Fraudsters stole licensed realtors’ “For Sale” signs from St Andrew, professionally altered the contact details, and re-planted them on different properties in Portland to redirect buyers to fake sellers. The Realtors Association of Jamaica has issued an urgent public warning.

Land banking schemes targeting Jamaican buyers — particularly in the diaspora — are selling parcels that are legally undevelopable, lack access roads, sit within protected zones, or are already subject to competing claims, while marketing them as secure long-term investments.

Jamaicans living abroad who appoint local property managers to oversee their rental properties are being defrauded through rent diversion, unauthorised property sales, and fictitious maintenance expense claims — with little practical recourse from thousands of miles away.

The Real Estate Board has renewed its warning to the public to verify the licence of any real estate agent or dealer before engaging their services, after a series of complaints involving unlicensed operators who collected commissions, deposits, and fees without legal authority to do so.

The non-return of rental security deposits is one of Jamaica’s most common tenancy disputes. While the Rent Restriction Act provides some protections, enforcement is limited and many tenants lose deposits to landlords who make bad-faith or exaggerated damage claims.

Scammers are creating fraudulent social media pages, WhatsApp messages, and fake websites that impersonate the National Housing Trust and Ministry of Housing to advertise non-existent government housing lotteries, collecting “application fees” from low-income Jamaicans who believe they are entering a legitimate housing programme.

Buyers across Jamaica are discovering after purchase that they have received significantly less land than was stated in the sale agreement and marketing materials. Measurement misrepresentation — whether deliberate or negligent — is actionable, but prevention through independent survey before purchase is far more effective than litigation after.

Private vendor financing arrangements — where the seller acts as the lender and the buyer pays in instalments — are increasingly being used in Jamaica with terms that strip buyers of all equity on a single missed payment, or that include balloon clauses the buyer cannot meet, resulting in loss of both the property and all payments made.

Buying property in Jamaica is a major step—whether securing your dream home, investing in land, or building a future. Before committing your…

Jamaican renters are losing deposits to social media scams where fraudsters pose as landlords on Instagram and TikTok, using stolen property photographs and fake contracts to steal thousands before vanishing. Police have issued warnings and a first-time renter has shared their account of losing $140,000.