social Insurance Number card, bank account numbers and credit card details, in a secure place that others cannot access.
• Never carry your birth certificate or SIN card in your wallet.
• Shred documents, such as credit card statements, before you discard them.
• Never reply to spam or e-mails that ask for banking information, credit card details, passwords or other sensitive information involving property you own.
• Check references from prospective renters if you are renting your property and be sure to check on your rental property regularly.

Be alert to identity theft

Pay attention to the following in order to detect fraud early:

• Tax statements or bills are unexpectedly mailed to your home, addressed to a different individual.
• You receive a phone call from a caller inquiring about a new mortgage that has already been arranged for your property.
• Bills do not arrive as expected.
• Creditors contact you regarding purchases you did not make.
• There are discrepancies in your bank or credit card statements.

Power of attorney

Another way in which you can protect yourself is by being cautious when granting power of attorney.  Whenever you give another person a power of attorney that permits them to deal with your personal assets, you should consult with your lawyers or advisers regarding appropriate limitations.

Title insurance

Consumers can also talk to their lawyers and advisers about alternative methods of protection, including the benefits of purchasing title insurance.

Article produced by the Government of Ontario Canada.

This article is relevant for all countires around the world especially in a major area like Toronto real estate

In this article I’d like to cover 2 areas. When is an email SPAM ? and What can you do about it ?

I recently spent an hour or so on the phone with a web host discussing when is an email spam and they explained the following to me.

It is a very grey area, we discussed the obvious like all of the gambling, phishing, pharmacy etc. that’s going around, but then we got onto subjects like link exchanges, genuine business propositions etc. The response back from the web host that any email will be regarded as spam if the recipient decides it is, if they report it as spam it will be treated as such and dealt with like that. This in fact means that if you decide that a newsletter or some such thing that you signed up for is SPAM the web host will treat it as such. Currently I must be getting about around 1500 a day, of what I regard as genuine spam, these also include the nasty responses from people who think I’m sending SPAM, when in fact it’s some real spammers using fake headers that point to my server, even though the IP addresses don’t match.

So what can you do ?

Well you can ignore it and just delete it each day, like the majority of the world, this isn’t really a solution and likely means you spend hours each day ploughing through and at least looking at everyone.

You can report each one to the host where they appear to be coming from …… Hmmm, also not very practical, you’d spend your whole life checking and reporting SPAM.

You can use a service like SPAMARREST, this has proved very effective for us, and way better than any SPAM filter on a mail box. What this does is it retrieves your emails from your mail box, if they are on your allowed this it automatically posts them through to you, if they are not it send another email asking the person to enter a code, basically confirming that they are a real person. Most people don’t mind this and will just enter the code, the email is then forwarded to you. What this does do is quarantines the emails where people don’t confirm, if doesn’t delete them, you can go back and eyeball them if you want to. This does in fact ensure that you get to see the emails that are important and sent by a real person or the people that on your allowed list, not perfect, but much better than the excessive number of emails we are all receiving everyday.

Even with the slowdown in real estate prices in 2006, the major cities like Toronto are still way ahead of their counterparts in the suburbs in both prices and the number of residences per square kilometre. So is living close to where you work a huge benefit ?

For those that are big on the night life and the atmosphere of the big city it still is likely worth the price. The bachelor pad or group of friends living downtown and living it up with the nightlife of the big city is still fun, and of course they share the bills and it doesn’t look so expensive.

But for the family, is there a better way ?

The suburbs are more likely to be in a price range that a new family can afford, with prices ranging from 20% - 40% cheaper than in the downtown cores. Not only that many would say that for the average family the quality of life in the suburbs is so much better.

More property for less money.
The houses not packed in so tightly.
Generally the cost of living is lower.
Less pollution and smog.
More Choice.

Even though construction in the suburbs is extremely high they are by no means as highly populated as the downtown cores. The Brampton real estate market is booming right now with a huge number of new developments, but with population of 380,000 it is by no means rural, but by the same token it is not Toronto.

If you prefer something a little quieter still but still within the reach of Toronto consider the Georgetown Ontario real estate market. Georgetown with a population of around 40,000 could almost be considered rural, but has all of the facilities of a larger city without the huge population or costs to go with it.

So major city like Toronto or a suburb/rural area, I’d take the later anytime, hence why I live in London Ontario

Lupins growing wild, dairy cattle grazing on the hillside, ocean breezes misting salt water in the air, sunshine illuminating white sand dunes… Prince Edward Island will lure you to enjoy its fascinating charm, beauty and history as you explore the many gifts this Atlantic Canada province has to offer.

Is this the land where you belong? The white sandy shores of eastern Prince Edward Island offer up an oceanfront view of the Northumberland Strait, while the reds sands of Cavendish Beach present a unique and wonderful vista. 

PEI depends on the sea and the land for its economy, its primary industries being farming, fishing and tourism. The concepts of stewardship and sustainability are regarded very seriously by the community, for the sake of all three of these interdependent industries. Protecting and enhancing the resource lands allows crops to thrive and shellfish to flourish, while visitors and residents alike enjoy the beautiful side effects of a healthy environment.

If activity is what you want, PEI boasts a variety of sandy beaches, perfect for swimming, beachcombing and kayaking, as well as abundant spaces for cycling.  As far as organized sports, soccer and hockey are popular on the island. The senior men’s soccer league features 3 divisions and more than 20 teams from all over the island. For other tastes, PEI offers deep sea fishing, fine dining, shopping and some the best golf courses in Canada.

Family activities, festivals, theatre and the arts are all a part of island life. Fun for the whole family can be found at PEI’s amusement parks, lighthouses, museums, provincial parks and of course, Green Gables. The Celtic Festival is an opportunity to experience in true Island spirit the pipers, drummers, storytellers and dancers of the Highland Storm.

The PEI International Shellfish Festival is best described as a “great big kitchen party” enjoyed by both young and young at heart. Kensington Water Gardens offers the opportunity to experience a journey back to medieval times. The Victoria Playhouse and the Charlottetown Festival present both historic and contemporary theatrical performances.

It’s no wonder the island has so many inns and B & Bs! Come see for yourself, and you may find you never want to leave.

Barry Wood has a wealth of information on Prince Edward Island real estate and on Prince Edward Island cottages for sale. You can visit his site at www.barrywood.ca.