I observed a lot of homes in southern NY for sale, where they were sold for a somewhat reasonable price, a little while later, sold at a huge loss, and then later, sold again, back at the current market value. I believe this is a money laundering scheme, and even reported it to the FBI (before I knew how corrupt they are). I never heard back from the FBI on it. In case you are wondering how it could be a money laundering operation, here is how it would work. Original owner A sells the house to buyer B at the legitimate price. Buyer C buys from B at the deflated price. Buyer C later sells at market value to buyer D, with that profit that buyer C made being passed back to buyer B (but I don't know how that transfer would be made; possibly through some other business deal). Owner A and final owner D are presumably totally unaware and uninvolved with this scheme. I found this happening in a handful of houses in one county in NY, and it was only as a result of looking to buy a new house, so I only observed a few dozen home sale records. My brief sampling suggests this phenomena is likely extensive.
It could also be that buyer C is getting the bribe/benefit from buyer B when buyer B sells to buyer C at the discounted price. Then to collect, buyer C sells to unrelated buyer D at normal market prices. I believe that there are many ways for the money to get moved around through friendly business dealings.
It’s called riding the market. Nothing illegal about it assuming the right gains and losses are reported. For example a friend could sell you a home at a discounted price from market price. You get a home for let’s say 50k and it’s worth 200k. You get the loan for the 50k then you turn around and sell the home for 200K+ market value to someone who needs a home. Rich folks pay each other in high value assets all the time. Rolex watches are popular in rich circles as a form of payment that is not taxed, simply gifted Rolex worth couple millions that the new owner can then sell for cash. The same applies to homes. And yes rich people have lawyers they pay to find the loops and stay under the radar. The IRS only goes after those who comply or can’t pay a good attorney.
Regardless of the scam, it is important that the markets stay free, regardless if people cheat and under report capital gains.
Yes, free markets should always be free, but when those free markets are used to launder illegal money, or hide money transfers associated with things like political campaigns, it should be investigated and prosecuted. I think when you have people running for President who know, and who everyone knows, have no chance of ever being considered a viable candidate, it's just to get campaign money that they can then use to "fund their campaign". Perhaps the house buying/selling scheme I mentioned is one way to mask the skimming of campaign funds. I think it is more likely organized crime doing it. It would be pretty easy to investigate, since the buyers and sellers are all documented in public records, although sometimes it is some LLC that is used to hide the name(s) of those involved. Celebrities will often do that so that people can't easily find out what homes they own.
I observed a lot of homes in southern NY for sale, where they were sold for a somewhat reasonable price, a little while later, sold at a huge loss, and then later, sold again, back at the current market value. I believe this is a money laundering scheme, and even reported it to the FBI (before I knew how corrupt they are). I never heard back from the FBI on it. In case you are wondering how it could be a money laundering operation, here is how it would work. Original owner A sells the house to buyer B at the legitimate price. Buyer C buys from B at the deflated price. Buyer C later sells at market value to buyer D, with that profit that buyer C made being passed back to buyer B (but I don't know how that transfer would be made; possibly through some other business deal). Owner A and final owner D are presumably totally unaware and uninvolved with this scheme. I found this happening in a handful of houses in one county in NY, and it was only as a result of looking to buy a new house, so I only observed a few dozen home sale records. My brief sampling suggests this phenomena is likely extensive.
It could also be that buyer C is getting the bribe/benefit from buyer B when buyer B sells to buyer C at the discounted price. Then to collect, buyer C sells to unrelated buyer D at normal market prices. I believe that there are many ways for the money to get moved around through friendly business dealings.
It’s called riding the market. Nothing illegal about it assuming the right gains and losses are reported. For example a friend could sell you a home at a discounted price from market price. You get a home for let’s say 50k and it’s worth 200k. You get the loan for the 50k then you turn around and sell the home for 200K+ market value to someone who needs a home. Rich folks pay each other in high value assets all the time. Rolex watches are popular in rich circles as a form of payment that is not taxed, simply gifted Rolex worth couple millions that the new owner can then sell for cash. The same applies to homes. And yes rich people have lawyers they pay to find the loops and stay under the radar. The IRS only goes after those who comply or can’t pay a good attorney.
Regardless of the scam, it is important that the markets stay free, regardless if people cheat and under report capital gains.
Sounds plausible, especially considering after 2 years of owner ship a couple can "pocket" $500,000 with zero taxes.
Yes, free markets should always be free, but when those free markets are used to launder illegal money, or hide money transfers associated with things like political campaigns, it should be investigated and prosecuted. I think when you have people running for President who know, and who everyone knows, have no chance of ever being considered a viable candidate, it's just to get campaign money that they can then use to "fund their campaign". Perhaps the house buying/selling scheme I mentioned is one way to mask the skimming of campaign funds. I think it is more likely organized crime doing it. It would be pretty easy to investigate, since the buyers and sellers are all documented in public records, although sometimes it is some LLC that is used to hide the name(s) of those involved. Celebrities will often do that so that people can't easily find out what homes they own.
Hence taking money for "handling" celebrities.