What to do if land you own shows up on Zillow for sale when you didn't List It?

[yz450mm]

I would be contacting San Bernardino county and letting them know that there is potential fraudulent activity on the deed to that property.

Then I'd be going to the agent's broker and demanding they get involved, only because she put up a fight and had a shitty attitude with you. The second that she heard there was potential fraud or title theft, she should have hit the e-brake immediately, not forced you to convince her to investigate something further.

 

[lbhsbz]

You might dig back a little deeper...like back to when you bought it, and make sure things were recorded properly and there are no changes made between now and then. Could be the realtor thinks you're full of shit because someone already stole it from you and on paper they are the legitimate owner, and you're a nobody trying to claim ownership. Regardless, I'd get the authorities involved. immediately if not sooner...County records real estate so I assume the Sheriff's dept. would be a good place to start.

 

[Havasu blue label]

So partial update.. tried to call the broker that Coca-Cola cowboy gave me could not get through. Called the listing agent and got through to her. She seemed surprised although she was oddly defensive.

She said the property had lots of interest and there was an offer accepted this morning supposed to enter escrow this afternoon.

All cash no surprise there.

Email address is not correct for the "seller" and she's been dealing only over the phone and email with seller. She said the seller was able to verify he is who he is and had all the right information.

After a long heated conversation I finally convinced her to put a hold on this while we verify identities.

Not like I have time to deal with this

Fuck thieves

What city

 

[WYRD]

What city

Oak hills/ Hesperia

 

[BabyRay]

Question for the real estate agents and Brokers here. Would it be more challenging to accomplish this type of a fraudulent transaction if the property is held or in a trust or a holding llc?

@ChumpChange @RiverDiva @COCA COLA COWBOY

In my experience, title companies always demand a copy of the Trust or LLC document. It wouldn’t really be difficult for someone to dummy one up, but they’d likely pick an easier target. The only downside is the costs and nuisance with setting up the entity, including but not limited to filing additional tax returns in some cases.

 

[RiverDiva]

So partial update.. tried to call the broker that Coca-Cola cowboy gave me could not get through. Called the listing agent and got through to her. She seemed surprised although she was oddly defensive.

She said the property had lots of interest and there was an offer accepted this morning supposed to enter escrow this afternoon.

All cash no surprise there.

Email address is not correct for the "seller" and she's been dealing only over the phone and email with seller. She said the seller was able to verify he is who he is and had all the right information.

After a long heated conversation I finally convinced her to put a hold on this while we verify identities.

Not like I have time to deal with this

Fuck thieves

Did you ask her who is handling Title and Escrow. You need to contact them directly.

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

So partial update.. tried to call the broker that Coca-Cola cowboy gave me could not get through. Called the listing agent and got through to her. She seemed surprised although she was oddly defensive.

She said the property had lots of interest and there was an offer accepted this morning supposed to enter escrow this afternoon.

All cash no surprise there.

Email address is not correct for the "seller" and she's been dealing only over the phone and email with seller. She said the seller was able to verify he is who he is and had all the right information.

After a long heated conversation I finally convinced her to put a hold on this while we verify identities.

Not like I have time to deal with this

Fuck thieves

I've worked on large teams with newbie agents that fall for this all the time. I've sold properties absentee, but personally I ask a lot of questions about the ownership, features of the property and motivation for selling to weed out any unknowns....a lot. Most agents that haven't been in the industry long, just want to get the listing agreement signed and move on. I'm getting hammered on here for throwing this agent to the wolves already so will keep my responses regarding real estate much shorter or just keep quiet.

 

[RiverDiva]

[email protected]

Also email the agent and the broker at the above email together demanding they halt this activity etc. if you message me the address I can get the Buyers agents # for you to warn them. You can call or text me anytime. 928-706-4200

 

[Havasu blue label]

Ask for the title company name and lic and brokers lic

 

[WYRD]

Final update.

Finally got a hold of one of the brokers. He was great and able to intervene to create a cancellation of the listing. That is in process and should be completed by early morning if not today. Filed a report with the FBI Financial Fraud Unit. Filed a report with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Looking into getting title lock put on all of the properties. Also going to put the properties into a trust that hopefully will act as a deterrent from this happening again in the future.

I've spent several hours on the phone with different agencies throughout the day today and one thing I have learned between all of them is that this kind of fraudulent activity on vacant land in the Southern California area is on the rise and very very prevalent today. Those of you that own land outright especially if you live out of state take heed and check up on your properties.

In our situation escrow was slated to open up today as in all cash offer was accepted by the fraudulent seller. If they would have been able to get this deal fraudulently notarized it's very likely that the cash settlement would have been wired to them within 7 days and they would have disappeared the next day.

 

[HNL2LHC]

And then pull out

That‘s what she said…..

 

[WYRD]

Ask for the title company name and lic and brokers lic

It never entered escrow so there was not a title company yet. I did contact the brokers and they were instrumental in helping get this thing stopped. Granted they have some culpability because their agent listed it in the first place without doing due diligence.

 

[Havasu blue label]

I would report the broker and the agent

 

[zhandfull]

I would report the broker and the agent

Sounds like the broker handled the situation professionally. The agent sounded like a newbie just looking to close a deal.

 

[CLdrinker]

Oak hills/ Hesperia

Mike Arias Jr at Chicago Title is a good dude. Maybe he can help.

If I can help let me know.

Google Search

 

[Havasu blue label]

Lucky you caught that .

 

[RiverDiva]

It never entered escrow so there was not a title company yet. I did contact the brokers and they were instrumental in helping get this thing stopped. Granted they have some culpability because their agent listed it in the first place without doing due diligence.

So glad you caught it in time!

 

[mjc]

Final update.

Finally got a hold of one of the brokers. He was great and able to intervene to create a cancellation of the listing. That is in process and should be completed by early morning if not today. Filed a report with the FBI Financial Fraud Unit. Filed a report with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Looking into getting title lock put on all of the properties. Also going to put the properties into a trust that hopefully will act as a deterrent from this happening again in the future.

I've spent several hours on the phone with different agencies throughout the day today and one thing I have learned between all of them is that this kind of fraudulent activity on vacant land in the Southern California area is on the rise and very very prevalent today. Those of you that own land outright especially if you live out of state take heed and check up on your properties.

In our situation escrow was slated to open up today as in all cash offer was accepted by the fraudulent seller. If they would have been able to get this deal fraudulently notarized it's very likely that the cash settlement would have been wired to them within 7 days and they would have disappeared the next day.

What was the selling price? Was it reasonable for what it was worth.

 

[WYRD]

What was the selling price? Was it reasonable for what it was worth.

Supposedly the offer was ran up to $350,000 for both parcels. I think that that is a fair deal for the market now but not interested in selling.

 

[hallett21]

Time to counter at $450k.


The art of the deal……

 

[skifaster]

Great to hear this got caught in time. Your first post mentions you were notified of the listing. Just curious how this got caught and you notified? Sounds like if you weren't notified when you did, even 1 week later, the outcome would've been very different. Even as much as this sucks, a waste of your time, and yet another example of how people suck... very happy you got notified and lucky to stop this in time.

 

[n2otoofast4u]

So I literally just got a call from an RE agent all excited to list a lot that I have and asking questions and finally got her to pump the brakes and listen……. Same scenario as the OP, total shit bag fraud deal…… looks like I get to setup a trust now as well.

 

[rivermobster]

Final update.

Finally got a hold of one of the brokers. He was great and able to intervene to create a cancellation of the listing. That is in process and should be completed by early morning if not today. Filed a report with the FBI Financial Fraud Unit. Filed a report with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Looking into getting title lock put on all of the properties. Also going to put the properties into a trust that hopefully will act as a deterrent from this happening again in the future.

I've spent several hours on the phone with different agencies throughout the day today and one thing I have learned between all of them is that this kind of fraudulent activity on vacant land in the Southern California area is on the rise and very very prevalent today. Those of you that own land outright especially if you live out of state take heed and check up on your properties.

In our situation escrow was slated to open up today as in all cash offer was accepted by the fraudulent seller. If they would have been able to get this deal fraudulently notarized it's very likely that the cash settlement would have been wired to them within 7 days and they would have disappeared the next day.

Well done.

 

[rivermobster]

Worst case scenario kinna deal...

California Woman Faces Off With Developer Who Built $500K House on Her Hawaiian Property—Without Her Permission

A CA woman bought a vacant lot in Hawaii with plans to build a home. Then a developer built a $500K house on her lot by mistake and sued her.

www.yahoo.com

 

[HNL2LHC]

Worst case scenario kinna deal...

California Woman Faces Off With Developer Who Built $500K House on Her Hawaiian Property—Without Her Permission

A CA woman bought a vacant lot in Hawaii with plans to build a home. Then a developer built a $500K house on her lot by mistake and sued her.

www.yahoo.com

Interesting read and crazy story

 

[caribbean20]

What is the role of the title company, and a title insurance policy, in all of this? Doesn’t the title company ensure a seller (the bad guy in this drama) has clear title? Surely there has to be some proof the seller (i.e., the person whose name is on the title), IS who he says he is in these deals.

Would seem title companies are not doing their job and would be held liable in these fraudulent actions. I just don’t get it. When I’ve done real estate deals in the past, you show up at closing with your ID, in front of a notary, before funds are released from escrow. If the seller did not have clear title, or ANY ownership of the land as in this case, doesn’t the buyer have to forfeit the property and the title insurance company would reimburse the buyer because the title insurance company did not do their job? What has changed?

 

[WYRD]

What is the role of the title company, and a title insurance policy, in all of this? Doesn’t the title company ensure a seller (the bad guy in this drama) has clear title? Surely there has to be some proof the seller (i.e., the person whose name is on the title), IS who he says he is in these deals.

Would seem title companies are not doing their job and would be held liable in these fraudulent actions. I just don’t get it. When I’ve done real estate deals in the past, you show up at closing with your ID, in front of a notary, before funds are released from escrow. If the seller did not have clear title, or ANY ownership of the land as in this case, doesn’t the buyer have to forfeit the property and the title insurance company would reimburse the buyer because the title insurance company did not do their job? What has changed?

From what I have been hearing through all of this mess it's a pretty common fraud scheme that has increased in popularity recently. The fraudulent seller claims to live out of state so they have to do all of the document signings electronically through something like DocuSign. They falsify all the ID and proof of ownership electronically. When it comes time to have a notary they either have their own notary who's likely in on the scheme or request a mobile notary that would be given false identification documents.
They focus on vacant land that is owned outright with no lender. Less sets of eyes that way and with only land you don't have tenants to deal with. They look for land that is registered in a single name so they can falsify things like email addresses, drivers license, social security cards, Etc. The common thread in all of these is typically just electronic communication maybe telephone, but no in person. That should have been a huge red flag to the agency but in my case the agent did not think twice about it. Once the money is wired the fraudster typically disappears forever to start a new identity and likely do it all over again.

 

[RiverDiva]

From what I have been hearing through all of this mess it's a pretty common fraud scheme that has increased in popularity recently. The fraudulent seller claims to live out of state so they have to do all of the document signings electronically through something like DocuSign. They falsify all the ID and proof of ownership electronically. When it comes time to have a notary they either have their own notary who's likely in on the scheme or request a mobile notary that would be given false identification documents.
They focus on vacant land that is owned outright with no lender. Less sets of eyes that way and with only land you don't have tenants to deal with. They look for land that is registered in a single name so they can falsify things like email addresses, drivers license, social security cards, Etc. The common thread in all of these is typically just electronic communication maybe telephone, but no in person. That should have been a huge red flag to the agency but in my case the agent did not think twice about it. Once the money is wired the fraudster typically disappears forever to start a new identity and likely do it all over again.

Well anymore not meeting your client in person isn’t as uncommon as you would think. Especially with vacant land. Might be different in other states but Havasu has so many part time residents that I list things all the time for out of town folks. I just always have my spidey senses ready to pick up any suspicious behavior. So glad you found out when you did.

 

[WYRD]

Well anymore not meeting your client in person isn’t as uncommon as you would think. Especially with vacant land. Might be different in other states but Havasu has so many part time residents that I list things all the time for out of town folks. I just always have my spidey senses ready to pick up any suspicious behavior. So glad you found out when you did.

You're probably right the world's just changing faster than us old guys can keep up with I guess. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and just have a little bit of the way it was, I don't think I would take it as for granted as I did.

 

[RiverDiva]

You're probably right the world's just changing faster than us old guys can keep up with I guess. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and just have a little bit of the way it was, I don't think I would take it as for granted as I did.

SAME!! I feel so sad that the world has changed so much. The electronic age is something that I had to adjust to…it doesn’t come natural. I would love if every connection was a phone call or an in person meeting.

 

[BajaMike]

I’ve sold a lot of properties and I’ve never had a realtor do a title search to List a property. Once it’s sold, of course the do one.

 

[monkeyswrench]

@WYRD , by any chance do you know if the other lot the broker posted was also a shady deal? I would think, well, hope at least, that an agent would find it odd that two properties were listed the same day from out of state people. I guess possibly if they were the same "owner", and adjoining lots I wouldn't question it?

 

[WYRD]

@WYRD , by any chance do you know if the other lot the broker posted was also a shady deal? I would think, well, hope at least, that an agent would find it odd that two properties were listed the same day from out of state people. I guess possibly if they were the same "owner", and adjoining lots I wouldn't question it?

They were both fraudulent under the same deal. We own 4 adjoining lots and they listed 2 of the back lots.

 

[n2otoofast4u]

From what I have been hearing through all of this mess it's a pretty common fraud scheme that has increased in popularity recently. The fraudulent seller claims to live out of state so they have to do all of the document signings electronically through something like DocuSign. They falsify all the ID and proof of ownership electronically. When it comes time to have a notary they either have their own notary who's likely in on the scheme or request a mobile notary that would be given false identification documents.
They focus on vacant land that is owned outright with no lender. Less sets of eyes that way and with only land you don't have tenants to deal with. They look for land that is registered in a single name so they can falsify things like email addresses, drivers license, social security cards, Etc. The common thread in all of these is typically just electronic communication maybe telephone, but no in person. That should have been a huge red flag to the agency but in my case the agent did not think twice about it. Once the money is wired the fraudster typically disappears forever to start a new identity and likely do it all over again.

This checks essentially every box with my property. Single name, owned outright, lives out of state, etc. They contacted the RE via email that was my name, but a Hotmail domain that obviously has no connection to me.