Complaint Review: CheapLands.com / Eric Michael (CEO)

DO NOT BUY FROM CHEAPLANDS.COM.

Why?

Here is my story, if interested.

My husband and I have been looking for a plot of land to start our life together. Like many others, we wanted to explore any cheaper options that we may have first (because who doesn't love a good discount?). A simple Google search later we found CheapLands.com. Being first-time buyers, we had a lot of questions. These “informed” questions were NOT welcomed by CheapLands.com, however.

This is their standard process for everyone, and what they told me:

I QUOTE,

“In regards to this property, it has $252 in back taxes as of today. Therefore, you will need to assume the back taxes. We suggest paying them off as soon as possible. When you pay them off you would need to:

1. Wait until we issue the title and it's recorded in your name.

      2. Then, call 501-683-3053 and press 1 and read the parcel number, which is 34R0250015000. Make sure they know            it's in the county of Pulaski.

      3. Then, before you pay, you would make sure this form is not expired. (if it is expired we will send you a new form              with the higher tax amount).

      4. Then, you would not sign the form at first. You would bring it to a notary who would stamp after you sign the                  page at the notary.

      5. Then, you would get a certified check or money order and mail this form and call the same number at 501-683-                3053 to make sure they got it.”

After all this, they explained I would then pay them the price of the lot and it would be mine. Naturally, and being a first-time buyer, I was concerned they would wait until I paid off their taxes and then run off with my lot to re-sell it. On top of all of this, the lot was listed as 0.35 acres on their website, but the official county form they sent me (to start the process) identified as being only 0.25 acres. I also needed the lot before July 15 and asked if it would be possible to expedite the transaction as quickly as possible (within days), well before July 15.

This wasn’t taken well.

I am copy-pasting their email response to me below (since Facebook won't accept .JPEG attachments). I am also including my own email that I sent out. THIS HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED BY ME WHATSOEVER (I have nothing to gain from this, anyway). I am only trying to raise awareness about what COULD POSSIBLY BE a scam in my own opinion.

!!THE EMAIL IS BELOW!!

EMAIL FROM ME:

"Hello,

Thank you for your response. I evaluated the form and I see it says the acreage is 0.250 but on the listing on your site it says 0.35. It says that the lot is much smaller than promised. Also, after I call the county myself and pay the back taxes, how can I assure that you will not re-sell the property after its taxes have been paid off by me? Where can I guarantee this? I'd also like to make sure that both my husband's and my name are both written equally as property owners. Can I write both our names on the owner/signature section?

Is there a possibility that this can all be completed by July 15 of this month?

Thank you,

Grace"

REPLY FROM CHEAPLANDS.COM:

"Thanks.

We cannot hold the property until July 15.

It doesn't seem your research is complete, although you stated it was ready, so that raises concern on our end.

If you are worried that we will re-sell the property, then you don't need to buy it from us.

Best of luck."

I leave this exchange up to your own opinion, but I don’t think I was rude or out-of-line at all. I URGE you to PLEASE do your own research. Do not be mislead.

Just because a company has made a few sales (and has a positive testimonial page which can be easily faked) DOES NOT mean they are polite, fair, or respectful to their clients by any means. There are PLENTY of other options out there for cheap land.

!!NEVER FORGET TO CALL THE COUNTY THAT YOU'RE PURCHASING LAND IN BEFORE YOU BUY IT!! The state county land assessor that I called warned me about how delinquent CheapLands.com was in their back-taxes. She was almost mad at me until she found out that I wasn’t CheapLands.com calling in. Nearly every property has something owed already.

Do not waste your time here.