If you are a victim of a fraudulent real estate claim there are certain things you need to consider. I recently received a call about a fiduciary relationship where the fiduciary sold real property belonging to the trusted partner without their knowledge or consent. The property was sold to a third party who apparently knew nothing about the fraud. The problem becomes if this third party who purchased the property starts an unlawful detainer action or tries to resell the property. What are the defrauded party’s remedies? Certainly they could sue the fiduciary but what happens if they sue the party that purchased the property. There is something in the law called a BFP which stands for a bona fide purchaser for value. A bona fide purchaser for value is someone who acquires his interest in real property without notice of another’s asserted rights in the property takes the property free of such unknown rights. The elements of bona fide purchase are payment of value, in good faith, and without actual or constructive notice of another’s rights.
