This type of scam appears so often, there must be a "How to Scam in Real Estate" course at Trump University.Considering  they "only" stole 52 Million out of 1.3 Billion, they were pretty inept as scammers go, No consolation to their victims.What is surprising is how long these scams go on before they collapse.

You have to do your research on non-traditional lenders, however, because there are scams out there.3.

@Ben Colabella Anyone advertising 5% on a hard money fix and flip loan is a scam.

How do I protect myself so that I don’t get scammed?

The clown that scammed millions of dollars from honest, hardworking people that lost everything on account of him?

I didn't have the time to devote to real estate when I had a full time job either, so passive multifamily worked for me.

Shame on that company for scamming folks... but those buyers did not do their own do diligence.

If I look to get a loan from private lender how can I screen him to check if he is doing it legally❓And how to secure myself against loosing any upfront fees if this become a scam❓ By putting it on escrow❓Any advise😎✔️❓

Examples : signing personally on a loan for your Ira owned property, using your Ira property for personal gain, investing money out of your Ira to a scamming con artist, not understanding when and how an Ira investment can have UBIT UDFI tax.

The last thing you want to do is put ten's of thousands of dollars on the line and find out that your working inexperienced people or worse... scam artists.