Alleged Home-Flip Scammers Prompt Homeowner Protection Forum

• June 8, 2015
• 1 Comment

by Tianna Mañón

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.

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

1 Comment

1. EckingtonNEDC said at 12:43 am on Wednesday June 10, 2015:
   Wow. This is scary. I went to an open house back in 2012 or 2013 at 2nd and U street NE, close to Mckinley Tech. The house was beautiful, I mean shinny and staged to the hilt. I had the contractor come to my house since I’ve been looking to have my house done. His name was ABILIO ARGUETA, named in law suit with with Insun Hofgard. This past winter, he texted me around nine-thirty at night to see if “I was ready”. But when questioning him before, I could not find any work, contractors, etc from the business card he gave me, “Mira” something. And he was swishy-washy when asked about doing a contract. Only work I saw he did was the house on 2nd street NE that he did. But I did try to reach out to him earlier this spring (texed him), but haven’t heard anything back. Now this news.