The federal law that may protect land buyers and homeowners

MOORE HAVEN, Fla. (WINK)—A Port Charlotte woman traveled to WINK Listens in Moore Haven to share information about a law that could potentially help people buying property and building homes in Florida.

It's called the Interstate Land Sales Act, or ILSA, and it came about in 1968 to protect people buying land.

Kim Yanecko wanted to make sure people know about the law as communities continue to be built. As long as print and television have been around, so have the Florida-centric sales pitches trying to draw people to the Sunshine State.

"They all bought down here, and then when they got here, the land was underwater, so that was unusable land," Yanecko said.

She stopped by WINK Listens in Moore Haven after seeing WINK News Anchor Taylor Petras' story with two Hendry County homeowners. They bought a new community near LaBelle.

"The hook, where they got us, was that they said that they were going to have a park and a boat ramp," said homeowner JaQuy Brantley.

Two years later, he is still waiting for amenities. Yanecko points back to protections that may be covered under ILSA.

The law applies in communities with 100 or more lots if lots are sold or leased through interstate commerce and are unimproved or not yet built upon.

"Essentially protects the buyer, so it gives them information like how many properties? When will the property be done? What kind of electrical would go in? What kind of roads are going to be there?" Yanecko explained.

But there's a problem. Right now, the agency is caught up in some financial red tape. It is fighting to secure funding to remain intact and help consumers across the country.

"They'll fine the developer, they'll stop the development from proceeding forward, and they'll stop him from being able to sell to other buyers, so that they aren't impacted," Yanecko said.

WINK News reached out to U.S. Congressmen Greg Steube and Byron Donalds, since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is federally funded by the Federal Reserve. When we have information from them, we will update this article.

The CFPB is also responsible for overseeing consumer financial products and services, such as credit reporting agencies and complaints about them.