Q: Can you describe some of the scams that have come to your attention?
A: We’ve had some interesting fraud pop up lately that has to do with real estate: vacant property, home improvement, and vacation rentals would be the broad categories.
Q: What fraud are you seeing with vacant property?
A: Most people think you can’t steal a home, but it can be done — and we’ve prosecuted some cases in St. Johns County. Vacant property is typically the target and a quit claim deed along with the legal concept of adverse possession is how it is done. For example, a dishonest person might illegally live in a vacant home for awhile and then utilize a quit claim deed to turn the property over to themselves and then sell or rent the property fraudulently. If they sell the property, they will offer owner financing, so that title insurance is not required as with a mortgage company. When the rightful owner shows up at the property, surprised that someone is there, they often call law enforcement, who is then shown the quit claim deed. This then looks like a civil matter, but it’s a fraud to illegally record documents.
My advice if you have vacant property: ask someone you trust to keep an eye on it to ensure no one is living there illegally and also check with the county regularly to make sure there have been no documents filed on the property such as quit claim deeds. Consider this as you would check up on your credit report.
Q: What about home improvement fraud?
A: Recently we had 50 victims in our district of a roofing scam. As you know, there is a shortage of labor and many reputable contractors are quoting long periods of time to complete a project. Some homeowners may then seek out other contractors and come across some that are not so reputable. Scammers are always ready to take advantage. It’s a red flag if the contractor asks for all the money for a job up front. Make sure any deposit requested seems reasonable and do your due diligence as it pertains to licensing and insurance. You can call the county and find out if a contractor is licensed to work here and in addition to asking to see the proof of insurance, maybe take the additional step of actually calling the insurance company to verify coverage.
Q: Finally, what can you tell us about vacation rental property fraud?
A: If you’re going on vacation, always use a reputable agency to find the property you want to rent. Be careful searching online because sometimes what is represented on the internet is not reality — and you won’t know it until you show up ready for your vacation. Plus, by then the scammer will already have your personal information and even your money. One thing you can do to verify the accuracy of the rental property listing is to look up the property by address on the county’s property appraiser’s website. You can also contact a local realtor that specializes in rental properties and ask them to check it out. If it turns out that the listing is fraudulent, they may end up helping you find a legitimate rental property. A little prevention/work up front can really pay off.
