Short Sale scams are becoming more prevelant.  In the latest scheme, scammers try to convince the homeowner's realtor to sell them the home "under an option agreement."  The scammer then tries to negotiate with the homeowner's lender for a short sale, while trying to sell the property to a yet unknown third party for a profit.

If the scammer cannot find someone else to sell the property to in time, they simply walk away and leave the homeowner in unstoppable foreclosure.

Many inexperienced real estate agents have been taken in by this scam and agree to convince their homeowner client to play along.  The scammer further compromises these real estate agents by promissing him/her both the buying and selling commission, so they will earn twice as much for convincing their client to go along.

The scammer is not doing anything illegal, but the complicit real estate agent is putting their client at great risk and probable foreclosure and trustee's auction.

For those trying to avoid foreclosure, Short Selling with an option contract is always a very bad idea . . . for the homeowner and for the bank.