Episode 1979
Don't Get Played: Eric G's Guide to Homeowner Scams in 2025
Hold onto your hard hats, folks! Eric G is diving deep into the murky waters of homeownership scams that are popping up in 2025, and trust me, you want to be in the know. He’s laid out his top 10 scammy pitfalls that homeowners need to dodge like a pro, from fake contractors lurking in the shadows to those sneaky moving companies that pull the ol' bait-and-switch on your wallet. It's a wild ride through the world of home improvement, where the stakes are high and the scams are sneakier than a cat burglar at a dog show. So, whether you're a seasoned DIYer or just trying to keep your home sweet home sweet, this episode is packed with the essential intel you need to protect your hard-earned cash. Grab a snack, kick back, and let's outsmart those scammers together!
Homeowners, gather around! We’ve got a juicy episode where Eric G. takes a deep dive into the treacherous waters of home improvement scams. From shady contractors who wouldn’t know a level from a lemon to the slippery slope of duct cleaning scams, Eric lays down the law with his top ten list of things to watch out for. He emphasizes the importance of hiring licensed professionals and doing your homework before signing those dotted lines. The episode is packed with eye-opening anecdotes and solid advice to help you navigate the wild world of home improvement. So, if you’re thinking of sprucing up your space or just want to avoid getting ripped off, this episode is your go-to guide for all the red flags to be aware of!
Takeaways:
- Homeowners in 2025 need to be vigilant against fake contractors posing as professionals.
- Beware of duct cleaning scams—always verify certifications before hiring a service.
- Moving companies can pull bait-and-switch tactics, so always get on-site estimates.
- Phone scammers are rampant; if a caller asks for payment via gift cards, it's a scam!
- Facebook and Nextdoor are hotbeds for scammers; always do your homework before hiring.
- Home title lock insurance is often unnecessary and may be a scam—research before purchasing.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Monument Grill
- NADCA
To get your questions answered by Eric G give us a call in the studio at 833-239-4144 24/7 and Eric G will get back to you and answer your question and you might end up in a future episode of Around the House.
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:The House with Eric G.
Speaker B:Your go to source for everything home improvement.
Speaker B:Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or just looking to make your space shine, Eric G.
Speaker B:Is here to guide you through the latest tips, tricks and trends coming up in this week's second hour of the show.
Speaker A:And here's one of the tricks we were just talking in the last break before that about moving company scams.
Speaker A:Some of the big ones are interesting when you're moving, you got to be careful here because some of the most common scams are just this over the phone estimates.
Speaker A:Be careful of that.
Speaker A:Instead of coming on for an on site inspection, they don't want it.
Speaker A:They just ask you how many rooms and they give you a quote.
Speaker A:That's a red flag there.
Speaker A:So you make sure you want to get a free moving quote so they can see what's going on and have it.
Speaker B:So grab your toolbox, put on your thinking cap and let's get to work right here on around the House with.
Speaker A:Eric G.
Speaker A:Welcome to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric.
Speaker A:Eric G.
Speaker A:Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker A:This hour is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grill.
Speaker A:Check out their new MN Essence series.
Speaker A:These Omni grills are spectacular and you need to check them out.
Speaker A:There's so much value there.
Speaker A:You can get the stuff that you would see on some of the high end grills out there for that home center price, which is amazing.
Speaker A:Check them out@monumentgrills.com now if you want to find out more about us here in around the House Show.
Speaker A:If you're a brand new listener, you can always find us at aroundthehousonline.com with our new website with new stuff coming up there all the time.
Speaker A:Make sure you check that out and when you're over there make sure you sign up for all of our YouTube channels.
Speaker A:All the stuff.
Speaker A:I've got one for the podcast and radio show here.
Speaker A:I also have around the House Northwest, which is our television show where we got about 650 videos up there as well.
Speaker A:So tons of content that might answer your questions for your next project.
Speaker A:Today I wanted to talk about Buyer beware, my top 10 list of scammy things that people are trying to take advantage of homeowners out there that you need to be careful of.
Speaker A:Now there's a lot more than 10, but these are the top 10 ones that I see out there that you need to be careful with.
Speaker A:That boy, they can get you good on it.
Speaker A:Now these aren't in A particular order, but they're all 10 or something that somebody could take advantage of you on whether you're young, whether you're old.
Speaker A:But if you're a homeowner, they tend to target you for these things.
Speaker A:So the first one here is an easy one.
Speaker A:Fake contractors.
Speaker A:I call them fake contractors because if you're in an area which most of the United States is, where they have to be a licensed, bonded and insured contractor, in my area, even the handyman have to be licensed, bonded and insured.
Speaker A:So if they're working on your house, they need to be licensed bonded insured.
Speaker A:Now, there are certain kind of what I'd call the Wild west that aren't even in the wild west areas that they don't have to have contractor's licenses.
Speaker A:And that's an area, that part of the country that, well, they don't care about protecting consumers.
Speaker A:And that's just what it is.
Speaker A:Hopefully those will change where they can make sure that everybody's got some kind of background check that they're insured, that you, the homeowner, aren't liable for their mistakes.
Speaker A:And what I mean by that is when you hire a license bonded insured contractor, if someone gets hurt on the job, they're responsible for it, versus if you hire somebody off of next door, you could be in a world of hurt because you're gonna be the employer.
Speaker A:So if they get hurt, they get paralyzed, fallen off the roof.
Speaker A:Guess what?
Speaker A:You are now liable for their medical bills and maybe their loss of work.
Speaker A:So that could cost you millions of dollars.
Speaker A:So you wanna make sure whoever is working over there on your place is licensed, bonded insured.
Speaker A:Now, there are some common scams out there that I see.
Speaker A:I will see contractors that are not legitimate contractors, but they do have that license bond insurance.
Speaker A:And they will let their buddies and friends that aren't licensed work under their license out there.
Speaker A:And that almost always catches up to them.
Speaker A:Now, you have former employers that might still have the business card and they might have jumped online and ordered a magnet for the side of their truck.
Speaker A:But now they're operating under their former employer and they opened up a bank account that is similar name.
Speaker A:And I'll say, let's make up a name, ABC Construction.
Speaker A:Maybe they'll open up a bank account that's ABC Contracting.
Speaker A:And if you write them a check, it's good enough.
Speaker A:Then they can either not do the job or they'll do the job, or they'll run away with your money.
Speaker A:So these are big ones out there.
Speaker A:So first Off.
Speaker A:The best thing to do is when you're gonna be hiring a contractor.
Speaker A:Just do some research.
Speaker A:Doesn't matter if you get them from a referral site like Angie's List or one of the other places, especially if you're getting them off next door or Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
Speaker A:These are all places where those sketchy contractors like to lurk.
Speaker A:So find out who your local or state agency is that licenses.
Speaker A:In my state, in Oregon, here where I'm located, that would be the Oregon ccb.
Speaker A:And you could call them up and give them the name and they will help you do that.
Speaker A:Washington Department of Labor, industries, every area has that.
Speaker A:So it's something you should pay attention to.
Speaker A:So that way you know that you're getting the right person for the job and it's not going to nail you.
Speaker A:That's the big one.
Speaker A:So make sure you're hiring that one.
Speaker A:Now, the next one is a Facebook group, heavy hitter.
Speaker A:This is if you're into any of your local buy sell trade groups, you'll see these people coming up with the same pictures, the same story.
Speaker A:Hey, I just moved into town, right?
Speaker A:This is the duct cleaning companies out there.
Speaker A:Now, there are legitimate duct cleaning companies and the ones that I trust are nadca.
Speaker A:NADCA certified, that is the industry leader.
Speaker A:They're the ones that train, test and certify companies to actually be good at duct cleaning.
Speaker A:Now here's the thing.
Speaker A:If you hire one of these other companies, they could be bringing in their own trash and dropping it in there to show you what they did.
Speaker A:They could come in with a little tiny mobile system versus the big truck one.
Speaker A:It's really depending on what you've got.
Speaker A:Now, some of those mobile ones can be really good.
Speaker A:It's just depending on what brand and what they're doing.
Speaker A:Some people come in with literally modified shop vacs and it's not near enough to do that.
Speaker A:So what I like is a NATCA certified company that has a relationship with either an H Vac company or they are an H Vac company.
Speaker A:So that way if they see something, if something is broken, they have somebody that can come take a look at it.
Speaker A:So I agree with duct cleaning every five years or if you've had major construction or you go down and look in there and it's super dirty, you might want to get that taken care of.
Speaker A:But you want to make sure you hire the right people.
Speaker A:There are so many scammy people out there in the duct cleaning world and it is amazing.
Speaker A:I see them on my Facebook Group all the time where they are just it's the same story, it's the same pictures, it's all of that.
Speaker A:And it just absolutely drives me insane when I go in there and it's so crazy.
Speaker A:You just see the whole disaster and people are going, hey, can you give me a price?
Speaker A:And many times you will have other people jumping on there that are family members of that saying, hey look, oh, these guys are great.
Speaker A:They will give fake endorsements.
Speaker A:These are all crazy things that I see happening that you've got to be really careful of because oh my gosh, these people, many times they'll get taken down by the posters of the buy sell trade groups.
Speaker A:But it's up there long enough for most people to go, oh yeah, that's a problem, that's a problem.
Speaker A:So you just need to be very careful of that.
Speaker A:Those are things that I just really watch out for.
Speaker A:And like other companies of that nature, those are ones that you just are cringers because you can see it lining up and people trying to get that information.
Speaker A:Now there are a lot of groups out there on social media that are well managed where they have to physically look and approve it.
Speaker A:Now the next one here is just as scamming.
Speaker A:We'll start it up here just before we go to break.
Speaker A:But what I see is a big one out there and in my state here, they go after these people all the time.
Speaker A:Unlicensed moving companies.
Speaker A:There are a ton of companies out there.
Speaker A:Many states have moving company laws.
Speaker A:So take a look and see what they are in your area.
Speaker A:But oh man, when you see this stuff happen, it can be absolutely insane.
Speaker A:Moving companies that damage your stuff, don't give your stuff, they will come pick it up.
Speaker A:You have a bad contract, they will pick it up, show up and guess what happens?
Speaker A:They go to deliver it and go, oh yeah, it took us a lot longer.
Speaker A:You're going to owe us another thousand dollars.
Speaker A:That kind of bait and switch game can be massive.
Speaker A:Around the house.
Speaker A:We'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker A:We'll be talking about our scammy things that can happen to homeowners just as soon as we return.
Speaker A:Don't go anywhere.
Speaker B:To find out more information, head to aroundthehouse online dot com.
Speaker B:Don't change that dial.
Speaker B:Around the house.
Speaker B:We'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker A:Other kids these days will never understand what it's like to play an instrument, to be in a band.
Speaker A:What's up?
Speaker A:This is Sticks it in Ya and Satchel from Steel Panther.
Speaker A:And you are listening to around the House with Eric G.
Speaker A:Yeah, we love Eric G.
Speaker A:And you should too.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G.
Speaker A:Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker A:This hour is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker A:Check them out@monumentgrills.com now we've been talking about the scammy things that homeowners need to be careful of.
Speaker A:And here's one of the tricks.
Speaker A:We were just talking in the last break before that about moving company scams.
Speaker A:Some of the big ones are interesting.
Speaker A:When you're moving, you got to be careful here because some of the most common scams are just this over the phone estimates.
Speaker A:Be careful of that.
Speaker A:Instead of coming on for an on site inspection, they don't want it.
Speaker A:They just ask you how many rooms and they give you a quote.
Speaker A:That's a red flag there.
Speaker A:So you make sure you want to get a free moving quote so they can see what's going on and have it in writing.
Speaker A:Now bait and switch is another one you got to be careful for.
Speaker A:So the moving company will offer you what appears to be a great estimate on it.
Speaker A:It's super good.
Speaker A:And then all of a sudden they show up and there's a new price and it's usually at the end of the move they're going to add on the additional fees and costs.
Speaker A:There's the switch.
Speaker A:So they got you at the low price and they get with the switch at the end.
Speaker A:So be really careful.
Speaker A:So it's already been done and it's a bad place to be.
Speaker A:So inquire about any itemized fees that may be included.
Speaker A:When you're out there, make sure you're good.
Speaker A:I don't like BBB ratings because the better business bure you can buy a good rating by being accredited.
Speaker A:So they take your check and then they make you look better than what you are.
Speaker A:I do not endorse the bbb.
Speaker A:It's big.
Speaker A:Now sometimes you gotta be careful too.
Speaker A:Required deposits can be interesting so they might not ask for one.
Speaker A:But some of the scammy ones do.
Speaker A:So be careful with.
Speaker A:Don't want to, don't want to give them paying payment upfront.
Speaker A:And then the other thing to watch out for too is very vague and thin contracts.
Speaker A:Be careful of that.
Speaker A:That's a huge one.
Speaker A:So they don't want to let you know your rights and responsibilities.
Speaker A:So make sure you understand what your state requires.
Speaker A:And then any of these things here that you can be really careful with.
Speaker A:I would work with friends, people like that we talked about in the last segment here and then get two or three estimates, find out what they're going to do for you.
Speaker A:And then also take a look and see if there's a complaint history there that you see.
Speaker A:So just be really careful.
Speaker A:There's a lot of big companies out there that will do it, that are common names.
Speaker A:There's a lot of great ones out there.
Speaker A:So take a look and see what you can find.
Speaker A:Many states have their, their stuff.
Speaker A:Like the Federal Trade Commission has tips there as well.
Speaker A:And so there's a lot of cool things on the consumer alerts you can find out for.
Speaker A:So take a look at those.
Speaker A:Those can be there.
Speaker A:Now, the one that I get really worried about.
Speaker A:And this happens usually with older individuals, older homeowners, even people, unlimited incomes that are not even homeowners, but phone scammers.
Speaker A:These are the big ones out there.
Speaker A:And there's a guy that I watch called Scammer Payback, and he is a guy that is on YouTube if you want to watch and learn about this.
Speaker A:Maybe even have your grandparents or your parents or you, if you're one of our loyal listeners that are in the retirement age, do some research, get an education.
Speaker A:If you watch that Scammer Payback, they go after these scammers, but you can see what they're doing to you.
Speaker A:They'll pretend to be Microsoft, they'll pretend to be your bank, they'll pretend to be Apple, they'll pretend to be the cable company.
Speaker A:These people will call you up.
Speaker A:And there are phone banks overseas, even in the US that will call, make you believe.
Speaker A:And here are some of the ones that I see that really get me going.
Speaker A:When they say, hey, I need you to go get some gift cards.
Speaker A:That's the big one right there.
Speaker A:If anyone asks you to pay via gift card, you're getting scammed.
Speaker A:If they call you up and want you to log into the computer and give them access, you're getting scammed.
Speaker A:So be really careful with this.
Speaker A:Microsoft is not going to call you.
Speaker A:Apple is not going to call you.
Speaker A:Irs, not going to call you.
Speaker A:But watch that Scammer Payback channel if you want to get a great education on this because this is the fast track to learning what these bad people will do to you.
Speaker A:It is crazy.
Speaker A:So spend some time, learn.
Speaker A:There's a lot of great videos out there, but Scammer Payback is one of my favorites.
Speaker A:It's entertaining and you can see how bad these people are and what games they Play to get you to do something to make them money and for them to take yours.
Speaker A:And what's interesting too is Pierogi over there, this guy, 38 years old or so, he is really into getting back at these people.
Speaker A:So if you really want to do that, take a look.
Speaker A:There are so many great tips that he's got over there and you could see what's going on.
Speaker A:He's got, boy, probably eight, eight and a half million subscribers and about 1.58 billion views.
Speaker A:So this guy is got it going and you can really see how he rolls these scammers up.
Speaker A:And so I enjoy it.
Speaker A:Follow him on social media.
Speaker A:He's a great guy to watch so you can learn and get a laugh of him turning the tables on those scammers out there to get after him.
Speaker A:Now the next one here is one that I think is a little scammy myself.
Speaker A:Now, I guess what makes a good scammy type thing is one that seems somewhat reasonable and I'm not a fan of this is my personal opinion.
Speaker A:There are people out there selling home title lock insurance in most states now this is something that could happen, but it's pretty hard to do.
Speaker A:And I think it's so rare that it's crazy.
Speaker A:Now ironically, these guys could be starting to get criminals to look at trying to do this.
Speaker A:But really what this is, this is a scammer that can go into the title company or go into your courthouse and basically steal your home out from underneath you without your knowledge or get a loan on it or do something like that.
Speaker A:It is very hard for this to happen.
Speaker A:Now the original ads that came out a few years ago said the FBI said it was the newest, latest, biggest scam.
Speaker A:So what did I do?
Speaker A:I was curious.
Speaker A:I called my local FBI office and talked to them and they said they hadn't even heard about it, let alone thought it was a big upcoming one.
Speaker A:So be careful of this.
Speaker A:I think that home title insurance stuff for you to go out and buy probably is not something you're going to ever need.
Speaker A:I think it's so rare.
Speaker A:Now rare means that there's always something that can happen.
Speaker A:So I just think the risk of you and take a look in your area, talk to a title company and see what they say are your state laws and how they have to do it so hard that they can't or it's nearly impossible.
Speaker A:So be careful with that.
Speaker A:If you want to pay for it, go for it, but no need to pay a bunch of money to people that you might not need for something that might not really help you.
Speaker A:Now I want to be really clear here.
Speaker A:This is not the title insurance when you buy a house that they say, hey, you're buying close to the value and they want to put a title insurance on it.
Speaker A:This is the people on the home title lock insurance.
Speaker A:And you're really starting to see some people can pay 20 bucks.
Speaker A:They can pay whatever for it.
Speaker A:It's really just a ploy to scare you.
Speaker A:All right, we come back.
Speaker A:We are just halfway through the list right here.
Speaker A:We got more to go.
Speaker A:Talking about the top scammy things that homeowners should be careful of just as soon as around the house returns.
Speaker A:We'll be right back.
Speaker B:To find out more information, head to aroundthehouse online dot com.
Speaker B:Don't change that dial around the house.
Speaker B:We'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker A:No, not from you, not from anybody.
Speaker A:Hey, this is Ron Keel, the metal cowboy from Kiel, the Ron Keel band and Steeler.
Speaker A:We are rocking around the house with Eric G.
Speaker A:Raise you.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric Chi.
Speaker A:Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker A:I this hour is brought to you by my friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker A:Check them out@monument grills.com now if you want to find out more about us, head over to aroundthehouse online.com we've got the website there with all the links to our social media channels, our two YouTube channels, the television show, it's all right there and a place that you can contact me if you've got questions.
Speaker A:Just head over to aroundthe house online.com we've been talking here about halfway through the show, talking about buyer beware scammy things that homeowners have to be careful of.
Speaker A:Now to go back, if you're just joining us on the radio show, we started talking about fake contractors, ones that aren't licensed, bonded insured.
Speaker A:We talked about duct cleaning companies and there's a lot of good ones and there's a lot of bad ones out there.
Speaker A:So make sure you find the right one.
Speaker A:Moving companies have a ton of scams out there.
Speaker A:It's one of the biggest ones in the country to be careful with.
Speaker A:And of course phone scammers, the ones that are pretending to be Microsoft, the cable company, Apple, irs.
Speaker A:Go down the list.
Speaker A:There's a ton of them and they can get you there.
Speaker A:And then I was just talking about the home title lock insurance, which I think is scammy as well.
Speaker A:It's just not something you're ever going to need.
Speaker A:It's so rare, you're better off putting your money someplace else.
Speaker A:Now, the next one here is more of a place that you have to be really careful with.
Speaker A:And this is Facebook Marketplace, and of course, Nextdoor.
Speaker A:This is the land of scammers.
Speaker A:Now, in my state, we have a pretty aggressive contractor board here, which is the construction contractor board.
Speaker A: And I don't, don't know in: Speaker A:So they would have illegal contractors on there breaking the law stuff that could be a $5,000 fine, and they would not allow them access into look to see if they could catch those people.
Speaker A:So Nextdoor was actively blocking them from getting access.
Speaker A:Now, the only way they could do it was for them to put in agents in the local neighborhoods, but they couldn't do.
Speaker A:They just didn't have enough people to do it statewide.
Speaker A:So, of course, there's a lot of places that couldn't be patrolled by the people that hold the contractors accountable.
Speaker A:So it was a really bad deal.
Speaker A:And so you're seeing on there a lot of people getting scammed.
Speaker A:There's a ton of these things on there.
Speaker A:And I really, really want you to be careful with this.
Speaker A:Whether you're buying products, whether you're buying materials, whether you're hiring somebody off of there.
Speaker A:This is the land of the scammy.
Speaker A:So be very careful.
Speaker A:When you're on there patrolling, looking for stuff, you're like, hey, I gotta go buy something.
Speaker A:And these days, when you're trying to buy materials, where you're trying to buy stuff, I see stuff all the time where I'm like, oh, this would be great.
Speaker A:But here's some things to look for when you see these pictures.
Speaker A:One, take a look if you're in south Florida and you know what that looks like, and in their pictures of the product or their services, and it looks like with all the fir trees and stuff, you're in the mountains in the Pacific Northwest.
Speaker A:Buyer beware.
Speaker A:That could be a problem.
Speaker A:I see that and go, ooh, we got a serious issue right there.
Speaker A:We need to be careful of this.
Speaker A:So take a look around.
Speaker A:What does it look like?
Speaker A:Does the yard look like what's happening?
Speaker A:What's going on?
Speaker A:Does it look like a place that you're going to sit there and go, wait a minute, this is not right.
Speaker A:So be very careful of what you see out there.
Speaker A:Take a look.
Speaker A:Do a deep dive.
Speaker A:Look at their reviews.
Speaker A:Are they brand new?
Speaker A:Are you the first post?
Speaker A:Or they have a great rating on Facebook.
Speaker A:Take some time and do your research and see what's going on.
Speaker A:There's a lot of scammers out there.
Speaker A:And then buyer beware.
Speaker A:Maybe not meet at your house to buy something.
Speaker A:Maybe you're going over to their house.
Speaker A:Or if you're selling, be careful there, too.
Speaker A:Seen a lot of people hand off bad cash to people.
Speaker A:Buy some expensive fake bills, show up, you're in trouble.
Speaker A:Maybe Venmo is the way to go.
Speaker A:Maybe they can Venmo you.
Speaker A:And that money gets in your account.
Speaker A:You see it pretty hard for them to un Venmo stuff.
Speaker A:So be careful with that.
Speaker A:So there's another one.
Speaker A:Just be very careful when you're hiring those Facebook contractors or handyman, that's another one there to watch out for.
Speaker A:All right, next on the list here, drain cleaning companies.
Speaker A:There are a lot of great drain cleaning companies out there.
Speaker A:They're the ones you call, you got a plugged sewer line.
Speaker A:It's Sunday afternoon on a holiday, you need somebody over there because you got friends over and the toilets are backing up.
Speaker A:Now here's a problem.
Speaker A:And I learned this from my buddy Roger Wakefield, the expert plumber, probably the most famous plumber out there.
Speaker A:This guy has seen it all.
Speaker A:Now here's what happens.
Speaker A:This is that bad drain company that comes out to take your money.
Speaker A:Now we have these cameras, right?
Speaker A:They're sliding the camera down in the sewer line to take a look at it.
Speaker A:Maybe it's roots, maybe it's a broken line.
Speaker A:Whatever the bad ones have pre saved in their system, which is just an old job that they can take a look at, they could save it as your name and the file in the time they jump in there, they run it, they come inside and go, look, here's the video.
Speaker A:Here's what's going on.
Speaker A:You have a broken pipe.
Speaker A:It's going to be $8,000 to come fix it.
Speaker A:So I always recommend when you've got a drain cleaning company, and I'm sorry for you drain cleaners out there, because this can be a hassle, I want them to be out there standing, you, the homeowner be standing there watching them slide it in.
Speaker A:And I want you to watch them do it.
Speaker A:Watch them put the camera in.
Speaker A:Make sure that you see it that way, you know it's not a scam.
Speaker A:They're not going to have it that lined up, but you can watch them feed it down.
Speaker A:You can see them move it and then you can see what's actually going on.
Speaker A:But most importantly, hire a reputable company.
Speaker A:Not too hard to find the name brand ones you're driving around with all the trucks and all that stuff.
Speaker A:Usually they're not the ones scamming you.
Speaker A:Usually it's the ones that are out there that are more of the small chuck in the truck ones that can really get you there.
Speaker A:So be very careful with these companies.
Speaker A:They might be the first one to call you back.
Speaker A:You might have gotten them off of social media, you might have gotten them off the web.
Speaker A:Hire a company that's got a lot of great reviews and then do your research to find out if they're licensed, bonded, insured.
Speaker A:Find out what the rules are in your state.
Speaker A:Maybe they have to be a licensed plumber to be out there doing it.
Speaker A:Find out what those laws are before you hire them to come out.
Speaker A:That way you know what you're dealing with and that way they can hydrojet it.
Speaker A:If they've got to get in there and replace something, maybe they can get it opened up and working and then you can get some estimates on somebody coming in there and fixing it.
Speaker A:Long term, that could be the issue.
Speaker A:So take the time and make sure you get the right people there because there are some scammy ones out there and they're getting people all day long and they're fixing a pipe that didn't need to be fixed.
Speaker A:But hey, they're getting their check.
Speaker A:And a lot of these guys make a commission on what they sell.
Speaker A:So those are the ones you got to be careful with.
Speaker A:So take your time, watch the process and make sure you understand what's going on.
Speaker A:If they're not going to let you watch it, that makes me nervous because that could be a total setup to see what's going on.
Speaker A:And then of course, if you can get a bunch of bids, two or three to find out what's going on and let two or three people tell you what's going on with it so you know you've got the right thing going on.
Speaker A:That way it'll save money and you don't get taken to the cleaners and that's never good.
Speaker A:Now here's the next one here, and this is a big one.
Speaker A:We'll have a few.
Speaker A:Maybe we'll have some time here for some honorable mentions in our last segment of the show.
Speaker A:But really, when I'm taking a look at stuff here, one of my biggest ones are the door to door contractors.
Speaker A:These are the ones that are knocking on your door trying to sell windows, trying to sell roofing, trying to sell pest control, trying to do all of that.
Speaker A:Now when they show up, half the time they'll be say, hey, I was at Mr.
Speaker A:Jones house right around the corner.
Speaker A:We're doing a job at his house next week.
Speaker A:And since we're going to be in the neighborhood, we could parlay yours on with that one and I could save you some money.
Speaker A:Now, they will use high pressure sales tactics.
Speaker A:They will give you an astronomical price and say, because we're just over Mr.
Speaker A:Jones house, we could save you 40%.
Speaker A:And usually that 40% price is probably higher than the next two people you'll get bids on.
Speaker A:All right, we come back, we'll wrap this up with a couple more and maybe a few honorable mentions.
Speaker A:Stuff that didn't make it on the top 10, but stuff you gotta pay attention to.
Speaker A:We'll do that just as soon as around the House returns.
Speaker B:To find out more information, head to Aroundthe House online dot com.
Speaker B:Don't change that dial.
Speaker B:Around the House will be right back after these important messages.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G.
Speaker A:This hour is brought to you by my friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker A:Check them out@monumentgrills.com if you want to find out more about us here on the around the House Show.
Speaker A:If you first time checking us out, whether you're on the radio, the podcast or streaming on the different streaming networks out there, you can find our website over there@aroundthehouse online.com make sure and subscribe to our YouTube channels.
Speaker A:We have two of them and of course, all of our social media channels as well so you can stay up to date on the latest thing about your home.
Speaker A:We've been talking about buyer beware, scammy things for homeowners to be careful of.
Speaker A:And this is always a tough one because you guys out there as homeowners have got it coming from every single angle.
Speaker A:Now for the people that want to be homeowners someday that are tired of living in apartments, they have to navigate it as well.
Speaker A:Fake home rentals on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace is something that is really tough.
Speaker A:And all of a sudden you can turn into a home that was maybe abandoned or bank owned.
Speaker A:Somebody decides to sit there and put it up as a rental.
Speaker A:They come over with rental paperwork, an account for you to put your money in and you move into a house.
Speaker A:And a few months later when somebody comes by to check on it, you're considered A squatter and someone has taken your money.
Speaker A:And I've seen this happen multiple times, and it can be pretty harrowing, especially when you know you're getting taken.
Speaker A:So a couple things that I would do with that, and these are big ones, keep an eye out for these scammers.
Speaker A:When you see just a general posting out there, this could be tough.
Speaker A:You want to ask, but take a look around.
Speaker A:If these people are not doing a background check on you, if they're not asking you all the pertinent questions, if you're not filling out a rental application and you're not meeting somebody there, that can answer questions for you.
Speaker A:When you walk around the house, what's the history on this?
Speaker A:What's going on?
Speaker A:Make sure that you're at least then dealing with an agency that's managing the rental.
Speaker A:That way you know what's going on.
Speaker A:Do they have an office?
Speaker A:Have you been by it?
Speaker A:Is this a legitimate place?
Speaker A:It's pretty tough to find out sometimes, but it's something you should be really careful of because the last thing you want is somebody sitting there taking advantage of you and having to move again or even worse, getting locked out of your belongings.
Speaker A:So be very careful out there.
Speaker A:For all of you people that are looking to rent or maybe even not do like an Airbnb, I would go through a company like VRBO or Airbnb or one of the vacation rental companies.
Speaker A:I've seen this happen as well, where somebody takes an abandoned property, cleans it up a little bit, and then they're making money off of it until somebody gets caught.
Speaker A:And Murphy's law says that's probably going to be you the time you show up your family for vacation.
Speaker A:So be very careful.
Speaker A:Now, the next one can be really tough to manage, but it's something you should keep an eye out on.
Speaker A:Stolen goods online, Craigslist, Facebook, Marketplace, especially when it comes to home improvement stuff.
Speaker A:I'll jump on there and see a whole boatload of brand new Ryobi, Milwaukee Black and decker, name it DeWalt Tools on there, brand new in the box.
Speaker A:Now that you're seeing stores lock them up, it's a lot harder for them to do that.
Speaker A:But I tell you what, you see a lot of that stuff where you go, wow, at that price, I bet that is stolen.
Speaker A:I bet that is not a legitimate thing.
Speaker A:So be very careful out there, guys.
Speaker A:There's a lot of building materials that have been ripped off job sites that subcontractors are taken.
Speaker A:You just gotta be really careful to see what's happening out there because you can get taken to the cleaners and the last thing you want to do is have some model number that shows up in a database and they go looking at you and you've got stolen materials.
Speaker A:So be really careful with that.
Speaker A:Use common sense.
Speaker A:That's all you have to do is use a little common sense when you take a look at it, go, ah, this seems too good to be true.
Speaker A:Maybe I don't want to do this.
Speaker A:And that could be the answer right there.
Speaker A:So be really careful with that one.
Speaker A:And no sense of getting stuff getting yourself taken advantage of because the last thing you need to do is be dealing with stolen goods and that can just not be going well.
Speaker A:There's my top 10 of the things to watch out there on scammy stuff.
Speaker A:But I tell you what, there's a lot more to keep an eye out on.
Speaker A:Some of the things to watch out for, things like wire fraud scams.
Speaker A:And there's a lot of different ways that they do this.
Speaker A:And this comes around with mortgage stuff.
Speaker A:I've seen this happen.
Speaker A:A scammer poses as your real estate agent or someone from the escrow company and tricks you into wiring funds for your closing to a fraudulent account.
Speaker A:So be very careful with that.
Speaker A:Make sure before you start wiring money that you get that real turned posture scams or you get that stuff.
Speaker A:Call, confirm, make sure that you're sending it to the right people.
Speaker A:Make sure that you're sending it to someone that you want to have it, not someone that sees that you have a house.
Speaker A:Many people post stuff up on social media, can't wait to get a house closing on Friday and your account is open.
Speaker A:They can find you really quickly and get that.
Speaker A:There's also a bunch of foreclosure relief scams.
Speaker A:People that are out there really being careful and then they're really close to being foreclosed on and all of a sudden they get a hold of you so they can stop this.
Speaker A:You pay them and they disappear.
Speaker A:So there are loan flipping scams where scammers will convince victims to refinance their homes, repeatedly charging high fees and points on every transaction.
Speaker A:That can be big.
Speaker A:You can get fake buyers.
Speaker A:I get these texts from fake buyers weekly on my phone.
Speaker A:They show up.
Speaker A:It's crazy.
Speaker A:The thing is there's some of these things that I would say are less likely to happen.
Speaker A:There's some home inspection scams.
Speaker A:The rental scam is what we talked about earlier is a big one.
Speaker A:And really the secret here is talk to your real estate Professional, whoever your realtor is, if you're getting into these things, just talk to them, find out what's going on and really pay attention to what's happening.
Speaker A:Because one simple phone call can really stop this thing from going sideways.
Speaker A:So be really careful and pay attention to that.
Speaker A:So there's a lot of those kind of things out there that you just gotta be really careful with because it's hard to navigate.
Speaker A:It's really hard to navigate.
Speaker A:One of the other ones that I see out there that is scammy too, is some foundation contractors in the real estate transaction.
Speaker A:What I recommend is if you're in a real estate transaction and you've got a crack or damage the foundation and it comes up in the inspection, hire the structural engineer first.
Speaker A:If you're listening to the show that's frequent, you've heard me say this before, but take the time.
Speaker A:Get a licensed structural engineer out there to take a look and write a report.
Speaker A:That's the first step.
Speaker A:But the problem is that because you have this tight inspection window, you're really concerned about trying to get things taken care of.
Speaker A:But the problem is that speed makes you an instant victim.
Speaker A:Because when you call up a company and say, hey, I need to next couple days, I need you to come out and take a look at this, they know it's a quick job.
Speaker A:They know they're gonna have to price it into the deal.
Speaker A:And oh my gosh, you could pay 50, 60, 70% more because a company sees you coming.
Speaker A:So what you wanna do is have the structural engineer come out and see it, tell you if it's a big deal or not.
Speaker A:If it's not, they can write a report and say, hey, that's good, it'll be fine.
Speaker A:You can repair it later.
Speaker A:It's not an emergency.
Speaker A:But if it is an emergency, they can write a report and tell you how to do it.
Speaker A:Then you can get some quotes and estimates based on that, and then you're getting a quote and an estimate on the same repair so you know who is trying to take advantage of you or who can do it quicker and what the cost is going to be.
Speaker A:So take some time, especially in these real estate transactions.
Speaker A:Some companies, there's companies in my area that I would never call because they get you going good.
Speaker A:And I'm not talking about some of the companies I work with, like John's Waterproofing, for instance, era, a sponsor of my show on the TV show here in the Portland metro area.
Speaker A:Great people, honest company.
Speaker A:Some of their competitors, not from my opinion I wouldn't do business with them.
Speaker A:So these are things that you should really pay attention to out there, because you're gonna pay 30, 40, 50.
Speaker A:I've seen people pay double just to get it done quickly so they can get through the process.
Speaker A:But that could cost you 10 or $15,000.
Speaker A:And unless you want to do it, be really careful.
Speaker A:Now, many times these scams are hitting older people as well, and there's a lot of red flags that you should pay attention to.
Speaker A:You're seeing.
Speaker A:And a lot of legitimate companies do this, Hey, I got a problem.
Speaker A:I'll come give you a free inspection, which is good.
Speaker A:But sometimes you're letting a criminal in your house to take a look at it.
Speaker A:And now the other thing to pay attention to is disasters.
Speaker A:When you have a hurricane, windstorm, floods, whatever, these people are coming in town because they see instant victims.
Speaker A:And it's just like some of the handyman scams that you see out there that aren't licensed, aren't bonded and improved.
Speaker A:They or they're just licensed, bond and approved contractors.
Speaker A:They're just not.
Speaker A:And they come in, give you a price, tell you what it is, and then come back and hit you with more and more.
Speaker A:And it's all that kind of stuff.
Speaker A:Sometimes you'll see them go, oh, I'm going to give you a killer deal because I've got these materials left over from another job.
Speaker A:Nope, that's rare.
Speaker A:Super rare.
Speaker A:These are things that you should be really careful of and don't pay for that job up front because that means they're just going to take the money, maximum 50% down, unless there's materials that they're going to buy.
Speaker A:That's a different story.
Speaker A:So be really careful, guys, and just take the steps slowly, and you should be pretty good to go.
Speaker A:If you want to find out more about us, head over to around the house online.com and make sure you follow us over there on all of our social media.
Speaker A:We're done with this show.
Speaker A:We'll see you next week on Wednesday for the midweek special on the podcast and of course next weekend for another two hours of the around the House show.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G.
Speaker A:And you've been listening to around the House with.
