Middleburg man shocked as scammer sells his waterfront property to a developer

Imagine owning a piece of waterfront property near Black Creek for decades and learning it’s been sold to a developer without you even knowing it. It’s a Middleburg man’s reality. His nearly 3-acre plot of land was sold to a Jacksonville developer by a scammer. Full story: www.news4jax.com/news/local/2...

[@News4JAX]

More details and updates: www.news4jax.com/news/local/2024/02/28/i-team-middleburg-man-shocked-as-scammer-sells-his-waterfront-property-to-developer/?Middleburg_Scam

[@suewms4305]

That sale is not legal. The land is still his.

[@klausschwab6808]

only because they caught it. most people lose out and the nigerians/ masosn from georgia get away with it.

[@lukesutton4135]

Welcome to the United States of China where the last Americans are about wiped out and there hasn't been a constitution since The Great Insurance Fraud and the sinking of the Olympic on April 15 1912. Private property? Please, no one owns anything in this foreigner's land anymore. If the constitution isn't up held neither are your lesser rights.

[@diamondjim7560]

@@Onemanstrash1 If there would have been a house on it, there would be one of three parties screwed, the homeowner that bought it, the developer that bought the land and built a house or the title company. The legal property owner would likely still have to sue the homeowner. Big mess all the way around. Seen Reddit stories like that.

[@user-go2st5fi9w]

I bet thise that made the mistakes at the settlement company were women. Women are running the offices, not men. The men are building homes, bridgers, roads, highways, etc.

[@oldbatwit5102]

@@user-go2st5fi9w What a sad attitude. You poor guy.

[@jerrodyeomans464]

Just multiple people not doing their jobs, got it.

[@onekerri1]

More like, multiple people involved in this scam.

[@AD59669]

Title for sure. I'm happy the bank caught it on time.

[@heaven-is-real]

the title company should have caught it and noticed it was a scam

[@samuelweir5985]

Message to the title company: "You had one job....."

[@Nonono7226]

The Florida way. Lie, grift, steal, ignore the law, and crap on your citizens as they beg for more.

[@JerryX1775]

The loser should be the buyer as it should default back to owner.

[@rockon8174]

Exactly!!!!!

[@Leatherneck3376]

The loser is the title company that failed to do the due diligence.

[@oliverheaviside2539]

Nope. The title company is responsible. Their entire existence is to provide due diligence to prevent fraudulent transactions.

[@snowflakehunter]

You are incorrect.

[@oliverheaviside2539]

@@snowflakehunter Who is incorrect? Whom do you think is responsible for this mess?

[@MaxPower-11]

Respect to Truist Bank for catching this in time and saving the title company’s hiney from its own incompetence!

[@user-xx3dv7yw1x]

$5,000 dollars profit after that 30 year investment on water front property

[@JohnSmith-nj4zq]

@@user-xx3dv7yw1x It could be the scammers wanted to get rid of it quick that's why they lowered the price to 40k. It'd be all profit for the scammers if the money got transferred.

[@samuelweir5985]

And shame on the Florida title country that failed to carefully check the documents and which authorized the $40K transfer before Truist Bank stopped it.

[@samuelweir5985]

@@user-xx3dv7yw1x That's actually a loss when you take into account inflation.

[@delta250a]

He could add a 0 or 2 to the end of his purchase price.@@user-xx3dv7yw1x

[@tomc.4860]

Any developer willing to hand $40,000 over to someone he's never met and for land he's never even set foot on deserves to have his money stolen.

[@Hoaxer51]

Not really, he went through a title company that should have caught the irregularities in all the paperwork. The title company is at fault here and should have to pay any costs for the original owner to get his property back. That why you should always go with a title company when you’re doing a land transfer, it like having an insurance policy on it.

[@anitamiller5913]

You should always get a title insurance policy. ​@@Hoaxer51

[@starrider4878]

We see how good insurance is working out for everyone 😂

[@anitamiller5913]

@@starrider4878 title insurance is one of the best most valuable products to buy during a real estate transaction. One time payment protects you until you sell. This is a garbage company clearly.

[@braddl9442]

to an OVERSEAS account. How do they not realize this is a scam?

[@politicsuncensored5617]

The title company was either lazy and/or in on the fraud. I have to show more proof of buying alcohol with a credit card than some property deals. That is really screwed up. Shalom

[@mhughes1160]

Somehow thinking ai 🤖 will be a problem in the near future .

[@hihatjas9477]

Never underestimate the power of denial on the developers part as well.

[@lutomson3496]

the title company is at fault here..and is liable

[@Salmagundiii]

Title companies are really cutting corners. I know of one that missed a 300K second mortgage on a house.

[@kpdvw]

"Title" company ;.....all they care for is getting Paid $$$....

[@Rebecca-ci3zc]

The developer thought he was getting this property for $40k after it was purchased years ago for $35k? The developer had to know this didn’t pass the smell test and tried anyway. Greed.

[@hihatjas9477]

I probably would have waited until they were done building the house. Then rented a bulldozer and pushed it all into the middle of the street. You know the developer was probably in on the scam.

[@GunnyO326]

@@hihatjas9477 Why do that? Either the developer would have to relinquish the home to you, tear it down themselves or legitimately buy the land from you. Frankly, you'd be in one hell of a position for negotiating a price on the land at that point.

[@catritz]

@@hihatjas9477 Crossed my mind as well.

[@vickiparrish3235]

I had a scammer SELL my home to a church! The scammer had made out a quit claim deed and everything looked legal. But the church pastor had failed to check with the court house to see who's name was on the REGISTERED deed. Mine was. And, get this, the pastor THEN demanded that I sign over MY home because he had bought it in good faith. It took my friends, "Mr Smith & Mr Wesson" to convince him to get off my property. 😊

[@AlvinKazu]

What a scumbag pastor.. I hate these people "of faith" who use "Faith" and bs against you. These people are supposed to be the kindest people of all, but they are usually the scummiest. That's horrible that you had to deal with that. Good for Mr Smith and Weston. You should have said "You should give the home to it's rightful owner... out of good faith." Hopefully everyone at that church learned of this incident and stayed away, but knowing about it, he's probably a narcissist, and the church his flying monkies and enablers. It makes me wonder if you even attended that church or if it was a random place to you?

[@mariolibertad9972]

It pays to have good friends like them, saludos

[@MultiBennyhill]

The pastor will build a new church with Satan statue smack in the altar .😅

[@sblijheid]

I like your friends already.

[@burly636]

He sure wasn’t much of a Pastor. Was it Joel Osteen 😅

[@touchofgrey5372]

My Mom went through something like this in the '70's; except the courts awarded her damages and she not only got her house back but received enough to buy a waterfront house in Madeira Beach! That was a shocker to her. It took more than a year though!

[@Evangelion543]

Hey that's not bad. A year isn't long, if the reparations are big. Insurance companies are good though as long the default is legit.

[@victoriayork9608]

My friends thought this would happen with their issue too, but their lawyers were not successful.

[@touchofgrey5372]

@@victoriayork9608 Sorry, to hear that; I think the reason my Mom succeeded was because this law firm discovered multiple cases where the title company 'knowingly and willfully' covered up the truth. Yes, a lot depends on attorneys... HOWEVER; I LOST my house because a realtor paid off the attorney to feed me a bunch of mumble-jumble of why I needed to move out of my house. (My entire life changed because of this!) Cheers

[@MR..181]

10 % compounded yearly?

[@glasslinger]

Sometimes the scammers have no assets. They may have a judgement against them but cannot pay. Happens all the time.

[@johnf8877]

Title company is on the hook. The title company charges fees for every transaction and then they try to skate out of their responsibility.

[@baomao7243]

Developer didn’t do their due diligence.

[@samuelweir5985]

The biggest fault for not doing "due diligence" is with the Florida title company which didn't catch the problem and authorized the $40K transfer to the scammers.

[@randyc5650]

The property owner should never be left holding the bag. The title company, the banks and the scammer should be held responsible even if the buyer built something on the property. The owner's DL had to show a US address and when the payment was to go to an offshore account at closing, everything should have stopped.

[@GunnyO326]

In no state would the legitimate property owner be left holding the bag. It will always be the "buyer" who's left holding the bag who would then have to go after the people who "sold" the property without a title. They likely even have recourse against the title company as well. Even had the developer built a structure on the property, they'd still be out. I'm willing to bet that they will never use that title company again.

[@Evangelion543]

Now, thats a bank you can trust. Real people with actual experience.

[@jimmystetler2572]

I dont think the police will have to look any farther than that title company.

[@hihatjas9477]

Or the developer.

[@robertslugg8361]

@@hihatjas9477Now that is a scam! The developer pays himself, as the recipient for the "off-shore," and then plays the odds that some DEI judge will grant him the deed to the property that he "paid" for. The big question is how much risk did the title company take here. Note to scammers: use this title company.

[@dickthedorkwing6082]

States could do more to protect property owners from this type of scam. Having a multilevel proof of identity and ownership would be a good start. Maybe even implementing a thumbprint verification system or a digital password system. Damn, I've got to jump through more hoops just to get past the lock screen on my phone.

[@spicypeach6946]

the DAs create the problem and get paid by the hour ro ::solve it" city girl mayor mentality

[@SJSU_Spartan]

This 👏🏼

[@robertslugg8361]

Show me a store which thumbprints checks and I'll show you a store that gets way fewer bad checks.

[@ReadTheShrill]

The guy had the deed in-hand, and county records to match. He was in no danger of losing his land. The developer lost $40,000, but they will recover it from title company, whose sole job is to prevent this sort of thing.

[@dickthedorkwing6082]

@@ReadTheShrill except this whole thing was a scam from the get go. It was a foreign developer that "purchased" the property and it was most likely the same developer that had the false deed created in the first place. Guaranteed that they lost absolutely no money. The best way to stop these types of scams is to ban foreign agencies from purchasing land on American soil. Renting is one thing but no foreign company or nation should be able to hold ownership over any land in the US.

[@j.thomas7128]

TITLE COMPANY FAIL!!! How the title company pushed this through needs to be investigated.

[@kristinabolba1351]

HE OWNS THE HOUSE PERIOD...... WTF.......NOT RIGHT DANG CROOKS

[@rb5174]

What house?

[@thomaswetzel6796]

@@rb5174”if they built a house god knows what woulda happened”

[@sawhite27]

What title company was involved in this? They are negligent.

[@lat1502]

I live in St Pete, FL (Pinellas County). We have a very simple system to prevent this type of fraud. You register your email with the Pinellas County Property Appraiser. Any and all transactions that go through the Property appraisers office and an email is sent to the owner of the property. As far as I'm aware, there's never been any problems in Pinellas County.

[@sblijheid]

No kidding, genius! That's exactly what they said in the report. Did you even watch the video?

[@altha-rf1et]

@@sblijheid no it was not each county has its onw way of notifying people the state has there way

[@michaelphillips3158]

Well if he has the deed to the property then that’s that. Another tactic to force people out something by keeping it tied up in court costs. It’s pathetic. He has the deed that all there is to it it still his property.

[@tallie338]

The buyer also should do their research before buying anything.

[@flick22601]

Another example of the news media giving too many details on what went wrong. Reminds me of them constantly saying that Russian submarines made more noise than American ones. That problem was rectified in just a few years. When these scammers know exactly what they did wrong, they'll make double sure not to do it again.

[@patmcbride9853]

Government can move at light speed to extract money from you or tell you you can't do something. But they move as fast as molasses in January when it comes to catching up to technological vulnerabilities.

[@lindajohnson.]

Thank goodness someone stopped this fraud! 😢

[@ur1cat]

Thank you Truist for catching the scam just in time.

[@acuralee]

Man the bank that stopped this are heros.

[@archer1803]

I don't understand. Was the Florida developer part of the scam? Why would any developer not do their due diligence before spending any money?

[@RideWNC]

Huge thanks to Truist bank! Good job for their staff for catching this.

[@ras9875]

The developer got scammed

[@khalee95]

If they build on your property, go to the State and ask if you can collect some taxes.

[@stevenfink2086]

Developer is behind this news flashh***

[@FVWhimsy2010]

Excellent work from Truist Bank...positive testamony is the BEST advertisement for a business.

[@princessmarlena1359]

That’s why you have to keep an eye on your assets. For land, keep the deed in a safe place along with all receipts of parcel taxes paid. Place a fence around your land with “No Trespassing” signs, and use remote outdoor environment “game cameras” to help keep watch. Also, be sure to look up your property address online occasionally to be sure no one is listing it for sale.

[@ann40069]

I live in Northwest Wyoming. Same thing happened here...some scammer tried to sell a man's property to someone from out of state.

[@thirdcoastknuckles]

Wouldn’t the developer be the one shorted and the man’s property still his? He has the deed?

[@richsmobileautorepair9203]

This should NEVER be POSSIBLE. PROTEST YOUR REPRESENTATIVES

[@suprememagnetic4850]

Wow, now we got people stealing houses and land without the law doing anything about it

[@robertallen2366]

Until there’s actual consequences for stuff like this it’s going to keep happening!!

[@maestrovso]

The "reporter" made it sounds like the land owner is at risk, which he is not. The person that most likely at risk is the title company, or less so the buyer.

[@dewboy910]

The TITLE company is responsible for ignoring the obvious errors! Somebody recently tried to sell the property across the street from us without the owners knowledge. They got it surveyed and one of our neighbors called the owner who was able to put a stop to it. I don't know who paid for the new survey.

[@frankietyree1953]

COME ON! This is happening everywhere! State to State! Why does our government and the news keep acting like they have never seen this!

[@PraveenSriram]

I really hope that never happens to my land and property. Watching this news 📰 story really frightens me! I will be on the lookout for scams from now onwards.

[@mariolibertad9972]

Yeah, me too

[@bradschwamberger1217]

So what are we paying a Title Co. for?

[@robertslugg8361]

A question that needs to be asked more often. For 99% of the transactions it is a 15 minute trip to the recorders office and some typing.

[@anitamiller5913]

You're paying for title examination and insurance. This title company sounds like a crappy company with no checks and balances.

[@tammiebroggins]

So dude stole the land and sold it and it's legal?if I did that . I'd go to jail. 😮

[@anitamiller5913]

Bank didn't allow the sale to go through.

[@melberry7611]

If it is theft, it should be returned. The developer who bought it is the one who should sue the scammer to have his money returned.

[@brandonhennessy4009]

In my province in Canada we use the Torrens System for our property and cars. We don't physically hold title, we do not have instances like this up here, very clear paper trail and no duplicates.

[@karlburmeister1552]

Sue the title company. Total incompetence.

[@anitamiller5913]

Sue for what? Transaction never happened.

[@MrIdasam]

Think of what the scammer could accomplish if they would put their effort into something positive and constructive.

[@readhistory2023]

If they're not on record as the owner of the property how did the sale as recorded as valid? Someone was Auditor's or the registar's office was asleep at the wheel.

[@Rebecca-ci3zc]

Did you watch the video? This comment makes me think “no”.

[@michelle8190]

Who wants to guess it was the developer is the scammer?

[@XX-rr6lg]

You buy a stolen property, buyer's loss like in everything else. Also, in person verification will stop this from happening.

[@robertslugg8361]

What next? In person voting? ;-) Fraud is fraud.

[@WolfRun59]

The buyer had to know this was shady and thought they could get away with it

[@rickbruceroche2038]

This is why you have a Trust.

[@AMERICANPATRIOT1945]

There is only one logical, legal conclusion to this scam sale and that is for the original owner to keep the property. Even if the developer built a structure on the property, that structure belongs to the actual owner who never sold the property. Anyone who disagrees with this should understand that it must be up to a buyer to exercise due diligence on any purchase. A developer is a professional and has every responsibility and duty to determine who is the actual owner and contact that owner. That is what local land records are for. A current name on a title or deed with another owner only a few days, weeks, months, or even a year or so ago should be an instant red flag to pay a visit to the property, and that old owner to make certain that there is no fraud. There are many other things a good real estate lawyer will do to make certain that a piece of land is actually for sale for their client. This case looks like the developer could just as easily have been part of the scam as a victim of the scam, since the scammer was never actually located. This case is also why all or most adverse possession must be eliminated from our legal system. Adverse possession is an ancient abuse and was invented of, by, and for the wealthy and politically powerful to take advantage of and steal from honest people.

[@anitamiller5913]

You do not know the legal meaning of adverse possession.

[@AMERICANPATRIOT1945]

@@anitamiller5913 , And what makes you believe that I don't understand the meaning of adverse possession? I am adding adverse possession as an addition to this thread, not a logical conclusion of the bad behavior of the scammer depicted here. I only brought it up because adverse possession is severely abused by many scam artists who take advantage of weak laws that favor adverse possessors at the expense of their victims, and that must be stopped. The time frame is some states is only threee years or so, which is about the length of a standard tour of duty in the military. Some prison terms are over ten years. Should a soldier deserve to lose their property while they are out protecting the scam artist's freedom? Should a convict face the additional punishment of losing their property when that was not included in the sentence? Should someone who is ill and bedridden be subject to losing their inherited home the way a man in the UK was, at the hands of a freeloading thief? Adverse possession is an ancient legal concept invented by the Romans to enable their patrician class to steal land from plebians who served in the army. Those plebian soldiers would return home to discover their land stolen from them by patricians with government connections necessary to make the theft stick. A new class of landless Roman citizens was created as a result. This was part of what enabled Julius Caesar to destroy the Roman Republic and start the empire. The practice continued through the Middle Ages to today, with the same disastrous consequences for countless victims of well connected adverse possessors. One only has to think for a moment about the practical reality of a well connected developer putting up a structure or even a whole development on one's land while one is away, or a squatter sitting on one's inherited home while one is out on military duty, or any other extended absence and it become crystal clear that there are better methods of handling land disputes when one occupies an apparently abandoned property and the owner of record, or long lost heirs show up. One should never have to get into a lawsuit with a total stranger or even a family member over property that one has ownership of, simply on the say so and occupation of the property by that usurper. No one should have to yield a piece of land to a bully neighbor who knows a judge or bureaucrat. Anyone contemplating taking possession of a piece of property by squatting should be required at the very least to exercise due diligence by going to town hall to look up the owner of record and attempting to locate and purchase the property at market value. Our legal system should have zero sympathy or recognition of rights for squatters and adverse possessors. There is absolutely no reason to allow a squatter or adverse possessor to be rewarded for their dishonest behavior. I will also throw in that the Kelo vs New London SCOTUS decision must be reversed and discarded as the piece of garbage that it is, along with any recognition of eminent domain seizure by private entities or government on the behalf of private entities. If anyone wants the property of another, let them make an offer for it as the laws of capitalism demand. When the shoe is on the other foot and the wealthy stand to gain, they are the first ones to scream bloody murder and call people communists when the government gets involved. Why then should the government ever have the right to seize property on behalf of a private entity simply because another private entity won't fork over title to their property for cheap or free? It really is time to enforce the US Constitution and put an end to these and other abuses of our property rights by well connected wealthy thieves and their pet pocket politicians.

[@kpdvw]

a fraudulant sale = NO Sale....!

[@lynncarden]

Point Is You Never Sign on the dotted line for anything you have NOT seen, went to local county COURTHOUSE to physically open taxbooks/ land deeds books... and go walk property... and never put a cent down ....til you know if it has a clear title ... check delinquent taxes. People who work in these offices are a wealth of info.

[@anitamiller5913]

So is a GOOD title company that's their job!

[@locklear308]

"What if they had built a house?" Then they would have to pay to remove the house and restore the land. Insurance most likely.

[@espnmk]

Scammers are obtaining City records for this properties how else would they know about the land, this is a City Municipally problem, City should be on the hook for this guys property. There should be a two way authentication where a person walks into Records Dept and puts in a request and notification to property the owner only to be advised and give consent to view Records.

[@lisalastnamesmith]

My gut says that the title company is involved.

[@davidward3991]

A man who had land in his family for over 100 years woke up to machinery driving on his land. He went out and told them to get off his property and the foreman told him all the land had been purchased from the city. He told them to stop and drove into the city with his deed. The city had to go look it up and find that there were no taxes due and he was the owner. The city had to refund over 3 million dollars to the contractor. The contractor went to the owner and said I still want to build here. The owner said no. He told the contractor to leaven. The contractor came back with his attorney and told the man to get off their property because it was for the city and he could not stop progress. The owner went to get his rifle and told them to get off his property. He had called the police and they arrested the contractor and the attorney for their strong arm attempted theft. The owners grandson now owns the land and the city still cannot build on it. The grandson went to high school with me and I met his grandfather. This was in 1980 and I am glad the city cannot take the land.

[@CPreacher40]

my relatives own a piece of property in another state that is currently surrounded by new development. the properties next to theirs are already bought by a development corporation and some how they managed to get their properties value lowered so they only have to pay a fraction of the property taxes that my relatives pay. relatives property is around 40k and the devs is around 2.5k yet the properties are the same size and exactly the same in every way.

[@user-hz9tj8qk5o]

If those properties really are relatively similar, it seems like your relatives may have a very good case to have their taxes lowered. Where I live, there is a period of time every year for property owners to appeal their property valuations so adjustments can be made. I recommend for you to talk with your relatives about this.

[@bmanagement4657]

Mistakes like this shouldn't be on taxpayers to fix.

[@jcook2433]

Yay Truist!!! Love them! Good job. ❤

[@Mike__B]

Correction, his property didn't get sold to a developer, a developer got scammed out of their money to a scammer, his property should still be his property.

[@robertlivingston5175]

I'm sure the developer had nothing to do with it. Wink, wink.

[@Brainbaskit]

"there's no way!" Yes way!

[@Brian-pz3wh]

The developer did not do any proper due diligence. He's out the money.

[@michaelodonoghue7464]

In South Australia, My original Deed of Ownership was an A3 sized piece of Parchment which listed Myself and all previous Owners. Today the Deed of Ownership is an A4 piece of Paper printed by a Computer which simply lists My Name. Forging My Deed of Ownership has never been easier.

[@maecarpenter6735]

Petition your government to return it to the original way. That is absolute madness what you just informed us of.

[@samyoung3592]

Title company dropped the ball

[@pfrydog]

The title company was crooked as well.

[@jackburton2680]

Should be criminal statutes to hold a title company responsible in a situation like this

[@GunnyO326]

They don't need criminal liability when civil liability is always attached. The title company will most definitely be sued.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

In my state any property sale must go through a title search. Why wouldn't developer understand that the scammer was flipping the property? Can he sue and keep developers off it. Thank God he figured it out. He can sue the title search company. Thank God the bank caught it. Wonder why they picked his property? Property alert sounds like a good idea.

[@rockymntnliberty]

I start listening to a story like this, and before long I'm wondering how much of what they're saying is even true. The owner of the property was first clued in when he found the piece of equipment on the property, the scam was revealed by the police detective, and the scam was caught and stopped by the bank. Okay, so which one actually stopped this crime and its tracks?

[@sandysandy1872]

I’m a realtor and the “seller” wanted me to sell her acreage in central FL. I asked for ID name matched tax info. I got a cash buyer but when the “seller” told me to send the paperwork to the London embassy that was a red flag 🚩 called everyone on Facebook with the same name. Found the lady. I saved the day the family thanked me….but she called the cops and the DBPR on me saying I should have known??? Missed that forensic files investigator class in real estate school I guess. 😢

[@anitamiller5913]

That's insane to report you. 😮

[@bradlevantis913]

His land wasn’t sold. The buyer was scammed. He owns the deed. It was always his. Even if a house was built on it he was always the rightful owner. The buyer was the victim not the property owner

[@btingey]

Terribly reporting. The property owner was never at risk. It’s the developer who was at risk and was ripped off, nor could he have ever gotten a building permit. Nor sold the house if it had been built, which would have belonged to the original property owner… a lot of stupid people involved here.

[@niveknospmoht8743]

Title Company needs to lose their license for a few months. Kudos to the person at the bank for catching this in time

[@SaintBigAl]

That's freaken scary!

[@ekloosterman]

That’s why you need to have title lock

[@paulharvey1947]

The Alert System should be a passive system, meaning the owner SHOULDN'T have to do anything and it is upon the City to protect their citizens

[@creolelady182]

The buyer should have done their due diligence

[@michaelphillips3158]

Thank God for the bank then. They finally done their job right for once.

[@jackburton2680]

Outrageous As much as title companies charge, they should NEVER make mistakes. That company should be forced to go out of business. I have a hard time believing it isn't in on it.

[@peterallen4605]

If they built a house on his land? If he liked it: "Thank you very much for building me a house, now please don't come back onto my property for any reason." If he didn't like it: "Mr. Developer, you must remove this material and restore the site to the way it was before you began damaging it."

[@lightneko]

It’s almost safer to keep your property under a mortgage so the bank takes care of the deed 😢

[@victoriayork9608]

Our friends were paying their mortgage every month to Chase. One day he noticed a man outside his house taking pictures, so he went outside and asked him what he was doing. The dude says “I’m taking pictures of my house!” Somehow his mortgage payments were deferred somewhere else (bank insider?), house went into foreclosure, and someone bought it…..for awhile they thought they would recover some of their investment, but they never were successful. They lived with their kids a long time…..it happens folks. This was in WA State.

[@SolarizeYourLife]

Wow, the bank stop it.... unbelievable...

[@dpc0809]

If the land was cleared and a house was illegally built on his property then he would have had a great case to sue for the removal of the house and restoration of the land. Then the case would most likely be settled where he may have received the house for an agreement not to force the builders to pay for removal and restoration.

[@5400bowen]

I had a file as a loan officer that the title company said couldn’t go through, as there was a forged signature on the last transfer of ownership. My processor looked into it and she called the title company and pointed out that they had done that former transaction…suddenly the file was cleared to move forward.

[@1MiketheMechanic]

It's sad that we have more ownership rights to our vehicles than our property. The title and transfer system of property in this country needs to be changed. If you pay in full for a vehicle you own it outright and no one, including the government or an HOA, can take it from you. Property always has taxes due and in many cases an HOA that can foreclose for frivolous violations. You never own that property. Land of the free, sort of.

[@cas2985]

These developers are complicit, they know that property is worth way more than $40K. Wouldn’t doubt they were involved.

[@paulettebarrow9791]

So is this guy able to sue anybody?

[@fladave99]

City is too CHEAP to allow passwords on property deeds.

[@MilesCantRun]

Isn't this basically what Napoleon Bonaparte did with the Louisiana Purchase? (obviously the Louisiana purchase was seemingly infinitely more harmful, but you get the gist)

[@jahn9960]

All title on real estate work should be done in person or zoom.Quit claim deeds only in person and notarized.

[@actuallyitisrocketscience]

Not “every” county has a property alert service.

[@diceportz7107]

In my state, you must have the abstract updated as part of the sale process. I think that helps in this type of transactions.

[@williamguru]

The property owner didn't get scammed, the property developer did. Why is the burden of this crime being placed on the owner? It seems like the system is rigged in favor of business interests.

[@Faith_Hope_Live]

The buyer, the land buyer, did NOT do his job. He was scammed and it was his fault for not checking if SELLER was legit.