Keywords: Home foreclosures, foreclosed homes, squatters, economic crisis, recession
For whatever the reason, it always seems that whenever something tragic or unfortunate happens, there are those who will always look to capitalize on the misfortune of others. And the housing crisis now seems to be the latest example of that.
In many neighborhoods, including the Dallas area, scammers are finding foreclosed homes, renting them out at below-market rents--and taking full advantage of people who would otherwise not have a chance to live in posh homes in what are considered affluent neighborhoods, the Dallas Morning News reports via the Seattle Times.
In fact, many of the scam artists are preying on unsuspecting victims who think they're getting a great rent deal--but who then have to pack up their things and move after authorities find out the squatters are improperly living in the homes.
Sometimes, the scammers are arrested. Other times, the scammers find new places for their victims to live--if even again temporarily and illegally.
It's a system that has not just hit Dallas, but communities around the country.
"You have to have a somewhat sophisticated person to pull this off," Andrew Masters, an investigator with the Dallas County district attorney's office, told the Dallas Morning News. "There are holes in the system that allows it to be easy."
The holes he references are caused mainly by the notion that when someone is evicted from their home, there's a 30- to 60-day period during which the original homeowner can appeal. But they're still not allowed to stay in the home during that timeframe.
A perfect situation for scammers and people desperatefor a cheap, elegant place to live.
Click here to read more from the Dallas Morning News via the Seattle Times.
