A recent article in the Leelanau Enterprise divulged a recent real estate scam where a vacant piece of land in Leelanau was placed up for sale by a local realtor after an impersonator electronically signed legal documentation to sell.  Fortunately, the property manager and landowner were made aware, and the listing was removed before the transaction went any further.

During the same period, our brokerage was contacted via Homes.com with a request to provide a comparative market analysis for a vacant property in Leelanau.  We began communicating with the person via email and requested a phone or in-person meeting.  Some of the information provided by the responder did not match the details of the property, which led us to question whether it was legitimate.

After further investigation, we contacted the property owner, who confirmed that he had not requested assistance to sell via Homes.com.  Our team has notified Homes.com of this fraudulent activity.

Access Title Agency has adopted fraud prevention efforts by sending letters to property owners to notify them of a pending transaction when selected to provide escrow and/or other services on a property.  When working with other title agencies, be sure they are doing the same.

To prevent owners from being a victim of property fraud, the Register of Deeds provides a link on the County website for owners to subscribe to receive fraud alerts called Fraud Guard.  Simply register your name and when a document is recorded with your name on it you will be notified by email within 48 hours.  The Register of Deeds for Leelanau said this form can be used for an individual and an LLC or Trust.  Tip: when entering your name, “less is more”…for example, do not include a middle name or initial; if your full name is Pamela, put in Pam.  If you are notified that a document has been recorded without your initiation, contact an attorney immediately.

When asked about LifeLock ™ which is a service that provides key aspects of identity theft protection, the Register of Deeds office shared that there is a cost to LifeLock’s service which can be several hundred dollars and in one instance an individual was not made aware of an identity breach for several months after the occurrence.