Cleaning Foreclosures: Scams to Be Aware Of

Jan. 7, 2009 - PRLog -- There’s a flip side to the foreclosure business – many are scrambling to make money off of it. As home foreclosures mount, so do scams. Here we will discuss two common scams in the foreclosure cleanup sector.

Cleaning Foreclosures Scam #1: Contractors. While the vast majority of contractors are honest, hardworking business owners, there are those who are not. If you have a foreclosure cleanup business, you deal with a lot of valuable merchandise – new carpet, major appliances, cleaning equipment, etc.

Any of it is at risk of being stolen if you deal with a dishonest contractor. For example, say you have carpet delivered that is to be installed the next day. If you notify your carpet layer that the “carpet is already there; you can go ahead and put it in tomorrow,” then it can ostensibly be stolen that night.

To protect yourself from this type of scam when cleaning foreclosures, only work with reputable contractors you trust.

Cleaning Foreclosures Scam #2: Information (Ebook) Sellers. Selling information online is big business. And, as anyone who knows their ABCs can claim to be a writer, beware of buying information products online from iffy sites.

Some Things to Look for in a Reputable Ebook Seller

Contact info beyond a simple email address: Everyone has an email address; and a site can be up today and down tomorrow. If all you have is an email address, how will you get your money back if the product is not what you expected?

Media coverage: Cleaning foreclosures is a hot business opportunity. If a company has some media coverage behind it – especially in large media markets where foreclosures are hot (eg, California, Florida, Las Vegas), it’s a reputable business.  

Professionalism: While anyone can throw up a professional website, if one is NOT professional; that should be a double red flag. Professional companies pay to present professional images. If there are grammar errors, unprofessional language, and just an all-around unprofessional image -- beware.

Table of Contents: Beyond saying that their product is the best, look for further info on the sales page, eg, a table of contents, testimonials, etc.

Buyer Products Online Tip: When buying products and services online, Google the website URL to see what others are saying about the site. You’d be amazed at what pops up in Google results about specific websites.

Cleaning foreclosures is a sizzling business opportunity where excellent money can be made. Be aware of foreclosure cleaning scams though – whether you’re already in business, or want to start one.

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Start-a-Foreclosure-Cleanup-Business.com: The "How to Start a Foreclosure Cleanup Business" ebook here tells you everything you need to know to start a business cleaning foreclosures. It was written by the owner of a leading foreclosure company in Atlanta, GA and contains 200 pages of first-hand info you won’t find any place else. View the news video featuring the biz on the site.