Homeowners Beware! It's Scam Season

[applause] So today, today I wanna get into the topic of homeowner scams.

I wanna talk about homeowner scams.

And I wanna get into this today because spring and summer, especially here in the United States, is some of the most active time of the year for scams that are committed against homeowners.

And so I wanted to cover that today because we are in the midst of spring and rapidly heading towards the beginning of summer, and I thought this would be a good time to get this information out, and then hopefully it can be shared for those who are homeowners, those who are thinking about becoming homeowners, and those who know homeowners.

So this is information that can be shared, because I'm sure everyone listening falls into one of those three categories.

And like I said, I want to talk about this today because of the activity that is going to and is occurring now regarding homeowner scams.

It actually started because I, myself, me, received a letter in the mail not too long ago from a company regarding a home warranty, uh, program.

So home warranty program.

I got a letter from a company that I've never heard before.

Matter of fact, there was no name listed on the company.

And they were offering me, or threatening me, if you will, about a home, having a home warranty or not having a home warranty.

Matter of fact, reading directly from the letter that I received, it caught my attention because, number one, it said, "Final notice," and that made me just go like-

What the hell? [laughs]

'Cause I was like, "Final notice on what?" So, and I opened it up, and I didn't keep the, the envelope, but the envelope looked very official.

And so it says, "Final notice.

Immediate response required." And I'm like, "What's this about?" Anyway, in the letter it goes on to state, um, it, you know, because it's public record, they know the, the bank that I have a mortgage with.

Uh, they go on to, in bold letters, "Please contact us immediately to verify your information." And then it has another line in here where it says, "Our records indicate that you have not called us as yet," all in bold letters.

Um, and then finally, the, the other thing that caught my attention was, "Registration is required to, for continued protection." Now, I don't have a home warranty.

Uh, and, you know, a home warranty, for those who don't know, and sometimes I'm just speaking as everyone knows this, a home warranty protects homeowners against costly, like, breakdowns and repairs.

So, you know, they, these programs ...

And let me just also say there are legitimate home warranty programs out there, so I don't wanna make it that home warranties are a scam.

But a home warranty if, let's say if you have a, uh-you know, you have a leak from one of the pipes or electrical issues, or even some of them cover, you know, some of your appliances and, and other things that you have around the house.

This home warranty, if you have one, and that needs to be repaired, you're paying this monthly fee or annual fee, however that's set up, and then, you know, people can come in and repair it, and then you don't have to pay as much, or that's how it's sold.

You don't have to pay as much out of pocket.

Anyway, I give you all of that to tell you that this is one of the biggest scams that occurs for homeowners, um, during the summer, during the spring and summer months.

[applause] So today, today I wanna get into the topic of homeowner scams.

I wanna talk about homeowner scams.

And I wanna get into this today because spring and summer, especially here in the United States, is some of the most active time of the year for scams that are committed against homeowners.

And so I wanted to cover that today because we are in the midst of spring and rapidly heading towards the beginning of summer, and I thought this would be a good time to get this information out, and then hopefully it can be shared for those who are homeowners, those who are thinking about becoming homeowners, and those who know homeowners.

So this is information that can be shared, because I'm sure everyone listening falls into one of those three categories.

And like I said, I want to talk about this today because of the activity that is going to and is occurring now regarding homeowner scams.

It actually started because I, myself, me, received a letter in the mail not too long ago from a company regarding a home warranty, uh, program.

So home warranty program.

I got a letter from a company that I've never heard before.

Matter of fact, there was no name listed on the company.

And they were offering me, or threatening me, if you will, about a home, having a home warranty or not having a home warranty.

Matter of fact, reading directly from the letter that I received, it caught my attention because, number one, it said, "Final notice," and that made me just go like-

What the hell? [laughs]

'Cause I was like, "Final notice on what?" So, and I opened it up, and I didn't keep the, the envelope, but the envelope looked very official.

And so it says, "Final notice.

Immediate response required." And I'm like, "What's this about?" Anyway, in the letter it goes on to state, um, it, you know, because it's public record, they know the, the bank that I have a mortgage with.

Uh, they go on to, in bold letters, "Please contact us immediately to verify your information." And then it has another line in here where it says, "Our records indicate that you have not called us as yet," all in bold letters.

Um, and then finally, the, the other thing that caught my attention was, "Registration is required to, for continued protection." Now, I don't have a home warranty.

Uh, and, you know, a home warranty, for those who don't know, and sometimes I'm just speaking as everyone knows this, a home warranty protects homeowners against costly, like, breakdowns and repairs.

So, you know, they, these programs ...

And let me just also say there are legitimate home warranty programs out there, so I don't wanna make it that home warranties are a scam.

But a home warranty if, let's say if you have a, uh-you know, you have a leak from one of the pipes or electrical issues, or even some of them cover, you know, some of your appliances and, and other things that you have around the house.

This home warranty, if you have one, and that needs to be repaired, you're paying this monthly fee or annual fee, however that's set up, and then, you know, people can come in and repair it, and then you don't have to pay as much, or that's how it's sold.

You don't have to pay as much out of pocket.

Anyway, I give you all of that to tell you that this is one of the biggest scams that occurs for homeowners, um, during the summer, during the spring and summer months.