{"id":51900,"date":"2025-10-17T04:44:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T11:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=51900"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:33:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:33:29","slug":"buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid Vacant Home Scams and Squatters in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Sunshine State has seen a significant rise in property crimes, including growing numbers of illegal squatters in Florida and vacant home scams, also known as home title fraud. This scam involves criminals forging documents to steal ownership of unoccupied properties.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities believe natural disasters like hurricanes Helene and Milton have worsened the problem, leaving many homes vacant for extended periods and vulnerable to fraud.<\/p>\n<p>In this post, we explain how this scam works and what you can do to protect your home from squatters and scammers targeting vacant Florida houses.<\/p>\n<p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"geo-cta widget-cta widget-cta--content     widget-cta--dark widget-cta--dark-blue-gradient\">\n    <div class=\"widget-element--content\">\n        <div class=\"widget-element--content-header\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"homelight logo\" class=\"widget-element--logo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ccprototypev5\/images\/logo-small-cta.png\" width=\"106\" height=\"25\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        \n                <h3 class=\"cta-headline widget--bold\">How Much Is Your Home Worth Now?<\/h3>\n                        <p>Home values have rapidly increased in recent years. How much is your current home worth now? Get a ballpark estimate from HomeLight&#8217;s free Home Value Estimator.<\/p>\n        \n                <div class=\"widget-element--buttons\">\n            <a data-type=\"In Content CTA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/simple-home-value\/quiz?#\/qaas=0\/\" class=\"cta-click-track widget-element--button\">Get Estimate<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <div id=\"section--1\" data-toc-header=\"What is the Florida vacant home scam?\" data-toc-type=\"head\"><\/div><\/p>\n<h2>What is the Florida vacant home scam?<\/h2>\n<p>The Florida vacant home scam is a form of home title fraud where criminals forge documents, such as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-quitclaim-deed-scams\/\">quitclaim deed<\/a>, to transfer the ownership of vacant homes to themselves or others. Once they\u2019ve claimed ownership, scammers may attempt to sell the property or use it to secure loans, leaving the rightful owners to deal with the fallout.<\/p>\n<p>This scam often spikes after natural disasters, such as hurricanes, which leave many homes unoccupied for months. Law enforcement has noted a marked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/contact-us\/field-offices\/boston\/news\/fbi-boston-warns-quit-claim-deed-fraud-is-on-the-rise-\">increase in cases of home title fraud<\/a>, with scammers taking advantage of the chaos and extended vacancies caused by these and other events. If you own a vacant Florida home, there are steps you can take to thwart title fraud scammers.<\/p>\n<div id=\"section--2\" data-toc-header=\"How to protect your home from title fraud\" data-toc-type=\"head\"><\/div>\n<h2>How to protect your home from title fraud<\/h2>\n<p>Here are steps you can take to safeguard your home against title fraud:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Sign up for property fraud alerts:<\/strong> By state law, every county in Florida must provide a free service to alert homeowners if their deeds have been changed. This includes deeds for houses, businesses, and vacant land.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Secure the property:<\/strong> Use security cameras, alarms, and clear signage to deter unauthorized access to your vacant property.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Consider title protection services:<\/strong> Title insurance or a title monitoring service can provide an extra layer of security and peace of mind.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Keep your property looking lived-in:<\/strong> Maintain landscaping, pick up mail, and use timers for lights to create the appearance of occupancy.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Monitor public records:<\/strong> Regularly check public property records in your county to confirm your ownership remains intact.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Share information with neighbors:<\/strong> Let trusted neighbors know the property is vacant and ask them to report suspicious activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to protect your property from the Florida vacant home scam, prevent title fraud, and tackle squatter and land scams effectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":51902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,654,697],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-homeownership","category-market-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Avoid Vacant Home Scams and Squatters in Florida<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to protect your home and property from squatters in Florida and prevent vacant home scams and title fraud.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Avoid Vacant Home Scams and Squatters in Florida\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to protect your home and property from squatters in Florida and prevent vacant home scams and title fraud.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-17T11:44:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-13T16:33:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/florida-vacant-home-scam.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Haddad\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard Haddad\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Avoid Vacant Home Scams and Squatters in Florida","description":"Learn how to protect your home and property from squatters in Florida and prevent vacant home scams and title fraud.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Avoid Vacant Home Scams and Squatters in Florida","og_description":"Learn how to protect your home and property from squatters in Florida and prevent vacant home scams and title fraud.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/","og_site_name":"HomeLight Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","article_published_time":"2025-10-17T11:44:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-13T16:33:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":563,"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/florida-vacant-home-scam.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Richard Haddad","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gohomelight","twitter_site":"@gohomelight","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Richard Haddad","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/"},"author":{"name":"Richard Haddad","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7d7103b037dcb5e844946ec92b02a128"},"headline":"How to Avoid Vacant Home Scams and Squatters in Florida","datePublished":"2025-10-17T11:44:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-13T16:33:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/"},"wordCount":410,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/florida-vacant-home-scam.png","articleSection":["Buyers","Homeownership","News &amp; Market Trends"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/","name":"How to Avoid Vacant Home Scams and Squatters in Florida","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/florida-vacant-home-scam.png","datePublished":"2025-10-17T11:44:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-13T16:33:29+00:00","description":"Learn how to protect your home and property from squatters in Florida and prevent vacant home scams and title fraud.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/florida-vacant-home-scam.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/florida-vacant-home-scam.png","width":1000,"height":563,"caption":"Source: (Camilo\/ Pexels)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-florida-vacant-home-scam\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Avoid Vacant Home Scams and Squatters in Florida"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","name":"HomeLight Blog","description":"Real Estate Advice from America&#039;s Top Agents","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"HomeLight","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","width":1348,"height":262,"caption":"HomeLight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gohomelight","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/homelight\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCimugR9XF17-OZ7B9fNnxWw","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HomeLight"],"description":"Everything you need to know to sell your house faster and for more money. Articles, guides, and advice from top agents all over the U.S.","email":"support@homelight.com","telephone":"(888) 688-0350","legalName":"HomeLight","foundingDate":"2012-01-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"201","maxValue":"500"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7d7103b037dcb5e844946ec92b02a128","name":"Richard Haddad","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fbb89d16f303ea1de47fd69852400830b4a663ea6dbb4eecafbea5c1403da721?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fbb89d16f303ea1de47fd69852400830b4a663ea6dbb4eecafbea5c1403da721?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Richard Haddad"},"description":"Richard Haddad is the executive editor of HomeLight.com. He works with an experienced content team that oversees the company\u2019s blog featuring in-depth articles about the home buying and selling process, homeownership news, home care and design tips, and related real estate trends. Previously, he served as an editor and content producer for World Company, Gannett, and Western News &amp; Info, where he also served as news director and director of internet operations.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/richard-w-haddad"],"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/author\/richardhaddad\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}