Think Twice Before Buying Real Estate on eBay: Florida Swampland sold on site

[Kristijntje]

State investigators are probing the activities of a Brandon company accused of using an Internet version of the classic Florida swampland ruse, duping buyers who are trying to cash in on what appears to be a cheap property investment.

Landtrust Liquidators, doing business as Sanders & Harring LLC, was selling parcels on eBay auctions in and around an area of Volusia County known as University Highlands.

The area is east of Deland and north of Interstate 4. It is mostly undeveloped property with lots of wetlands and no roads or other infrastructure, according to county records.

In some cases, property that is assessed at $300 to $500 has been sold this year for thousands of dollars...

full article: http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/tampaba...tory1.html

[mandy]

More tales of Florida swampland being sold on eBay.

Impressive resume for this former corrupt politician turned eBay real estate seller: multiple jail terms in US Federal prison for charges ranging from racketeering, extortion, accepting over 100 bribes, cattle rustling  mileycow: , and conspiracy charges.  He conveniently doesn't mention his resume when he sells on eBay. Many buyers who have relied on the seller's 98.9% feedback rating  have discovered the hard way that eBay's feedback system is often an unreliable indicator.

To out-of-town investors, Jerry Bowmer's eBay land deals sound as enticing as the perfect bronze tan for a pasty winter complexion.

"Some of the best recreational land in Florida and the U.S.A.!" one ad reads. "When this area becomes further developed, this land could be worth a small fortune!"

But the Florida Attorney General's Office is investigating whether the former Hillsborough County commissioner turned felon is making his own small fortune hawking inaccessible swampland...

full article: http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/05/State/...ay_l.shtml

[thentavius]

Cattle rustler??  :-X

[amy]

The buyers should use Google Maps 

[Kristijntje]

Update: Florida is cracking down on eBay Swampland Sellers:

The state is responding to complaints from disgruntled buyers such as Derogene by forcing some sellers to offer to buy back the property, citing their failure to follow the state law regulating the sale of subdivided land. Violations can include a seller failing to register land with the state for sale.

Derogene's complaint resulted in the sellers agreeing last month to offer refunds to the buyers in 67 transactions, many of whom had complained about their eBay purchases.

Nathan Oliver of Daytona Beach, another owner who has been selling land via the Internet in University Highlands, wouldn't discuss the consent order that he and a partner signed with the state Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile Homes. The pair had to offer refunds in 187 transactions to avoid a $1.87 million fine...

full article: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/technolog...-headlines