Beware of Snakes!
By Jim Palmer Jr.

The other day a friend killed a rattlesnake that had wandered into their yard on the west edge of Williams Valley. That type of interaction always rattles those of us who don’t really care for slithering sneaky reptiles (pun intended). I’d like to talk about a different kind of snake, the kind of people who prey on the uninformed and gullible. Many local land owners have been in receipt of suspicious letters this year from self-proclaimed investors.

In the letters, they make a polite introduction. They then state their interest in purchasing land in the area and then name the specific parcel number they are inquiring about. They then state they will pay all of the closing costs, title expenses and escrow fees and that they will save you the Realtor® fees and any outstanding property taxes. They commit to a very fast, safe closing and even offer to send the closer/ notary to your door so you don’t have to travel. “No hidden costs! Cash offer!” All you have to do is sign the attached purchase agreement that is a one page simple document that is somehow mysteriously missing the buyer’s signature. The catch is that the offered purchase price is about ¼ of the actual value of the property.

In the Sneaky Snakes offer to purchase, they make it sound like they are doing the land owner a favor, but in reality they are trying to steal the property at a fraction of its actual worth. I know one land owner who fell for this type of strategy when they sold a parcel worth about $30,000 for a meager $7,000. The seller was in desperate need of the money and had no idea what the current market value was. The $7,000 amount seemed like a lot of money to them at the time because of their vulnerable status.

Beware of such snakes! If you receive a letter or other unsolicited offer on your land, be sure to have a professional ascertain its true market value before you get bit on a scam like this! Many Realtors® offer free market analysis and during that process you will have ample opportunity to interview them and assess their genuineness without any risk. In the examples above, the buyer is never seen and for all you know they could be sitting on a couch somewhere in India.