A mortgage isn’t just a security against a property or even a home loan — it’s the key to what many of us feel really is the good life, and what could be better than that? When you’re really thinking about the future in a big way, chances are good that you’re thinking about owning your own home. However, if you’re going to do that, then you really need to make sure that you are looking at the situation from every angle. You don’t want to just go with the first mortgage that says hello — especially when there are some mortgage fraud schemes that you need to know about.

Technically speaking, anything that’s done off the table without telling your lender is considered under the mortgage fraud umbrella. So even if your seller is trying to hook you up with a good deal, it’s really not right to take it. When you go to purchase a home, there is a lot of money changing hands and kickbacks of any kind are actually illegal. If you are caught, you will risk jail time and heavy fines — definitely not what you want to think about when it comes to a home, right?

Right! Here’s what you need to know about mortgage fraud schemes.

One of the most common mortgage schemes that you might have heard about involves investment property. Lenders charge a higher interest rate if you don’t plan on occupying the property yourself. If you decide to go back later and actually not ever move into the house, then you are committing mortgage fraud. Now, this isn’t the same as living in the property for a while and then deciding to rent it out — that’s a completely different situation and that’s not considered mortgage fraud at all.

Another situation is when you make stuff up to make your mortgage loan application sound better. Now, you might have the real estate agent or another party telling you that everyone makes up a few things from time to time, but if you are caught fabricating information, this is also mortgage fraud. The lender needs all of your information to be correct, and they have departments that check for all sorts of things like this.

It might sound tempting to bend a few rules in order to get into a home, but are you really ready to pay the consequences if you get caught? It’s just better for all parties involved if you play it safe!