My parents went into town and talked to people, and it turns out that the longtime owner of the land had sold a parcel just a few months ago to this pair of characters who were known for running this same spring scam throughout the area.

Its a scam incognito. 

Yes, but those times also brought out real eatate agents who were now modification gurus, attorneys getting people to file bk’s, and scam artists telling people what They Wantes To Hear, Taking Their Money And Then disapeared!

These are called private lenders and likely what you are experiencing is a scam

@Lamont Marable Be careful encouraging others to use "Morris Invest" if you do a search here on BP you'll see hundreds of posts of investors who have been scammed and lost thousands of dollars using them.I would avoid them at all cost and always do additional research when getting recommendations or seeing a t.v host face on YouTube selling 40k homes.

Most lenders who charge anything else before closing (especially in excess of a couple hundred dollars) is a scam, but some may be legit. 

It is hard to say anything wrong with the theory or say this is a scam but this investment turned out being nightmare to us.  

Generally speaking, cash upfront is a scam used by professional tenants to put landlords into ugly situations.

I attended, was wise enough not to give him a few grand, and when I Googled his name with the word 'scam' I found an article on BP and learned real estate for free. 

Let's hope it wasn't that guy that was scamming people on 1031 exchanges.