I got a call the other day from a man that indicated he was “good friends” with my seller over on 12345 Main St. here in Melbourne Florida. He indicated that he had looked at my seller, ‘Bob’s’ house for the second time in a week and he wanted to buy it.
I smelled skunk. RED FLAG #1 – I have known my seller for years. And he’s very conscientious. Why was this ‘buyer’ calling me and Bob hadn’t called to tell me this ahead of time? Not like Bob, at all! AND, I know I had not made any appointments this past week for showings on this particular property.
He told me that after speaking to Bob, inside of his house for 45 minutes today, he and ‘Bob’ had come to terms on a sales price. I smelled skunk! RED FLAG #2! Again, not like Bob!
“Are you working with a REALTOR?, ” I asked. figuring I already knew the answer to this question.
“No, I’m not.”
“How long have you and Bob been friends?” I asked. I wanted to sniff this skunk out!
“Oh, well, umm, well, umm,” he stuttered, “we met this week.” OFFICIALLY A SKUNK! I KNEW IT! RED FLAG #3! Three strikes and you’re out. Dead in the water. I knew it! HE LIED TO ME – EVEN WORSE!
My first thought was…OH NO, my seller let a perfect stranger into his house without even knowing who he was! This is one of my greatest fears in being an agent! And, the first sentence out of the guy’s mouth was a lie! OH NO!
When I take a listing I always tell sellers NOT TO LET ANYONE IN THEIR HOMES unaccompanied by an agent!
I don’t like lies and deception and I especially don’t like people that play games. I was not happy at all. I wanted to get this guy off the phone.
“So, what is your offer?” I don’t like to do anything verbally in real estate. I like everything in writing. But, I could imagine what this guy was going to tell me next!
“Well, Bob and I have already agreed to everything, but he told me that I needed to talk to you before we went any further.”
This guy continued on and on and on, as I interrupted and interrupted and interrupted because the more I talked to him the more I thought the guy was a wheeler dealer – the type that I really don’t care for! I wanted to get him OFF the phone!
“Look,” I said, “just get to the bottom line here, what is your offer?”
Well, the bottom line was, he had no lender, he was offering $160,000 on a $120,000 listing. But, told me that he’d like to have 2 separate contracts with 2 different sets of numbers on them. (Don’t waste my time, buddy!) He wanted to take possession of the property immediately, with an open date for closing. He even had the gall to tell me that he would give me a $5000 kickback, after closing, if I would agree to do this transaction and not tell anyone about the kickback! Unbelievable! I WAS APPALLED! He reminded me 6 times that he and my seller had already come to terms on this transaction. I was not at all surprised by his offer. When he was finished, he added that he and I could go into partnership together and make lots and lots of money together! He said he could show me all “kinds” of creative ways to make serious money!
Under the circumstances, I remained very professional, and hung up on this joker.
Needless to say, the minute I got off the phone, I contacted ‘Bob’ immediately. As, I previously mentioned, we have know each other for years. I know I sounded like his mother. “What are you doing letting a perfect stranger into your house? You don’t know him, you know better, yada, yada, yada…” I spewed. When I finished giving him his 40 lashes, I asked him if he had arranged a “deal” with this guy. I presented the offer to my seller, as my job is to present any and all offers, verbal or written.
“Sandy, I told this guy that this sounded illegal and I would not do anything that is illegal and I would not do anything at all without my REALTOR!”
I commended Bob.
Bob also told me that this guy was adamant about NOT getting Bob’s Realtor involved. Said they could do it without a Realtor and it would be more money to Bob.
Well, needless to say what this guy was proposing was 100% ILLEGAL!
SELLERS BE CAREFUL! DO NOT LET ANYONE IN YOUR HOME THAT IS UNACCOMPANIED BY YOUR REALTOR OR A REALTOR THAT HAS A PRESET APPOINTMENT TO LOOK AT YOUR HOME! BOB was LUCKY!
This article is authored by Sandy Shores, Melbourne FL REALTOR.
It is the exclusive property of, and may not be used without the written permission of Sandy Shores, Brevard County, Florida Space Coast. All information is believed to be accurate, but is not warranted. Copyright 2008.
Brevard County FL Real Estate Talk 