Getting scammed is something buyers and their Realtors can fall into very easily. Take the recent example of the exploits of criminal Robert Tribble of South Florida who is now in jail. Advertising on Craigslist as a friend of those that can’t qualify to buy a home with traditional financing, he had plenty of inventory, according to the deeds recorded in the public records of the county clerk, to sell under “lease to own” deals. This is not dissimilar to my post 7 years ago at TRUE STORY - Renter forges deed, then conspires to sell house and pocket mortgage proceeds.
THE SET-UP:
Tribble would locate a property obviously vacant and in foreclosure. Tell tale signs of this are overgrown landscaping, green swimming pools, no electricity running through the meter. Tribble then checked the public records to see if a lis pendens was active against the home. Under Florida’s “glacial” pace of foreclosure processing this would open an illegal opportunity. Having identified the parties to the foreclosure, Tribble would create a warranty or quit claim deed to himself as the grantee (buyer) and record it in the public records of the county clerk.
THE PRESUMPTION:
Here in Florida most people mistakenly believe the “go to” place for information about a property is the county tax assessor’s website. Although this website is a great source of property information about size, age and current and past real estate tax assessments of the property, it is not the end-all of information on the ownership of the property. The typical information provided is a link to the past several transfers of the property as showing up on the public records of the clerk of that county. But it does not show anything more than that information. Missing and equally important is the information on other liens against the property and the consideration paid for the property by the newest owner.
THE STING:
Tribble advertised the properties he owned by forged deed on Craigslist, known for a great place to find a job or used bicycle but full of scam artists when it comes to buying or renting a house. Someone would call him on an advertisement, he would show them the house and then based on what appeared to be a great price, converted them from a renter to a potential buyer with a “lease to own” pitch. The down payment to make this work was always substantial - $20,000 or $40,000 or more. But the payments all lead to getting a deed from Mr. Tribble down the road.
Tribble would provide not only a standard contract and lease, but the printout from the property tax assessor’s website showing he was the owner of the house. The Palm Beach Post in an article January 8th 2014 even stated that at least one buyer provided the contract and tax assessor information to his attorney to review and got a green light to proceed from the attorney.
ADDING MORE HEARTACHE:
Tom make matters worse for each of these buyers, all of the homes were in need of renovations. So in addition to the money Tribble got, the renters cum buyers invested even more money into building and property renovations and improvements! Their ability to recoup those additional investments is practically nil.
WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE:
In my office we have a slogan, “Pay me NOW or pay me MORE later”. Essentially this is a statement to those that avoid paying an attorney in the beginning for protection, and then have to pay an attorney later to try to fix the problem that could have been easily and cheaply avoided. In the case of Mr. Tribble’s victims, the damage came to $240,000 from a dozen victims.
A thorough review of the public records in each of Mr. Tribble’s scams would have shown open mortgages or fraudulent satisfactions of mortgage without necessary releases of lis pendens. A knowledgeable attorney could have had his clients avoid every one of these scams and saved the victims’ monies and done it for a few hundred dollars each.
If a Realtor is involved in the transaction having found a Mr. Tribble, the Realtor would certainly be included in the lawsuit filed by the victim for blindly leading the victim to the slaughterhouse. Realtors have a higher degree of duty and expected professionalism and expertise that must be used to benefit their client. If you are going to be involved as a Realtor in a transaction off the beaten trail (with the protections built-into a traditional sale), then you need to document your advice to the client to protect yourself in the event they do not seek a lawyer’s advice.
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© 2014 Richard P Zaretsky, Esq.
Be sure to contact your own attorney for your state laws, and always consult your own attorney on any legal decision you need to make. This article is for information purposes and is not specific advice to any one reader.
Richard Zaretsky, Esq., RICHARD P. ZARETSKY P.A. ATTORNEYS AT LAW, 1615 FORUM PLACE, SUITE 3A, WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33401, PHONE 561 689 6660 -- RPZ99@Florida-Counsel.com
- FLORIDA BAR BOARD CERTIFIED IN REAL ESTATE LAW – COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE MATTERS INCLUDING FINANCING FOR LENDERS AND BORROWERS
Website www.Florida-Counsel.com
See our easy to find articles at TABLE OF CONTENTS - SHORT SALE AND LOAN MODIFICATION ARTICLES
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