BEWARE LOT SALE SCAMMERS

As a local Real Estate agency specializing in Bella Vista lot sales, our agency, Carey Realty, has represented several thousand of out of state Bella Vista lot owners over the last several years, and have become familiar with a scam that has been circulating for some time now.  Several hundred of my clients have reported this to me over the years.  The scam starts with a phone call from a company that claims to be able to sell your Bella Vista lot for a price that seems too good to be true.  They ask you to pay them money up front for advertising costs associated with bringing the buyer to you.  After you send them money, they sometimes follow up with you in an effort to extract even more, but usually you will just never hear from them again.  The scam used to be easier to spot because the amount of money that they claimed to be able to sell your lot for was so high, but now the crooks have gotten smarter and have brought it down to just above market prices.  Unfortunately, retirees who own property in resort areas are the prime target of this scam so beware. 

If you are approached to sell your lot, you want to be sure to check their company out very carefully.  Be sure that they are a legitimate Real Estate company, licensed in the state of Arkansas to do business. And keep in mind, legitimate Real Estate Companies don't ask you for money to advertise your property when they list it for sale.  After having your lot listed for awhile, they may ask you to help with future advertising in order to keep your lot in front of buyers, but most legitimate real estate agencies don't even do that.

Now, I cannot mention any specific names of any specific companies that operate these scams, but the ones I'm most familiar with have been mostly based out of Florida.  Please, please, please do not ever send money up front to anyone.  I want to thank Dustie for allowing me to write about this on her site.  We both felt that it was important to let everyone know. 

-Mike Carey
Carey Realty
http://CareyMike.blogspot.com

If you have a Bella Vista lot for sale by owner you can list it on the Bella Vista's POA website for 29.00.  Or list it with Carey Realty or any of the fine Realtors working in Bella Vista, listed on the Real Estate Agent's page at www.beautifulbellavista.com/realtorlinks.htm.

Dustie Meads