Real Estate has seen a huge uptick in Land Scams in recent years, especially with the ability to use mail-away closings and online notary services. This one is especially insidious, because you may be a victim and never even know about it. Scammers have gotten very savvy, mimicking owners so convincingly that they can execute a sale of land tricking the Realtors, Title Company, and even Notaries. There is technology in place to thwart them, but it’s not failproof.
People who want to hurt other people will find a way to do it.
The majority of my business comes from friend and family referrals. While I get the occasional website or inbound call, most of my business is from known sources. That’s why, whenever I get a “sell my house!” call, I’m a bit skeptical until I can prove the party I’m speaking to is who they say they are.
Last summer I got a call out of the blue. A gentleman with a Southern accent wanted me to sell his land on Logging Road in York, Maine – 2 miles down the street from my office. If you’re like me, you know we Mainer’s talk funny, and not the kind of funny this man was talking. I pulled my phone away from my ear, and looked at the number – out of state. I asked for the property information, which he provided, and got him chatting about the land, what he wanted to do, and why. I assured him I was looking up the property records online, “bear with me”, then asked to place him on a brief hold while I retrieved the rest of them. I quickly pulled the records and got to work, checking in occasionally to “confirm” information. On this call, I could hear what sounded like muffled, call-center chatter in the background.
I ran his number through Forewarn, an app that allows you to reverse search registered phone numbers, as well as people’s info, assuming you have enough of it. I ran his number and it gave me a criminal record report and other shady info for a guy out of Louisiana.
While I was in the app, I searched the deeded landowners name, and plugged it into Forewarn, which gave me his contact info. This particular parcel had been owned by this gentleman for at least a decade or two. I was pretty sure he didn’t Benjamin Button himself into a smooth Louisianian, but what do I know? So I called him and said “I know this is weird, but I’m a local realtor, and I have someone on the other line that I believe is trying to fraudulently sell your land”, and he confirmed that was the case. He wasn’t selling it. I took his email, and provided him all the info I had from the other guy, wished him well, recommended he set an alert for his property address, and see what he could do about reporting it. I also notified my brokerage so they’d be on the lookout for this scammer.
Unfortunately, with Land Scams, Realtors are the first line of defense, and we are actually liable if these fraudsters succeed. We have to be smarter than them, and part of that is educating the public.
How can you avoid a land scam?
- If you own vacant land, you must visit it at least annually. If you’re not local, find someone you trust to keep an eye on it. Make sure they have your contact information and watch for things like “For Sale By Owner” signs, or a surprise Realtor sign that pops up one day.
- This is also important, because land can be taken by Adverse Possession, and you don’t want squatters on your property, either.
- Pro-tip. If you’re ok with it, and you have someone you trust, give them permission to hunt on your property. Hunters tend to scout the land all year through, not just in hunting season.
- Set up a Google Alert. Once these properties hit the web, they get picked up by Zillow and all the other websites. A Google Alert will notify you if your search criteria gets a hit.
- Land often doesn’t have a legal address, so try the following when setting up your search. If the property is on Logging Road for example, make the query “Logging Road, York, ME” – This will ping you anytime something is posted with that information – police reports, vehicle accidents, homes for sale, etc.
- Also put your Map and Lot Number in a query (this is a totally made up one) “Map 002, Lot 013, York, ME”
- Have your Realtor set up an MLS search specifically for your type of property. These can be in a set-it-and-forget-it mode. For example, if your lot is 2.6 acres, your criteria could read: “Land, 2.25 acres to 3 acres, in York, ME. Status: Active & Coming Soon”. If your property, or a similar one meeting that criteria comes online, you’ll get the alert.
Don’t fall into false confidence.
The majority of information shared about land is almost always public knowledge. You can try pumping the seller for site-specific information, however this likely won’t be possible, because these fraudsters insulate themselves with a Realtor, who is their local expert.
You cannot trust ID’s and selfies. Google “Fake ID” and you’ll be horrified at the sheer number of options, plus an extensive library of visible licenses online. Anyone with a photo editing software can edit an ID.
I was recently in a class where it was recommended that you ask for a copy of the license and a selfie… because a selfie can’t be faked, right? AI. AI has gotten so darn good even a selfie can be faked. Trust no one, and if it’s too good to be true… it just may be!