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- Without housing, the guilty: how conscientious buyers are left without apartments because of scammers
Without housing, the guilty: how conscientious buyers are left without apartments because of scammers
In recent months, conscientious citizens who are not directly involved in the scheme have become increasingly victims of fraudsters deceiving the elderly. They buy apartments from pensioners who are under the influence of intruders without knowing about it. When sellers challenge a deal in court, buyers are often left without funds and without housing as a result. What such scenarios are based on and how to protect yourself from such scams can be found in the Izvestia article.
An apartment precedent
An attractive price, an adequate legend about the sale, the presence of a notary, certified contracts — this is where the stories of people who are unlucky enough to stumble upon elderly people selling their apartments under the influence of fraudsters begin. Petr Shcherbachenko, an associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, named several schemes to Izvestia that often promise serious problems to customers.
One of them is the "Urgent sale of an apartment at a low price," during which the attackers offer pensioners a significantly lower amount than the real market value of housing, promising a quick deal. After the sale of real estate, an elderly man who expects that either the money will be returned to him, or the sale of the apartment will be fictitious, receives a statement that he acted under pressure from fraudsters. This comes as a surprise to the final buyers of the property.
"Mine actually said in testimony and interrogation: "When making the deal, I knew that it was fictitious and that the buyers would then be kicked out and the apartment would be returned," says a dialogue from the victims' chat, screenshots of which were posted on Telegram channels and other social networks.
Other authors in the screenshots complain that "their" elderly salesperson also sent fraudsters 4 million rubles, which she withdrew from her account at work.
"And they forgave her everything, she didn't understand what she was doing... Wait a minute, she forged the signatures in the checkbook and went to the bank three times to withdraw four million! In my opinion, it's simple in the scheme," the message says.
Similar stories have been published recently, when it became known about a variety of similar scenarios. A kind of watershed, according to the victims, was the return of Larisa Dolina's apartment, which she sold under the influence of fraudsters. The Khamovnichesky court granted her claims to own real estate, but the buyer, Polina Lurie, who did not know about this, was denied the right to housing.
The one who cheated celebrates the victory
In July last year, Violetta Melnikova sold her only home to buy an apartment in St. Petersburg. The transaction was conducted through a notary, and there were no possible problems.
— The seller eloquently talked about her intention to buy a suburban fazenda, read the contract without glasses and made edits. While we were waiting for her to be discharged, she concocted a lawsuit and, out of the blue, we received a lawsuit to invalidate the deal," Melnikova told Izvestia.
Despite the examination, which recognized the elderly woman as fully sane, although she was not aware of the consequences of her actions at the time of the transaction, the court sided with the pensioner and terminated the transaction. The video recording of the process made by notary Melnikova did not affect the result.
— When we asked how she would give the money, the woman explained that she had not thought about it and was not going to think about it. The main thing is that she got her apartment back, but she doesn't care what happens to us. My child and I are in rented housing, without money and the opportunity to purchase another one, and the one who deceived us is celebrating the victory," the girl shared.
Violetta Melnikova is one of the victims, whose number today, according to thematic chats, is more than seven dozen. According to Melnikova, they do not understand why buyers are forced to pay for the mistakes of people who in many cases were aware of their actions.
Fraudulent wolves in the seller's shoes
According to Elena Mishchenko, head of the Department of urban and suburban real estate at NDV Supermarket of Real Estate, fraudsters use two main scenarios to deceive real estate sellers.
In the first scenario, "I catch criminals," the seller is on adrenaline, in high spirits, and often considers himself part of a special operation. The scammers convince him to transfer the money "under control," assuring him that everything will return, and the apartment "will not go anywhere."
In the second case, "Someone is in trouble, we need to save them," the seller may show excitement or anxiety. Most often, these people are confident that in this way they will ensure the well-being of someone close to them. For them, the ultimate motivation is "either now or tragedy."
Alexander Kozlov, a bankruptcy lawyer at the Financial and Legal Alliance company, told Izvestia that both sides should be recognized as victims in such cases.: both an elderly seller who was misled, and a bona fide buyer who suffered property losses.
"The main legal gap lies in a combination of factors: the lack of a clear restorative mechanism, difficulties in proving the acquirer's good faith, and the imperfection of legal regulation for challenging transactions with will defects," Kozlov said.
The motive of the sale
In April 2022, the second child was born in the family of Dinar Akhmadullin, and by February 2023 they realized that their mortgage apartment had become cramped. In May, a buyer appeared, and at the same time they began to look for new housing. Through a popular website, they chose several options and settled on one.
— During all the meetings, the seller behaved calmly, at ease, was not depressed or scared. She answered personal questions calmly," Dinar told Izvestia.
The seller confirmed her willingness to sell the apartment, asking for two weeks for eviction. All documents were provided, and the transaction was executed through a secure settlement system.
— On the appointed day, the seller paid the housing and communal services receipt in front of us, she also behaved calmly when signing the documents, there was no doubt about her desire to sell the property and, as she herself told us, move to live in Yevpatoria, — shared Dinar.
However, a week later, the realtor reported that the seller had withdrawn the money, transferred it to the scammers and was no longer responding to calls. Later, the seller announced that she would file a lawsuit to cancel the deal. After several court sessions, the first psychological examination showed that she was aware of her actions, but her level of critical thinking was lowered. To date, the court proceedings have been ongoing for more than two years. The following is written in the re-examination: "... has an egocentric personality type, does not feel a sense of sympathy for the problems of the buyer, evades answering the questions posed."
— The motive for the sale was the offer of telephone fraudsters to return 950 thousand rubles previously transferred by the seller to other telephone fraudsters. To the question: "Is she ready to return the money received from the sale of the apartment?" "She says she doesn't have any money,— Akhmadullin said.
The case has not yet been sent for the third examination, and Dinar Akhmadullin is forced to rent a house, continuing to pay the mortgage, while the seller continues to live in the apartment.
First of all, the victim
Pavel Overchenko, head of the urban real estate sales center at Genesis Brokers, told Izvestia that if a buyer is a victim of such a scheme, the first and most important thing is to immediately declare their rights and record the fact of good faith in order to protect their interests at all stages.
It is necessary to involve a lawyer and file a civil claim for recognition of ownership rights, and if the apartment is arrested, challenge the arrest. The chances of success increase if the seller was in his right mind, received consultations and the money was transferred by wire transfer. In such cases, the courts more often recognize the buyer as bona fide and retain ownership.
Marina Bondarenko, the founder of the Square Meter agency and a real estate expert, also advises talking to the seller's relatives to find out if they are aware of the deal. In some cases, relatives do not know about the sale of an apartment to their loved ones.
— If you see that when asked about the purpose of selling an apartment, the seller reacts aggressively or evades the answer, this is a signal that the purchase of this apartment should be abandoned, — said Bondarenko.
Elena Mishchenko added that escrow accounts cannot prevent fraud in such cases. According to her, the problem is not in the payment method, but in the human factor — the money goes to the seller's account, but then goes to the scammers.
At a young expense
In December 2024, Tamerlan Baziev, having decided to buy an apartment, found an advertisement for the sale of housing space in his house. After talking with agent Karina, he arranged a meeting with an elderly salesman named Nahum, who allegedly wanted to sell the apartment in order to go to Israel to live with his son. While viewing the apartment, the young man noticed problems with the floor and bathroom, but decided to continue the deal, as Naum promised to leave all the furniture and appliances. The seller confirmed that he wanted to sell the apartment for 10.5 million rubles, and they signed an agreement on the deposit.
Shortly after the deal was finalized, Naum refused to sign the act of acceptance and transfer of the apartment, and Karina reported that he had filed a fraud report with the police, Baziev told Izvestia. After going to court, the prosecutor supported the seller's side, and an examination of Nahum's mental state showed that he could not realize the consequences of his actions. The court ordered an independent psychological and psychiatric examination, and the case was suspended.
Baziev filed a counterclaim for recognition as a bona fide acquirer. According to Tamerlan Baziev, the seller's lawyer claims that the grandfather thought he was a participant in a scheme to catch fraudsters. At the same time, on the video from the bank, he states that he does not communicate with anyone.
A crossfire for fraud
Lawyer Elena Koroleva, a specialist in dealing with troubled assets and bankruptcies, told Izvestia that the first and important step is title insurance of real estate, which is mandatory when concluding a mortgage agreement. Such insurance covers the risk of loss of ownership.
The notary, in turn, must ask questions to the seller, explaining all the consequences of the transaction. It is important to provide witnesses to the transaction, including the buyer's agent, as the seller's agent may not be ready to testify against him. It is better to use a letter of credit for settlements, as a safe deposit box can be a risky option.
Elena Mishchenko added that today the buyer, even if he acted as conscientiously as possible, remains vulnerable. He may be deprived of an apartment, funds, and in judicial practice there is still no clear criterion for what is considered proper buyer behavior. In her opinion, this needs to be changed. Mishchenko stressed that it is time to stop pretending that "all the deceived are victims," because sometimes the victim is a buyer who just bought a house, and it is his rights that must be protected.
She stated that if a buyer bought an apartment at market value, made sure that the seller's living space was not the only dwelling, carefully checked all the certificates, made sure there was an alternative deal, videotaped the seller's consent and received a written receipt, the court should side with him in case of a dispute.
The apartment must be transferred to the buyer, and if the seller refuses to be evicted, he must be evicted through bailiffs. A pensioner can be placed under the guardianship of the state and provided with temporary accommodation, and an able-bodied person can be provided with buffer housing, but without the right to return the apartment, the expert is sure.
To minimize fraud, sellers, especially pensioners and sole proprietors, must undergo mandatory information at the MFC. There they will be able to get acquainted with fraudulent schemes, take a questionnaire and receive a risk certificate, the Izvestia interlocutor recommends.
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