I'm a newbie -- so maybe somebody can convince me this eBay land listing's legit

General Real Estate Investing
1

Hi everyone,

I’ve been lurking this site for a couple of months and love it so far. I wanted to post here tonight to get some input from those of you who’ve been in the trenches for a while.

I do a lot of “window shopping” on eBay just to see what people are up to - the other week I came across a listing for 4.92 acres in Las Vegas advertised as a “vacant mill site”. Now, maybe this is just the paranoid newb in me, but could there possibly be any more red flags for a scam here?

  1. Seller offers no real parcel number (took me an hour to find it on the county website)
  2. Offers quitclaim deed
  3. Low feedback rating
  4. Scandalously low, no-reserve starting bid
  5. Wrong category (would be more appropriate in Real Estate>Land)
  6. Ambiguous Title (“Las Vegas NV” - really?)

The link to the auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Las-Vegas-NV-/261133911775?nma=true&si=03lZpuc%2Fhk5fqcsZWDWmdmdgOi8%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

My findings (which I forwarded to him): http://trweb.co.clark.nv.us/WEP_summary.asp?Parcel=138-28-401-015

I reported him to eBay for fraud (they did nothing) and I also let him know. Tonight he writes me to say that I need to learn how to do a title search and go to college. :beer At least I’ll get to play some beer pong if I go back, haha.

Thoughts from anyone on this auction and seller?

2

Hi,

This gentleman is selling a "Mining Claim" which is a commercial property!

This is not land for residential use! It is in the correct category on Ebay which is why Ebay will not change it and it definently is not Fraud as Nevada is in fact a Mining state called the Silver State!!!

             GR
3

:anon So it IS time for more college… Hahaha. I see…So why didn’t he just write that in the description? Interesting nontheless, thank you for the info!

As a follow-up question then - do you think it’s worth that 12K that it sold for?

4

Hi,

Since I make money from my interests in mining it takes today recovering 7.05 ounces of gold to recover back your principle dollars and for a "Hobby Miner" this is a good weekend location to take the family out to with a motor home or trailer and pan / dry wash some materials and hopefully find a little gold every weekend.

$12,000 is reasonable for a 4.5 acre mill site which was probable mapped and plotted back in the late 19th century. This is a mining claim and not deeded land so the owner will have to improve it (Make drainage and access paths or roads around property) or pay about $100 dollars per year to continue to own it.

            GR
5

Great information, thanks GR. I see a lot of mining claims for sale on eBay and they always seem to get a lot of bids. I guess this one really threw me off because I’m used to seeing “mining claim” spelled out clearly in the title. :biglaugh

6

A mining claim can be a fun weekend project as you walk your corner markers, work on your access road and hopefully grub out some gold in them tunnels.

But beware the Feds–they can vacate you and make you tear down your 85-year old mining shack. They can make you scrape and restore the land to its former non-mining status. They can make you do anything they want.

Paying good money for a mining claim is like paying good money for a vacation. It may not stay with you long.

Furnishedowner
(Former 1/2 owner of Ben Hur Mine, Julian, California… that was a really sweet little mining claim and your post made me miss it even more.)