Foreign buyer.
A scammer claiming to be a foreign buyer may send you an email explaining why they want to move to the U.S. and why they’d like to buy your property — without even taking a look at it — for cash. The buyer may send you a cashier check and ask you to hire an attorney to facilitate the transaction. However, after you’ve received some information from the scammer, they will try to rush the transaction using questionable means.
Busy buyer.
This type of buyer pretends to be busy to hide the fact that they can’t make in-person phone calls (as this would risk being found out). They will ask you to contact an attorney on their behalf and you could end up sharing highly sensitive information for what could turn out to be a scam transaction.
Highly eager buyer.
Sketchy advertising.
If you see signs attached to telephone poles saying “WE BUY HOUSES” with a telephone number, you can be sure a legitimate investor didn’t resort to a cheap and illegal advertising method. Look for established cash buyers who have a website and a track record of purchasing homes for cash.
Unprofessionalism.
A cash buyer who lacks basic skills like professional communication and respect is not someone you should trust. Legitimate cash buyers don’t try to pressure sellers to sign documents they don’t understand.
Payment mistake.
A common scam is when a cash buyer sends too much money “by mistake.” They will fabricate a reason why you need to send a refund for the excess amount through a wire transfer as soon as you make the deposit. And once you send the refund, and their check clears, you’ll find out the check was a forgery. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to recover the funds you transferred to the scammer. The amount can be as high as thousands of dollars — so be careful!