If you don’t think land sale scams happen on 30A, in Walton County, Florida, think again! Listen to the following scenario:

“Ring Ring!” My good client calls. She saw a lot for sale online on 30A, in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, in a beautiful subdivision just east of Rosemary Beach. I know the subdivision. She knows the subdivision. I’ve sold lots in there before, and so has my client. The price seems low. I dig to find the listing. It’s an outside agent who is not even using our local Emerald Coast Association of Realtors MLS system, so it took me some time.

Next, I thought, “Hmmmm, maybe the price is so low because this agent is not familiar with the 30A, South Walton real estate market. Or… the seller knows something we don’t know. Or… the seller wants to dump it. In any event, my buyer and I knew this would be a multiple offer situation. I sprang to it.

Scrambling to Write an Offer on the 30A lot

“Let’s go over asking price” my buyer requested. I called the listing agent to feel out the situation. Indeed, there were threats of multiple offers coming. I relayed this to my buyer, and she decided to go in even higher. In communications with the listing agent, she said the seller wanted a fast closing and preferred cash, as they were going out of the country. (Land Sale Scam alert – did you notice some of the red flags so far on this land scam?)

Within minutes, I wrote a clean offer, over asking price, with a fast closing and cash terms. The listing agent said it looked like the seller was going to accept it! After a half hour, and no word back, I texted her to follow up. Nothing. Then I called. She said…. “It was a SCAM! It was a FAKE SELLER!”

What? How could this be? I was shocked. I asked the listing agent how she knew. She said the REAL seller called and and said she found out her 30A, Walton County lot was listed for sale online! The problem was, she wasn’t selling it! Someone had assumed her identity and had posed as the seller.

How could this Land Sale Scam Happen on 30A?

“Did you know the supposed seller?” “Did you speak with the fake seller on the phone?” “How did the supposed seller find you?” I questioned the listing agent trying to find out how this happened. She said she had spoken to the fake seller numerous times on the phone. She said they found her through a Realtor lead site, supposedly. I actually have a hard time believing that, and think she was targeted because she was not familiar with the area, so wouldn’t have the right questions to ask.

How Land scammers work the fake sale

The land scam criminals will look for lots with owners out of the local area, who wouldn’t happen to drive by and see a “for sale” sign on their own property. They would pick a neighborhood, like this one on 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, with out-of-town owners, or a remote area, where noticing the fake seller would be unlikely. They may contact an out-of-area real estate agent who doesn’t know the right questions to ask, but not always. They claim they are going out of the country, and want a fast closing. The prefer CASH. Then they have a fake drivers license to provide to the title agent. They have fake bank accounts. Once the funds are wired to them at closing, they disappear.

how can you avoid a land sale scam?

If you are a real estate agent, and you are contacted by someone who wants to sell a lot, do the following to avoid a land sale scam:

1. Ask why the seller picked you as listing agent? If the answers don’t make sense, take note.
   
2. Ask many detailed questions about the lot. Does it have public water and sewer, have the tap fees been paid, are there any easements, describe the property, describe the view, ask about association dues, association rules and regs, wetlands, environmental issues, zoning, price point, etc. If any answers don’t jive, get suspicious.
   
3. Ask the “seller” to send you a copy of their driver’s license and passport. See if they look fake (like having a birth date that doesn’t make sense). You could also request a Skype or Zoom call.
   
4. Express mail a letter to the address of the owner of record on the property appraiser’s website. That’s one thing the land scam criminal cannot fake. You will get a call back from the real owner if it’s a scam!

To learn more, read these articles about Florida land sale scams and selling lots:

Scam Involving Sale of Vacant Lots

Scammers are Everywhere

How to Sell Your Destin Florida Lot

Selling a Walton County Lot is More Than Sticking a Sign in the Ground

The post Land Sale Scam On 30A Walton County Florida first appeared on Rulnick Realty.

 

Yesterday I was intrigued by a new show on the History Channel called “Scammed”. The premier highlighted how everyday people were targets of criminal schemes, from seemingly innocent “bumps” on the street to elaborate investment schemes.  I found it amazing as to what lengths these hooligans will go to rip someone off.

The segment that stood out for me was one about buying an iPad.  A young man had responded to an internet ad which offered iPads at a deep discount. He met the “seller” at a sidewalk café. The  guy was in business attire and trumped up a story about his company having extra iPads that he needed to sell. He pulled one of the iPads out of its box to show the buyer. He was offering them for $300 each.  The buyer jumped at the chance and gave him $300 cash in an envelope.  The seller  then had an accomplice stop at his table and pretend  that she, too, was a buyer. She said she wanted to show the iPad to her boyfriend around the corner before buying, and asked if the seller could come with her.  The hoodster told the real buyer to wait for a minute, and to hold onto the remaining  iPad and his money until he returned.  The buyer waited. The moment turned into minutes. 

Perplexed and getting antsy, the buyer opened the iPad box that had been left.  What was in it? A piece of tile! Uh oh! He ripped open the envelope. There was no cash, it was papers!  The hood had run off with his real cash, and the demo iPad was gone with him, too.  Of course, this was a t.v. show that teaches people to avoid scams.  The actor came back, returned his money, told him it was a prank, and left the buyer red-faced.  He had been “had”! It had sounded too good to be true, and it was!

This reminded me of the time I bought Microsoft Office Professional from Amazon.  It normally costs over $400.  I paid $150, thinking I was getting a deal. I am a novice at Amazon, and I was stupid.  The software was packaged just like new.  It had an activation code and it worked.  For a few days. Then we started getting notices that the software was going to expire. The messages got more frequent.  We called Microsoft.  The product was a fake! I had been “had”!  It took my computer guy hours to remove the virus. He had never seen such professionally doctored software before.  Of course, it had to have happened to me.

Now what do I do?  I will pay more for something is genuine. My experience cost me a few hundred dollars.  Others have lost thousands more.  So, what is the lesson? It’s not just “Something that sounds too good to be true, probably is”.  It’s “Sometimes things that are good, cost more.”

The post Scammed first appeared on Rulnick Realty.