LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — Ohio’s top real estate experts are warning against a rise in fake real estate listings that involve trying to sell a property owned by someone else or forging documents to transfer a deed to someone else.She said while settling an estate, she noticed that the deceased no longer owned five undeveloped acres of land valued at $120,000 and sold it for significantly less than what it was worth.
Hronek said that the property was in the process of being sold again to someone else, but they were able to stop it and prove who really owned it. "It’s a very scary thing," she said."The most likely target of these scams are individuals who own their property free and clear with no mortgage on it, and are often seniors."As Hawk points out, many county recorders offer what’s called property fraud alerts, which you can sign up for to be notified if anything with your name comes through their offices.
"All attorneys are notaries," she explained."If I'm going to notarizing something for someone I don’t know, I’m getting ID. If an attorney is involved in fraud, they’re going to lose their license to practice and no attorney is going to risk that."