We had an interesting situation happen recently. We are selling our home For Sale By Owner. We had an interested party call us up, talk to us about 10 minutes, and schedule a showing of our hope. They came, looked around and seemed VERY interested. They mentioned they were working with a real-estate agent, and we said we didn't have a problem with that.
Anyway, we haven't seen the couple since, two days later the real-estate agent gets a hold of us and tells us he'd like to meet with us tonight to discuss with us the couple and their intentions. I say yeah, he tells me he's going to call us at 6pm that night and come over soon after that.
He calls me again 30 minutes later, and says he is about to meet with the prospective buyers. He then starts asking me some very probing questions, specifically trying to find out the exact amount we'd sell the house for. I quickly tell him it's up to the offer price, and who is paying closing costs/ his commission.
2007-01-18 04:20:52 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
He keeps pestering me for an exact amount, and to "scare" him off, I tell him we have two good friends, one who is a real-estate investigator, that will review any contract he brings to us. He tells me he will call when he finishes meeting with the buyers, hangs up, and we believe he is going to call later that night.
Well he never called, so far we haven't heard from any of them, and we are just wondering if they were up to no good. My husband and I are a young couple, and we might be perceived as "gullible" to some.
I've tried to locate this real-estate agent online, to no avail. He's never said what agency he represents either.
Anyone know what they might be up to?
2007-01-18 04:21:47 · update #1
I would not chalk this up to fraud. Possibly just an agent trying to list your home.
You should have been able to find some type information on him if he was an agent. (In Pennsylvania you can look up the person's name online to see if they hold a valid real estate liscense ... check to see if your state has the same thing. You can also go to realtor.org and type in their name to see if it comes up .... but keep in mind not all real estate agents are Realtors so they may not be on this list.)
You do need to be careful because he may have been a friend trying to find out how low you would go on their price. You did good by saying the price will depend on who is paying the commission. If things do not work out with these people, the next time someone comes through and says they are working with an agent, ask them for the name of the agent and what company they work for so you can check him/her out ahead of time (and so you know who will be calling you).
Something to note:
There are times when someone selling for sale by owner will pay an agent a comission to bring them a qualified buyer. But, they are still working for the buyer. Also, in some cases, you will still need to handle everything on your side of the transaction. Make sure you know how the paperwork is going to be handled and make sure you have someone to represent you, whether it be an attorney or a friend in the business.
Good Luck!
2007-01-18 05:26:03 · answer #1 · answered by c21bucks 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The agent was correct in asking you what the price was on your home. If he doesn't know this, he can't construct an offer.
Your state may have a "single party show" contract (CA does) that states you only pay the agent a commission if you sell (insert name of the buyer) their home. Most agents won't write an offer without it for a FSBO property.
Also, not hearing from them for a couple days is par for the course in real estate. It's a big decision and sometimes after people think about it, they change their mind. When an agent tells a seller of mine that his buyers may be writing an offer, more times than not, they don't and the seller gets very upset by this.
I don't see anything fraudulent going on here. To protect yourself, you really need to list your home with a Realtor. That's the only way you can avoid these kinds of things.
2007-01-18 04:49:12 · answer #2 · answered by SoCalMom 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is why I always recommend not doing business with a friend or relative. What your friend is proposing can get him several years in a federal prison. It is a tough choice for you. Do you just walk away from him and let him commit the fraud with someone else. He is probably aware of the penalties but is willing to take the risk to make big bucks. If you want to stop this crime, call your local FBI office and tell them what you know. They may (or may not) set up a sting or watch his transactions and then pull him in for questioning. By the way, lying to an FBI agent is perjury and can get you serious jail time, Any deliberate misinformation that appears on the closing HUD statement is considered fraud and perjury. A coomon example is: If another agent offers to settle a repair outside of closing by a direct cash payment without notifying the bank, that also is a federal violation. I have been participant to several FBI stings and have given testimony that has resulted in several jail terms, the longest being to a 30 year attorney who committed loan frauds (like your friend proposes) and perjury to the FBI. He is serving 15-20 years now.
2016-03-29 03:12:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't smell any fraud in the story. We have a 5-bedroom 5-bath home near the beach in LA. We routinely get letters from agents saying they have a "buyer" interested in our neighborhood or our specific home. These agents are never from a major Realtor.
We listed our home last spring with a local firm who stated they had "clients" qualified to buy a home in our price range. In reality, Realtors don't really have "buyer clients" b/c there's no serious agent/client relationship in this situation. This turned out to be a mistake. When the listing "expired," our home phone started ringing off the hook. These were agents who saw our home in the "expired" listings. We relisted with the biggest name in U.S. real estate. They have been advertising weekly and we are seeing a lot of traffic. No open houses.
The bottom line: There are Realtors of all flavors. A lot of inexperienced people got into the business recently. Now, they are trying to figure out how to stay in the business.
2007-01-18 05:00:00 · answer #4 · answered by Blu 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Some agents will tell you anything to get a sale or a listing. If it feels wrong, you are probably right to tell them to take a hike. Make him/her bring you a signed contract offer with a deposit check. They may also be just fishing to see what you will sell it for. If they persist in being a pain in your neck complain to the state realator board. There are many good honest agents that can be trusted.
2007-01-18 10:16:39 · answer #5 · answered by sm4125 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The agent was probably trying to get information to see if he could get the listing for your home.I am an agent in TN and it is a common practice,although I don't agree with it,to call homes that are for sale by owner and pretend that they have an interested buyer and try to get the listing.Be careful about the information that you give and if you don't want to list with agent tell them so.
2007-01-18 04:31:01 · answer #6 · answered by Linda P 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A scam with a different twist. Agents will call for sale by owners hoping to acquire a listing. I would rather suspect that is what has happened.
either way you did the proper thing by not disclosing your bottom line.
2007-01-18 07:08:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Realtors get paid for their services by the seller. If he sells your house he'd expect and by law get compensated.
If you don't contract with him to sell your house to his buyers he won't sell your house. Simple as that.
It was not fraud nor an attempt as I see it.. Just a realtor trying to get his buyer into a home they like..
2007-01-18 04:31:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋