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Scam Involving Sale of Vacant Lots is Back: Don’t Get Fooled Again!
By Melissa Jay Murphy, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, The Fund
Over the last few months, the Florida real estate industry has experienced an ever-increasing volume of sales and mortgages that have been found to be fraudulent. Most commonly, the property is vacant with no mortgage and often the lot is owned by a seller whose address shows they live in a foreign country. The fraudster either forges a deed from the true owner to the fraudster, or just holds himself out as the true owner and then lists the property for sale (often on Zillow), for a very attractive price. A buyer bites, the closing date is set, and if someone does not figure it out, the fraudster gets away with many thousands of dollars and no one knows until it is too late to recover the money.
In some cases, the fraud has been discovered before closing and the evil-doers were thwarted.
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Attorneys’ Real Estate Councils of Florida or “Florida ARECS” is your trusted connection to Florida real estate attorneys. We represent a broad network of local Real Estate Councils located throughout Florida with more than one thousand attorney members.
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We foster and cultivate relationships among real estate attorneys and real estate professionals through education and networking events. We make it easy to find a real estate attorney and understand how they are uniquely qualified to protect you.
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We help real estate attorneys and real estate professionals stay current, informed and competitive. We also provide resources for the public to help buyers and sellers better understand the complexities of Florida real estate transactions.
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We encourage and promote the value of real estate attorney involvement in the buying/selling and refinancing process to ensure successful real estate transactions.
