Ha, reminds me a little of the situation in Beverly Shores Indiana. In the 1960s, Congress established the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and the park service went about acquiring property within the boundaries. They ended up buying the land from many people with the explicit stipulation that at some point in the future the house would have to be removed and the park service would take over. But until that time, the owner of the house would be able to continue to use it and have exclusive access to the federally-owned land it sat on. Deeds were signed and money changed hands.

Fast forward decades, many delays and many unscrupulous sellers and real estate agents, and you’ve got people that don’t realize that the house they own sits on land they don’t, and the federal government wants it vacant because the Congress has finally turned the national lakeshore into a national park.

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guywithahat a day ago | parent | next [-]

You would have to be notified of any deed restrictions, especially one where they don't own the land the house sits on. The situation you described seems hard to believe

	▲	stockresearcher a day ago \| parent [-]
		Ah, according to Wikipedia they were sale/leaseback agreements [1] But I lived in that area. People absolutely were scammed because FedGov didn’t bother to evict heirs or tear down the houses for decades. And then they did. Indiana is a very lax state for real estate transactions. Attorneys are not required and real estate agents drive the process. A shady agent and a buyer that doesn’t know any better can very easily get scammed. This quote glosses over a LOT, but I couldn’t find anything better online: > there was a movement to purchase all the homes in Beverly Shores and incorporate the entire town into the National Lakeshore. This initiative did not succeed, but many local properties were acquired, especially those in the wetlands that constitute the southern portion. The acquisition process is ongoing. The owners of lots fronting on the beach were granted lifetime leasebacks with the proviso that the property would revert to the National Lakeshore; many of these houses have since been demolished. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Shores,_Indiana

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cactacea a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Link? I tried to search for anything related to this and came up empty. This is literally what a title search and title insurance is for. I have a hard time believing you can get a mortgage without due diligence on the title even with a completely corrupt realtor.

	▲	stockresearcher a day ago \| parent [-]
		In a real estate transaction, more or less nobody that you are paying to be on your side has incentives that are aligned with yours. This buyer on Cape Cod: why did nobody that he paid to be on his side tell him that they’ve been contemplating a bridge through the property for 40 years?