I've been in this business way too long and am suspicious of any deal that sounds too good - especially in this Sellers Market. 

What is suspicious is these words:The loan origination payment comes before funding.

@Vera Todoriko nothing automatically suspicious about the job sending people to a web site or it needing social security # to identify. 

None of them alone guarantee the person/company you’re dealing with are a scammer, but if you see one or more of these red flags you should start to get suspicious and make sure you do your due diligence on them before sending any money or personal information.

I thought it was very suspicious that she waited until I signed a lease with her to then suddenly have the one radiator be broken.

You can use a big lock and have it in the front yard where people/neighbors will see suspicious activities and alert you before something might happen.Hope this helps,Claudio

I grew up just over the river in NJ in a tough area and you sound typically cynical/suspicious like me;2.

Less than 7% and I'd be pretty suspicious about the quality of service provided.

When you find factors that could be suspicious, like sudden spikes in appreciation, take a closer look at the details of the areas as mentioned in the list.That way down-selecting can happen quickly and a deeper review can reveal or eliminate cases that initially looked good but later turned out to miss a criterium or two.

If you find an accountant too easily available to talk to someone who is not their client yet - I'd be a little suspicious, particularly during this busy period of starting a new year and learning the new laws.