Police investigate house sale scam

[ger]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/br...-house-sale-scam/story-e6frf7kf-1225919705495


WEST Australian police are investigating how someone overseas could have orchestrated the sale of a Perth house, leaving its owner $485,000 out of pocket.

 

[Piston Broke]

You cant sell what you don't own.
No sale.

 

[redsquash]

You cant sell what you don't own.
No sale.

Thats right Piston Brake.

Just watch how this story changes over the coming days.

Nice way to boost circulation . It also shows what lengths Journalists will go to,in order to promote a story and how they are like sheep, following each other.

 

[twobobsworth]

So who loses the money? The purchaser, one of the banks or one of the solicitors?

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

The first person I'd be looking at (if I couldn't get the scammer), would be the scammers solicitor.

Part of their job description is to identify their client and perform a title search.

 

[Pete]

guys at work were talking about it this morning

same story at different site http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wes...to-selling-house/story-e6frg13u-1225918470678

 

[rugrat]

generally it would be the purchaser who would loose their money. They may then possibly have recourse against either their own solicitors depending on the circumstances, and would certainly have recourse against the scammers (if they could ever be found). But it gets complicated if the actual title has been transferred.

 

[twobobsworth]

Interesting Jenman wrote about this 3 years ago.

http://www.jenman.com.au/news_alert.php?id=80

 

[Aaron Sice]

sounds like someone sold an option for the $1000 fee or whatever it was, but didn't read the fine print.

 

[Aaron Sice]

i would move heaven and earth to destroy the lives of everyone involved.

i'd be pushing the state government for an enquiry, and keep lobbying until i got it.

i'd walk the streets, talkback ABC radio.

i'd make so much noise and drag so many of the responsible firms down with me that my gravity would be felt for years to come.

 

[Pete]

new today, http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/l...g-shady-property-scammers-20100913-1587t.html

 

[twobobsworth]

I still don't understand how it's different to if you bought a stolen car, they come and take the car off you.

 

[Pete]

Try looking at it from the perspective of the buyers. They've paid ~k$500.

The stolen car or house reverts to the original owner: what happens now to the dudded buyers; who is going to pay them back.

A stolen car, $20,000. A house, $500,000. It is a mess that noone wants (to re-occur, or be in at all).

 

[Sunfish]

I would think there's a malpractice suit heading for the buyer's solicitor.

We do assume so much, don't we.

 

[Pete]

Yes, we do. And those involved in hundreds of settlements per year might understandably slip up.

And, it is usual in WA that settlement agents handle this work and not solicitors. The settlement agents were named in one of the articles, I think. So they will be busy right now checking where they stand.

 

[boods99]

I still don't understand how it's different to if you bought a stolen car, they come and take the car off you.

That's because the transaction of real estate in done under the Torrens Title system, in a nutshell, the holder of the Title has indefeasible ownership, making this scenario a little more complex than you would first assume.

With cars....you only have guaranteed title should you buy from a dealer.

Boods

 

[Strannik]

boods99, the exception to that is if fraud has been committed.

the only thing i'm not sure about whether it refers to fraud by one of the parties to the transfer, or fraud by third party counts as well.

 

[jrc]

Strannik, if the buyer has bought without notice of the fraud they would get a clear title in NSW.

 

[Sunfish]

I just saw Margaret Lomas and her panel discuss this and they seemed to be unaware that there were TWO properties: One was stopped in time, the other completed.

I've never been able to take her seriously, now I know why. Shallow hardly does it justice.

 

[Pete]

I'm thinking this thread is in the wrong sub-forum. Hmm?