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Alleged Home-Flip Scammers Prompt Homeowner Protection Forum

  • June 8, 2015

by Tianna Mañón

Alleged Home-Flip Scammers Prompt Homeowner Protection Forum: Figure 1
A view of 51 and 53 T Street NE in July 2014. Both were flips by the Hofgards
listed in the lawsuit filed against them by OAG. Image via Google Maps.

There’s at least one good thing coming out of a Virginia-based home-flipping couple who allegedly swindled buyers into purchasing unsafe and unpermitted homes.

Prompted in part by its lawsuit against flippers Insun and Jefferson Hofgard, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is hosting a forum this week to educate new homeowners on housing scams. The forum’s goal is to empower buyers and make it harder for scammers to operate.

The OAG went after the Hofgards in DC Superior Court for unsafe flips that allegedly violated building codes. OAG says the Hofgard’s homes, usually priced high and set in trendy neighborhoods, stuck their new owners with hefty bills for repair and renovation once problems became clear after move-in, according to an OAG news release, which filed the suit earlier this May.

The focus of the forum is not just how to avoid bad construction and renovation scams, but also how to spot foreclosure scams, navigate mortgage regulations and deal with other issues.

The forum is open to new and potential homeowners and will be held June 11 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Shaw Library on 1630 7th Street NW.

See other articles related to: flipping

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/alleged_home-flip_scammers_prompt_homeowner_protection_forum/9978

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