@andreaprice110 🏡 Mysterious Tales from the Real Estate Realm! 🕵️♂️ Vacant Land Fraud ‼️ #vacantland #fraud #realestate #scammeralert #scamseller #colorado #coloradorealestate #coloradorealestateagent #realtor #realtorsoftiktok #realestatetiktok #fyp #fypシ
♬ original sound - Andrea Price
Last month, I received an inquiry from an alleged landowner seeking a valuation for his 5-acre land lot. 🤔 Excited about the prospect of a new listing, I promptly responded and engaged with this potential lead. The lead originated from Homes.com, a lead generation platform similar to Realtor.com. The individual appeared eager to sell and expedite the process but preferred not to communicate over the phone – a notable red flag! 🚩
The lead shared the property address and requested a valuation on his land. After conducting due diligence, I confirmed his ownership (or at least, his email name matched the property owner). This man had acquired the home in the late ’70s and held the property free and clear, meaning there was no mortgage attached to it. Deciding to dig deeper, I utilized the Forewarn app, a resource providing background information on individuals. The app revealed a phone number different from the one provided by the lead. Upon calling, I connected with the REAL property owner! Apparently, I wasn’t the first Realtor to encounter this situation with this same lot of land.
Following a conversation with my title contact, I discovered that this scenario occurs more frequently than anticipated. In some instances, the sale has even proceeded entirely with an imposter seller!
So, how can you, as a landowner, protect yourself from a similar situation? That’s coming in Part 2.