Wake County homeowner's property sold and then listed for sale without her approval
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Imagine finding the land next to your home, which you already own, up for sale online. That's exactly what happened to one Wake County woman.
"I get online and my land is everywhere. I'm like, why is my land for sale?" Tarsha Blalock said.
Blalock is talking about her three-acre lot next to her Zebulon home that was listed for sale for more than $44,000.
"I want to know how this happened," she said.
Blalock immediately contacted the listing agent when she saw her land was up for sale.
"He was like, 'Well, we have a contract that you signed on March 23rd to sell your property.' I'm like, 'No, you don't. No, no, you don't,'" Blalock said.
She was sent a contract, which states Liquid Property Group LLC out of Bradenton Florida bought the property from Blalock for $15,000.
"I've never seen this before. I've never heard of Liquid Properties. The contract was for $15,000 for three acres in Wake County and I told them, 'That's insane!' Who would do that in Wake County," she said.
Blalock said once she provided the listing agent proof that it was not her who signed this contract, he removed the listing of her property for sale, but that didn't solve how Liquid Property Group claimed to buy her land.
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"I started calling Liquid Properties in Florida. Nobody returned my phone calls. I called six times, Monday. I emailed three times Monday. I call six times Tuesday, emailed them Tuesday, and said, 'OK, they don't want to talk to me. Let me email Diane Wilson.'"
Troubleshooter Diane Wilson tried to get in touch with Liquid Property Group LLC, which claims online to buy homes all over and to give out cash offers within 24 hours, if you fill out a form on their website. No one from Liquid Property Group got back to Wilson, but Blalock got an email with a release and cancellation of the contract for her property.
While she's relieved she stopped the fraudulent sale of her property, she's now warning others.
"I'm not trying to buy anything, so I never would have thought to look...I'm worried about somebody in the elderly community who isn't on the internet, they can have their property sold from under them." Blalock said.
ABC11 continues to hear more and more about this type of real estate fraud happening. It's tough to protect your property, especially with many deals happening now online. You can set up property alerts on listing websites for properties similar to yours, and get notified when any hit the market. If you spot your home listed for sale, of course, take action right away.
