Most buyers probably don’t think too much about the licensing status of the agents they hire. But they should. And that is especially true in this market. The scam artists are out in droves. Looking up the license of your agent will at least tell you that he or she, a) received a license from the state, b) that their license is current, and c) if there are any past or current disciplinary procedures going on with your agent. Here is a recent example of how licensing look-up can save you a lot of heartache and money.

Take the case of Michael Carabajal; a resident of Vacaville, CA. Carabajal hired a realtor by the name of Alonzo Brown, III. Brown apparently presented him with a contract to purchase a short sale home and then let him move right in. And Carabajal was making what he thought were mortgage payments to Brown. He claims to have paid out roughly $48,000.

Turns out that Brown was indicted on federal mortgage fraud charges last summer according to the FBI. But that’s not the worst of it. According to the DRE’s website, Alonzo Brown, III hasn’t had an active license in California since April of 2007. And when he did have a license, he was suspended once for not meeting the educational requirements.

What’s really sad is the fact that Carabajal could have discovered all of this information with a few mouse clicks. All he would have had to do is visit the DRE’s License Lookup.

Carabajal’s case is not that unusual. In another case that I profiled earlier in the month, another agent was involved with mortgage fraud and once again, his license was expired.

And License Lookup is especially important for anyone who is in financial distress and thinking about selling. Anyone falling into that category is especially vulnerable to fraud and an attractive target for the con artists among us. Just remember, in California it is illegal for anyone who doesn’t have a real estate license to be involved in the actual real estate transaction. This includes so called short sale negotiators.

License lookup is free to use and it takes only a few seconds to give you results. If you find that you have been approached by someone with an expired license, or who doesn’t have a license, not only should you walk away from any proposal they bring you. You should also turn them in to the DRE.

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