North Florida Forecaster Volume XXVII, Issue 2 - A publication of the Lake City Board of REALTORS® 2015 Installation luncheon February 4th Make plans to attend the LCBR / NFMLS Installation of officers and directors luncheon on Wednesday, February 4th at the Board Office Conference Room on Houseman Ct. in Lake City. We will also announce the 2014 Realtor of the Year. The room is being sponsored by Robert Fillyaw of Heritage Bank of the South. February 2015 LOCAL SCAM – Recent Event Halts Closing & Highlights Need for Realtor Safety By: Kristy L. Harrington, Esq., Lake City Board Attorney LCBR has become aware of a scam involving one North FL MLS listing, but which had the potential to involve many more. Shortly before a closing on the listing in question, squatters were discovered to be living in the property, which had been vacant for some time. The squatters had moved in a few days before the closing, changed the locks, turned on utilities, padlocked the front gate and put out No Trespassing signs. Not only that, one of the squatters recorded documents with the Columbia County Clerk that purported to reflect him as the owner of the property. In addition to the installation, we will also honor 40 year member, Tom Eagle who received the prestigious Realtor Emeritus designation from the National Association of Realtors. The Realtor who discovered the situation did not approach the squatters, but instead called law enforcement and the squatters were arrested. At the time of arrest, firearms were found in the property, and one of the squatters – the same one who recorded the titleclouding documents - turned out to have prior felony convictions. He also had a folder in his possession which, among other items, contained a number of additional listings from the North FL MLS. Doors open at 11:30 and lunch begins at 11:45. The all inclusive buffet luncheon catered by Sonny’s is $12 and tickets must be purchased in advance, Visa, MasterCard & Discover only. Cash and personal checks also accepted The closing was unable to occur at its scheduled time because the squatter’s recorded documents appeared in a follow-up title search and, arguably, clouded the property’s title. At least two title insurers have refused to insure title to the property under the circumstances. When the buyers learned of the situation and that the closing would have to be postponed for an unknown amount of time due to the newly-clouded title, they cancelled the contract and walked away. To purchase tickets by phone call 386-7553966. Obviously this situation presents numerous issues for Realtors and owners they are working with. INSIDE THIS ISSUE 2 December SFR site-built sales statistics 3 Calendar of events 3 February birthdays 4 LCBR wins RPAC award Visit our website at: www.northfloridarealtors.com From the legal side:  Is the title to this property really clouded as a result of the squatter’s illegal actions? There may be some arguments to the contrary. However, outside of a quiet title lawsuit, it may also be challenging to find an insurer willing to risk insuring over or around this issue. So for now, title may have been sufficiently clouded to prevent an insured closing.  The squatters were discovered only two days before closing. The buyer cancelled due to the situation, opening the questions of whether either side is in breach of contract and whether the title issue could have been timely cured in order to save the transaction. Of course, no one received a commission, either, after working diligently to get the transaction that far.  If title insurer consensus is that title is now clouded, the owner might have to bring a quiet title lawsuit, which will involve court costs, attorney fees, and the possibility that the squatter will actually try to fight the case, thus Scam continued on page 3 North Florida Forecaster 1 North Florida Forecaster 2 Scam continued from page 1 CALENDAR OF EVENTS LCBR-NFMLS INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS FEBRUARY 4, LCBR CONFERENCE ROOM LUNCH SERVED AT 11:45 THIS IS A TICKETED EVENT. ALL-INCLUSIVE BUFFET LUNCH IS $12, PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. W [email protected] LIMITED SEATING. VISA, MASTERCARD AND DISCOVER ACCEPTED 2015 PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS TRAINING FOR GRIEVANCE / PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND LCBR DIRECTORS ONLY. ATTENDEES WILL RECEIVE 3 HOURS SPECIALTY CREDIT. LCBR OFFICE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 9AM – NOON INSTRUCTOR: ANNE COCKAYNE TEN EASY CONTRACT TIPS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD, 2:00 – 3:30 BOARD OFFICE CONFERENCE ROOM LIVE STREAMING FORMAT FROM FLORIDA REALTORS HENRY ENSLER, ESQ. INSTRUCTOR FREE TO LCBR AND NFMLS MEMBERS RSVP TO [email protected] FOR MATERIALS WHEN THE FREC MAN COMETH THURSDAY, MARCH 19 1:00-4:00 PM BOARD OFFICE. 3 HOURS CE INSTUCTOR: DICK FRYER, VICE CHAIR OF THE FLORIDA REAL ESTATE COMMISSION. TICKETS ON SALE MID-FEBRUARY February birthdays Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 11 14 15 18 18 22 Heather Law ReMax William Shows Land Austen Roberts Swift Creek Angel Rogers Darby Rogers Tina Roberts Donaldson AFG Tri State Charlie Sparks Rockford Annette Land Land Charles Davis Crapps Bebe McQuillan Derington Kim McCall Crapps Pam Beauchamp ReMax Keith Hitson Hitson Realty David Mrvica Taylor   increasing the legal fees involved and the time required to recover clear title. The owner may have a slander of title claim against the squatter. However, it is highly likely the scam artist in this case is insolvent and would be unable to pay any judgment entered against him. Could the property owner successfully accuse the listing broker of failing to properly monitor/maintain/secure the property in question? It depends on the language of the listing agreement and any other understandings the listing broker and the owner may have had about the broker’s duties and the frequency of those duties, since the property was not owner-occupied. From the safety side:  Make frequent run-bys of your vacant listings in order to ensure no illegal activities, such as squatting, are happening there. **If you discover squatters in a vacant listing, and given the nature of this particular scam, it is advisable to check the Clerk of Court’s public records and have a title search run on the property to make sure no documents have been filed which could cloud title.  The fact that guns were found is a clear example of why Realtors should not directly confront unknown people inside a listed property. Do not approach or enter a property anytime something or someone appears suspicious to you. Call law enforcement if you approach a listing and either notice the property has been tampered with (locks changed/broken, no trespassing signs, utilities suddenly turned on, etc.) or you realize there are unknown/unauthorized people inside. If the listing is not yours, you should notify the listing office immediately, as well.  Take another agent with you when visiting listings, whether they are yours or someone else’s, especially when the listing is vacant and/or in a remote location, as this property happened to be.  Make sure your office knows where you are going when you head out to a property. If you are taking a prospect to the property or meeting someone there, make sure your office has the names of those people and any phone numbers you may have received for them.  Keep your cell phone with you and at the ready at all times when visiting a listed property, in case you do need to call for help.  Only check up on your listings or show properties during the daylight.  Do not share your lockbox keys or codes with anyone. You do not want that information being passed around where potential squatters could access it, nor do you want unauthorized prospects walking through a listing without a Realtor and without your knowledge. An unauthorized prospect inside a vacant listing could turn into just as dangerous of a situation if you come upon each other by surprise. LCBR is hopeful that with the arrests in this case, the matter has come to a close. However, the arrests will not un-cloud the title and that issue will still have to be dealt with. Also, the fact one of the squatters had a folder containing other local listings is of great concern. Please take this situation seriously, keep a close eye on your listings, and report any suspicious activities you witness to LCBR for further monitoring and member updates. North Florida Forecaster 3 LCBR takes RPAC Award 2015 OFFICERS PRESIDENT: Pam Beauchamp PRESIDENT ELECT: Robin Schwartz MLS PRESIDENT: Missy Zecher The Lake City Board of Realtors Inc. 326 NW Houseman Ct., Lake City FL 32055 Phone 386-755-3966 Fax 386-752-8160 Executive Vice President: Dan Gherna Email: [email protected] MLS Coordinator: Wendy Williams Email: [email protected] President Pam Beauchamp and President Elect Robin Schwartz pose with an award for First Small Board to Achieve RPAC Goal in 2014. The award was presented on January 22nd during the Florida Realtors Mid-Winter meetings in Orlando. LAKE CITY BOARD OF REALTORS 326 NW HOUSEMAN CT LAKE CITY FL 32055 North Florida Forecaster 4 North Florida Forecaster 5