Property Owners – Has your property been illegally sold!

S. Hickory St, Pembroke Township

The price of land in Pembroke has risen astronomically over the past 10 years.

According to Zillow and other real estate sites one acre of land is going for as high as $43,000. People are going to want to purchase this valuable land at a low cost, then turn around and try to sell it at an astronomically higher price.

Many of them are scammers and willing to commit fraud to get hold of this land to sell it.

Buying Land in Pembroke? – Buyer Beware!

If you are planning to or know someone who's planning to buy land in Pembroke Township, be aware there are at least two groups of people that are selling land using scams and fraud and are being investigated.

What do scams and fraud look like?

1. A person does not want to deal with a real estate agent, lawyer, or any legal agency. They only want to do a quit claim deed requiring cash or money order because they don't want to leave a paper trail.

2. They have a quick claim deed but do not have a title showing that the land is clean with no liens such as back taxes, other liens or that they actually own it.

3. Make sure the quit claim did they have is signed by a legal and active notary public and has the State of Illinois seals on it and it is properly filed.

4. Make sure there is a recent survey showing the actual boundaries of the property.

5. Check with the County Clerk's office to see if that person actually owns the land.

There is nothing wrong with doing a quick claim deed, but that carries with it a certain risk of running into fraud. So, make sure all the paperwork such as the title, deed, and ownership is in the seller’s name.

In addition, make sure the notary signature on the document is valid too.

Here is an example of a fraudulent sale using a notary public who is not active.

A vacant property, particularly one owned by an elderly person or estate, is often targeted by fraudsters. In this scenario:

1. A fraudster finds a vacant, unmonitored home, identifies the rightful owner through public records, and forges the owner's signature on a new deed. The fraudulent deed transfers the property's title to a fake buyer controlled by the criminal.

2. The criminal obtains the name and information of a former notary public whose commission has expired. This information can often be found in public records or from old, notarized documents.

3. The criminal uses this information to create a counterfeit notary seal. They then use the fake seal and forge the signature of the inactive notary on the fraudulent deed.

4. The criminal files the deed with the county recorder of deeds. The recording office may accept the document without a thorough check of the notary's status.

5. With the fraudulent deed recorded, the criminal can then attempt to sell the property to an unsuspecting buyer or take out a fraudulent mortgage.

You can find a list of active notary publics on the Illinois State notary public web page here: https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/index/notary/home.html

Do your due diligence! Please watch out for our elders in the community who are being harassed by these scammers!

If you are a victim or know the activities of this ring of scammers, please report it to Attorney Jim Row and the Kankakee County. You have to make a police report first if this is happening to you. Then you take it to the to the Kankakee County State's Attorney's office.

You can also contact Springfield, as well as call the local commerce department, the Better Business Bureau and the Real Estate Regulatory Commission.

Don't get caught as a victim of that old saying, “Buyer Beware.” This saying holds as much cautionary weight today as it always has.