You’ve saved up for years to buy a house, you find the home of your dreams, buy it and get ready to move in only to find out that there’s a squatter living in it. It happened to Zael Zura and his fiancee Veronica Botts when they bought their dream home and discovered on move-in day that alleged serial squatter, James McClung, was living there posing as a renter. Notice I said “serial squatter” because this vagrant has pulled this scam several times before and is probably pulling it even as we speak. The home that he targeted was a recently renovated bank-owned home in Shoreline, Washington. Zura and Botts put an offer on that home on the day Zura proposed to Botts. They discovered the vagrant 10 days before closing, when Zura drove by the house, that was supposed to be vacant, and found strangers living in their enchanted newlywed cottage. This was the same day as their engagement party too. What a way to ruin a celebration. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Fraud
Virtual Staging: A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Lies
Imagine looking at a picture of a beautiful house with an updated kitchen, new carpet, paint, floors, and best of all, at a very low price. You jump into the car with your real estate agent by your side and you check it out. When you arrive, the beautiful house in pristine condition you saw pictured on the MLS listing has been replaced by something quite different. What you see is an ugly house with dingy walls, stained carpets, vandalized kitchen and not a shred of copper to be found in the place. Believe it or not, it’s the same house pictured in the MLS, except that the house in the MLS has been “virtually staged.” Continue reading
OneWest Bank Discovered How To Profit From A Short Sale – Sell It Twice
Apparently OneWest Bank found a way to profit from short sales. OneWest Bank sold a home to two separate parties a few days apart. Then they cashed both of their checks. Amazingly enough, the total of both sales comes really close to what was owed on the home mortgage. Coincidence? Now both “owners” are fighting it out to see who really owns it. Continue reading