A luxury condo in downtown was sold without the owner’s knowledge. This is the third case of fraud of this type in Toronto alone this year.
According to documents provided by Mohui Yu, a 24-year-old Chinese citizen currently residing in Hubei Province, China, his high-rise Aura condominium was put up for sale on May 11 last year for $978,000 and sold nine days later for $970,000.
The buyer received a mortgage from the bank in June and transferred ownership.
However, Mr. Yoo said he had never put the condo up for sale. He claims that a fraudster who stole his name entered the vacant house without his knowledge, took pictures, and sold the house by tricking brokers and lawyers with fake IDs.
Yoo bought this condo for $800,000 when he studied abroad in Toronto in 2017.
“The best defense against scams like this is to buy title insurance,” said Tim Hudak, CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association.
“On average, insurance premiums are about $1 for every $1,000 in property value. If you have a $500,000 condo, your premium is $500,” he added.
Hudak said that this type of scam targets owners who have been away for extended periods of time, and that real estate agents, lawyers and mortgage banks should scrutinize sellers more closely.
Meanwhile, on the 13th, there was an attempt to sell real estate in Toronto by stealing the name of the landlord. A week ago, a duo of male and female swindlers secretly sold someone else’s house using fake IDs.