These stories piss me off. With each passing day, it seems that people are coming up with new ways to screw our parents and grandparents out of their money and possessions. Even worse, they often get scammed at very vulnerable times, such as when they are dealing with the loss of a loved one. That leads me to today’s tragic headline. A retired Florida man unknowingly signed over the deed to his house to a man for $10.
It’s not commonly used, but Florida has an easy way to transfer the deed to a house. It involves signing a special type of deed and then having it notarized. It’s normally used in the event of a divorce or when a home is given to a famnily member. But the method can also be used in less-than-honest ways. That’s what happened when 66-year-old Claude Frye did a while back when he was going through the loss of his mother. After several changes in ownership since that time, the current owner is in the process of evicting Frye from the residence. Here’s how it all happened.
Back in 2020, Frye’s mother died. That’s when he got behind in mortgage payments. Frye said he was so upset by the loss of his mom that he had a hard time surviving. Eventually, the bank foreclosed on the property. That’s when a friend stepped in to help. Or so he thought… In 2021, Thomas Brinson promised to take over and make the mortgage payments for him. Frye signed a deed, which transferred ownership of the house to Brinson. The sale price was $10. According to Frye, the deal was that he would be allowed to live in the house indefinitely. In reality, Frye had given Brinson the right to sell the home and evict him from it.
After a short time, Brinson decided that Frye and the entire situation were too much to deal with, so he sold the property to another buyer, Carlton Darville. In 2022, Darville flipped the house yet again, selling it for $185,000 to a company in New York City. During that time, Frye remained in the house. A neighbor to Frye has stepped in and filed suit against the buyer on Frye’s behalf, saying he is a disabled senior citizen and he had been swindled out of the property. The claim also asserts that Frye was lied to about the document that he was signing, and had no idea that signing the document meant he would lose the home forever. The man who bought the home from Brinson made a huge profit, but says he did nothing wrong during the transaction. He added that the bank would have evicted Frye fromthe home eventually anyway. Frye was ordered to vacate the property last month.
Darville, the man who profited most from the deal, says Frye should have consulted an attorney before signing anything. While there have been no charges filed, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office is looking into possible fraud in the case. Sheriff Ken Mascara went on to say that there’s a new asset for homeowners in his county called the Property Fraud Alert Service, which automatically notifies you when there are any documents filed in your name. Source: WSVN.com
You Might Wanna Invest In These Areas, While You Still Can
4 Florida Cities That You Should Invest Real Estate In
Orlando
Being home to some of the best theme parks in the world means Orlando is a hot spot for real estate. Families would love to own a vacation home by the city where they visit every year. Norada Real Estate Investments tells us that Orlando’s has one of the fastest-growing job markets with high-tech industries leading the way. If you were to buy a rental property near Orlando, we’re sure that you won’t have a problem finding a tenant or visitors to stay.
The median listing home price in Orlando FL was $362K in January 2023
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Tampa
Tampa is right behind Orlando as a top tourist destination in Florida. With so many things to offer, it’s no reason why Champa Bay is thriving for real estate investors. Tampa might be one of those cities we mentioned earlier where you may have to look at towns outside the metro. For example, Seminole Heights is a growing neighborhood in Tampa that is set to be a hot real estate destination.
Norada Real Estate Investments tells us that the median listing home price in Tampa FL was $395K in January 2023.
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