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What about sinking 3 2x4s into the ground and nailing a 4x8 sheet of plywood with a tastefully painted sign indicating the property is not for sale? It won't s
by thekevan 8mo ago
What about sinking 3 2x4s into the ground and nailing a 4x8 sheet of plywood with a tastefully painted sign indicating the property is not for sale?
It won't stop everyone but any realtor doing due diligence will likely see it. If is lasts long enough, it will show up on Google street view as well.
- teeray 8mo agoA motivated attacker need only don a green safety vest and hard hat, then roll up with a white pickup truck, place some orange safety cones and take down the sign with a chainsaw.
- jgoldshlag 8mo agoThe point is that nearly all of the people doing this don't even live in the country where the land is being sold from. A simple sign would probably be quite effective
- teeray 8mo agoTrue, but you can still do a confused deputy attack. The fraudster hires a property manager, informs them that they would like to remove the sign because they wish the list the property for sale. Either that or they con a realtor they're working with into doing it. The unknowing realtor, eager for the commission, knows a guy who can take it down.
- zamadatix 8mo agoThere's always something that can happen in any scenario. Social engineering, hiring locals, deeper forms of identity theft, or worse. The possibilities never hit 0, they just become a lot less profitable (and a lot riskier) a scam to try to run.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 8mo agoYes, locks aren’t there to prevent the determined thief. They are for the 99% of other opportunists that will move on to an easier target immediately when they see your lock is harder to defeat
- 1970-01-01 8mo agoWho's paying for it? Are they working for free?
- bluGill 8mo agoNo, but paying someone $300 is cheap when you hope to get a check for several hundred thousand in a few months. (even if the scam is only to get the earnest money that is still a $300 investment for the final thousand or two you make - with very little work)
- margalabargala 8mo agoThat's a lot of work plus money transfer paper trail for something like this.
- bluGill 8mo agoPresumably the money trail leeds to the Caymon islands or other country where they won't assist investigation.
- woah 8mo agoThe realtor might pay for it or even do it themselves. It would take 5 minutes with a reciprocating saw. Or the scammer tells the realtor "never mind that" and the realtor tells the buyer.
- teachrdan 8mo agoFor those like me who didn't know: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confused_deputy_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confused_deputy_problem
- bjt 8mo agoThe idea is just to avoid being the softest target. The scammers attempting this fraud don't want to do all the work you describe. They'll just move on to the next vacant property.
- Cthulhu_ 8mo agoI'm sure you could put an ad up on craigslist or fiverr or whatever, one asking for someone to take photos of the property to see if there is a sign, and another to remove it. There's plenty of people willing to do anything for money.
- thekevan 8mo agoNote that in the article, the author says how the scammers do everything to avoid having to show up in person. That's because they are in a different country and try to commit the scam without setting foot in the US.
- dh2022 8mo agoI think these days the easiest thing is to take a HELOC loan backed by the property. Do not withdraw money from HELOC and pay the $125/year fee. This puts a lien on the property. (The article alluded to this solution by noting these scammers avoid properties with a mortgage).
- charles_f 8mo agoI eas thinking of purposefully not paying some kind of invoice to trigger a lien but this way seems more legitimate
- NooneAtAll3 8mo agogreat now you made banks interested in supporting these scams
- gwbas1c 8mo agoIt'll work in this area of the country (Connecticut, Massachusetts,) because this is a known scam and relators and attorneys know to keep an eye out for this. The problem is that a 4x8 plywood sign will weather very fast in New England weather. You're better off following the article's suggestion of flagging the property with the court. BTW: When these scams happen, you can sue for the irreplaceable value of trees removed, especially if you planned on keeping the lot wooded: https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/court-of-appeals/volumes/71/71massappct313.html https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/court-of-appeals/...
- MichaelDickens 8mo agoWho can you sue? The scammer?
- gwbas1c 8mo agoEither the parties involved in the sale who should have known better, such as the relator and/or seller's attorney; or the party that took the trees down. Furthermore, at least in Massachusetts, when you purchase property you also purchase title insurance that protects you against this. I remember very specifically, at closing, that my attorney explained that the insurance was in case someone came around with an old claim to the land. It would be interesting to find out who and what paid out, because these scams have been going on for a bit. (There was one linked to where a property owner drove by and found a house being built on their land.)
- gwbas1c 8mo agoMight be worth reading this article about the result of a victim suing: https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/article/sky-top-terrace-fairfield-ct-real-estate-scam-19555699.php https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/article/sky-top-terrac... Regarding the victim, Kenigsberg: > Kenigsberg received an undisclosed sum. Sky Top Partners gained a clean title to the land, finished the house and made the sale. > Kenigsberg remains critical of the system that failed to stop the fraud and of public safety agencies that have not found the perpetrators. Under the law it's possible he could have seen the house destroyed and himself enriched more than he was. He prefers to see the case almost as an outside observer, above the fray.